I almost gave this four stars, but felt like it deserved an additional half of one just because I like the cute little skitter that the people and some of the robots do.

Doesn't do anything too terribly standout, but I think it was put together really well. Kinda weird that this isn't an arcade port, it feels so much like one.

I really like the route change system it has going on.

Reviewed on May 20, 2023


2 Comments


9 months ago

The story behind this game's existence is so wild to me, I really need to remember to play this. Been eyeing a repro for a few weeks now.

8 months ago

In case anyone is unaware of this game's history, I'll fill you in:

In 1872, famous poet Friedrich Schiller said in an interview with the BBC "my farts are good. Sorry, let me finish this burrito." Technosoft's co-founder, Hans Wagner, sought to create a game to explore this philosophy. However, during public tests, the gratuitous descriptions of bodily gasses turned many average shooter fans away. Because of this, the game was put on hold for several years.

However, a new opportunity came with the release of the Sega Saturn. It was capable of a conversion of their old game without any sacrifices, and recent demographic research revealed that 74.8% of the Sega Saturn fanbase "would like a game with more [flatulence]." As a result, Technosoft would release the game in 1997 for the Sega Saturn to immediate critical success.

Despite the massive acclaim, Blast Wind failed to make much commercial success. Due to their financial investment in the project, this put Technosoft in a very tight position, eventually forcing them to close their doors. The game's director Heinrich Hoffmann was pretty bitter about the situation himself, as he has been on record saying that "[gamers] have shown their willingness to perpetuate convention in favor of games that have something to say."

The original title of Foúskoma, an allusion to the Greek god of flatulence, was changed at that last minute to Blast Wind, as executive producer Adelheid Brecht felt it "encapsulated the energy of a shooting game while representing the game's theme."