Blast Wind

M0nk3y · Post by **M0nk3y** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 8:26 pm

Hello everyone.

Just wondering if anyone here has BlastWind for the Saturn? Is the game good?

I've come across a copy on Ebay, going for $165 atm, 9days left. Now I didn't mind paying daft cash for Sapphire/Radiant, because the games are quality. But I'm not paying silly money for a crap game, just because its super rare.

So, is BW good enough to warrant this high price tag, or is just another so-so Saturn shmup that just happens to be damn rare?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 8:28 pm

I haven't played the game so I can't say how good or bad it is, but I DO know, after seeing it before on eBay, that 165 bucks is a ways above the usual going price for it, at least in my experience.

M0nk3y · Post by **M0nk3y** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 8:39 pm

Yeah, just done a check on Videogameimports.com. They're normally expensive, and they have it for £48. So matey on Ebay is having a laugh. Specially as the VGI guys don't seem overly impressed with it.

Reckon i'll give this one a miss.

druuna · Post by **druuna** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:16 pm

Yes, it seems this game is not good , but considering the devolper is technosoft I really need to try it before considering this a bad game.
Here is a review with few screenshots
http://www.ncsx.com/www/blastwnd.htm

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:25 pm

That is way overpriced. I snagged one on ebay about 2 months ago for $30.

Guardians Knight · Post by **Guardians Knight** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:59 pm

its a decent enough game but i'd def give it a miss for that price, it aint even very rare, that guy is taking the piss

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:11 pm

A decent game that I found to be a little on the easy side. I guess when you consider that it's a vertical shmup from Technosoft it does seem a little underwhelming. The last boss fight was pretty neat though. That price IS absolutely outrageous and is probably an ebay fluke.

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:22 pm

Its a good vert shmup. It has some pretty cool music too...some of the best for a shmup(very dramatic)

The graphics look kinda "old". Like Galactic Attack/Layer Section style.
Also, there are multiple routes you can pick, which lead to different bosses.

The game shouldn't go for more than $50 to $60 bucks. I never thought it was that rare, but then again, its a Saturn game, not XBOX or PS2.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:18 am

Its only rare if its complete. The spine card is like 10x rarer than the game itself.

If you want it to play only. Pay $30, if you want a complete mint copy with spine card, expect to pay 3x that. I think $165 is far too much though.

alpha5099 · Post by **alpha5099** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:58 am

I'm pretty sure Blast Wind is fairly rare. I've been watching eBay like a hawk for months now, waiting to see if any good deals on it show up. It only seems to appear like once a month.

And the appearance of Blast Wind on eBay always seems to coincide with a Blast Wind thread on the Shmups Forum. Hmmmmm.

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:23 am

Well then, I guess I'm glad I bought mine when it ws still new from NCS.
I think I paid around $54.00 or something.
I never was one to keep spine cards though...
(In Japan, even shrinkwrap is worth a lota money!)

jp · Post by jp » Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:59 am

I love it. I think I did a mini-review on my site in my sig. And I paid $35 for it w/ spine card and reg. card. Thanks again greg!!!

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:13 am

I paid $30 for the same. Owned

It's a fun game with a decent soundtrack, no dai ou jou or Ikaruga by any means though. but for the going price, see how you like it. You'd always be able to re-sell it too.

jp · Post by jp » Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:23 am

But was yours from someone who had bought it new?

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:48 am

It was in brand new, complete condition. Not that it matters, not a whole lot of replay value in spine cards.

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:33 pm

I recently snagged a copy of this and i think that it not too bad. Paid abot $45 for it complete so that ebay action is taking the piss as far as i'm concerned.

benstylus · Post by **benstylus** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 4:59 am

Because of this thread, I've recorded a video of the intro and first level for Blast Wind on the Saturn.

This video is brand new as I just recorded it about 20 minutes ago.

I'll be adding it to the archive at SegaFans soon enough, but you guys get first dibs on it.

http://segafans.com/downloads/blast_wind.wmv

And while the first level certainly isn't the greatest level in the game, it shows off enough of the gameplay to help you decide what you think the game is worth.

I don't think it's a bad shooter by any means, but it's certainly nowhere near the level of quality found in Layer Section or even some of Technosoft's other shmups.

Hope this is an acceptable way to join the party here...

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 5:22 am

nice avatar

benstylus · Post by **benstylus** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 5:50 am

Neon wrote:nice avatar

i'm pretty fond of it myself. It's a bit squished due to the size restrictions here, but it's still useable.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 6:15 am

I wonder how Rev. King would have felt about Ikaruga. Either love it because of the B&W mechanics or hate it since black 2X damage to white and vice versa.

Skyknight · Post by **Skyknight** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:50 pm

Jp: Regarding the screenshots posted by Druuna, I notice that two bosses are shown. I'm guessing the red fellow is Sodom from the end of st. 3. But the green vessel...Gamma Ray (st. 2-A)? Or Ostragle (st. 4)?

Skyline · Post by **Skyline** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 2:10 pm

$165 for one game, unless you plan on doing nothing to it but keeping it sealed and in pristine condition, is bullshit.

Paid $20 for mine myself, disc-only but what the hell.

It's certainly easier than what the average vert-shmup player is used to. Bullets are more spread out, and your main gun and bombs are ridiculously strong, if you're the type who likes to kill the larger enemy craft first before they can pose a threat. The level design and enemy placement are pretty good, you can get quite a bit out of this game if you get into it. If anything, it's a refreshing break from all of the manic verts.

