FAST, FURIOUS AND DANGEROUS
Ride or Die.
Hamster really surprised us this month with the unmentioned game from the "Namco-Surprise-Namco-Taito" pattern they have from quite a while (alongside the fact that this constant release of Namco and Taito games feels more than favoritism).
The "Surprise" game that kept our heads guessing what Hamster will threw at us turned out to be Video System's flying car shmup Turbo Force.
For an in-depth analysis of gameplay, graphics and sound, check the original review for Turbo Force.
Hey, we do what we do best. We improvise, all right?
Just what I said on my review of Arcade Archives: Rabio Lepus has become true, at least with the first shmup mentioned there; the last shmup of Video System's "Pre-Aero Fighters" era, Turbo Force. Some people love it for the M.A.S.K.-like flying car theme used, and others hate it due to its unfair power-degrading, but in one way or another, this game was fun to play back then at the arcade and the fact that home consoles and computers couldn't port this one was baffling. For the SNES it wouldn't be too much of a problem since they've made a very faithful port of Aero Fighters. The FM Towns Marty would also made a great job knowing their list of ports such as Flying Shark, Tatsujin Oh (Truxton II) and Raiden. Along with the lack of ports, add Video System's full-focus on Aero Fighters which (aside from a cameo in the saga) sent Turbo Force to total oblivion remaining as an obscure title. While Aero Fighters got a revival of some sorts on the PS2 as part of the Oretachi Gesen Zoku series. But no signs of Turbo Force back then. In a twist of fate, Hamster, considered to release Turbo Force on the Arcade Archives library. Yeah, 32 years, but at least this gives oldschoolers a permanent second chance of playing this game combining the arcade aspects with those of a console port: The original arcade gameplay, same graphics, same sound, and the "No-quarters required" rule of a home conversion. But the most interesting aspect of the game is that the Original Mode allows us to play with either two or three players based on the cabinet variants, although the three player one was the most common since it was an interesting feature rarely seen on shmups, despite being common on beat'em ups like X-Men and The Simpsons. In the Arcade Archives version, this means that three players can get trophies at the same time, along with the long-missed simultaneous local co-op that made this game unique.Sturmvogel Prime wrote:It is also a flicker of hope, 'cos maybe, sooner or later we would end up receiving the rest of Video System's catalogue. Yeah, that could mean Turbo Force and Aero Fighters could be in the Arcade Archives series someday, completing the "Trilogy" that was continued in ACA Neogeo. Can't wait for Hamster to announce those two.
Life’s simple. You make choices and you don’t look back.
As an Arcade Archives title, Turbo Force features the Japanese Old and New versions, but also the "North American" verison which seems to be a slight variation of the old hardware. This one was the version distribuited by Mc O'River, Video System's American division. Any of the Original Modes have the save state function, which you'll be using very often, like in Gradius III, the game will ramp up the difficulty beyond casual gamers and even challenging pro's. It seems that the game has a "Rank" simlar to Taito's Darius Gaiden as the game drastically increases the HP and bullet speed and rate of the enemies, making the game unbearable at the second half of Stage 3 if you didn't lose a ship. Basically, you'll have to die to complete the game since you'll be force to commit deliberate suicide to recover strength or drop the difficulty after making progress. I guess that sudden boom on difficulty was made for the sake of 2 or 3 player co-op. Returning to the review, this port of Turbo Force also has the traditional Hi-Score and Caravan Modes that characterize the collection as extra features to enhance the gameplay for those who want a quick 5 minute run or see how far they can get in the game without using continues and challenge players worldwide through Leaderboards.
TRIVA ARCHIVES: TURBO FACTS
- First (and only) console port of Turbo Force in both home and portable consoles.
- Third Video System game in the main Arcade Archives lineup and sixth if we count the ACA Neogeo entries.
- The 2013 game Ginga Force has a power downgrading similar to Turbo Force.
We race and the loser leaves town for good.
After 32 years, Hamster makes amends with the gamers and does what Video System/Mc O'River didn't: Porting Turbo Force at home. Even if that meant we had to wait for a PS4 or Switch, but boy, I'm glad we have this game in the Arcade Archives. Now we only need Aero Fighters so we can have the complete library of Video System shmups by now, and I