And yes, the obligatory "the soundtrack rocks" statement holds true here.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 6:44 pm

$165 for blast wind is typical of crooks, erm, ebay sellers these days. I hate the japanese stores that put up games I want with überhigh buy-it-nows (and inevitably it's the only copy of that game I want on ebay). Of course they have a right to and everything, but, sucks for me.

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:11 pm

As much as I love Ebay, I hate it too!
Everyone will (and does) compare prices to what things are selling for on the Bay.
Now everyone else may follow the the trend in pricing on this particular game.
It happend with Radiant Silvergun, it happend with Dracula X, etc,etc.
If this happends, expect the game/import shops to match those prices...even exceeding them.

I can see it now....(on Ebay)

BLAST WIND SPINE CARD Buy it Now $20.00

Tecnosoft's Blast Wind for the Sega Saturn. Must be able to play Japanese software. PLease note that this auction is for the Spine Card only.
Thanks for looking at my "rippoff" auction.
Shipping and handling: $10.00 Priority Mail

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:40 pm

TWITCHDOCTOR wrote:As much as I love Ebay, I hate it too!
Everyone will (and does) compare prices to what things are selling for on the Bay.
Now everyone else may follow the the trend in pricing on this particular game.
It happend with Radiant Silvergun, it happend with Dracula X, etc,etc.
If this happends, expect the game/import shops to match those prices...even exceeding them.

I can see it now....(on Ebay)

BLAST WIND SPINE CARD Buy it Now $20.00

Tecnosoft's Blast Wind for the Sega Saturn. Must be able to play Japanese software. PLease note that this auction is for the Spine Card only.
Thanks for looking at my "rippoff" auction.
Shipping and handling: $10.00 Priority Mail

That reminds me of that one seller selling TG-16 games. He sells games in multiple conditions as an excuse to jack up the price higher than it should be. He even sells all the components of the TG-16 CD player seperately. It really pisses me off when I see the pack in disc alone sell for about 50 dollars. I really wish I knew of another place to buy TG-16 games besides ebay or Turbo Zone Direct.

jp · Post by jp » Fri Feb 11, 2005 7:50 pm

Ack! All this Blast Wind talk has got me itching to make a few runs this evening to see if I can break 4.5 million. Sadly, I have a date... followed by DnD... damn you guys...

Despite what the critics say, Blast Wind is and forever will be one of my personal favorite shmups.

As for the bosses:

The first screen shot is of the boss you get when you don't take the alternate path in Stage 2. The second screenshot is of the boss you get when you take the alternate path of Stage 1. The names escape me though since I haven't even hooked my Saturn up for more than a week since I got home... I don't know whats wrong with me.

As for Blast Wind and its price, I highly doubt its going to become a triple figure Saturn game. I think this is just going to be an isolated incident of a dumbass trying to get more for a game than its worth.

I don't see Blast Wind ever surpassing Hyper Duel consistently.

druuna · Post by **druuna** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 1:47 am

Lovely game and great music...thanks for the video benstylus

I loved every technosoft game (except TF 1) and it seems that this one is good too.

Skyknight · Post by **Skyknight** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 7:37 pm

(Benstylus: Any chance of convincing you to record videos for the other stages/paths? I'm particularly interested in Atlantis and the Dimension Cave...{teleports})

Blast Wind takes place after a nuclear holocaust desolated most of the world. The only notable survivors are the people who took shelter in Noa. Noa has begun to make the world habitable once again...not to mention peaceable.

At least, it WAS peaceable, until notable survivor #2 appeared--Gorn, a stratocracy that had simply hidden underground during the nuclear war (I'll lay you even odds that, in TecnoSoft's notes, Gorn had fomented the nuclear war themselves). There, they had continued improving on their technology and weapons. Only just now have they emerged, fully expecting to have a default world rulership. They didn't know about Noa, though. Therefore, they have begun a campaign to conquer Noa's populace.

In order to survive Gorn's cruelty, Noa's leaders have, as part of "Operation: Blast Wind", brought out of cryostasis two master warriors--Forn and Kyou, the "Ultimate Destroyers". Their mission: completely destroy the Gorn war machine, and thus bring peace back to the world.

On a side note, the names of the songs in the game...

Introduction: "Ultimate Destroyer"
St. 1: "Blast Wind", "Strato Guard"
St. 2: "Run of the Destiny", "Gamma Ray" (normal path boss), "Spriggan" (side path boss)
St. 3: "The Ritual", "Sodom"
St. 4: "Chaos Breaker", "Ostragle"
St. 5: "Burning Heart", "Dread" (the soundtrack actually lists it as "Drad", but unless the boss is named Drad, it's probably a misprint)
St. 6: "God Breath", "Gorn", "The Justice Ray" (yes, THAT "The Justice Ray". Various iterations of it were going to be the final boss themes for all of TecnoSoft's future shmups. Unfortunately, it wasn't long afterwards that they ceased making games...)
Ending: "The Longest Voyage"
Name Entry: "The Longest Voyage (lo-fi mix)"

alpha5099 · Post by **alpha5099** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:07 pm

What the fuck is the deal with TechnoSoft and names with -orn? Gorn? Forn? Orn?

Nemo · Post by **Nemo** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 3:26 am

A cool thing about the Blast Wind disc is that if you look on the shiny side, the ship design is etched on both sides of it. You have to shine it under light to see it.

shmups.system11.org

Blast Wind

Blast Wind

Notes on the backstory...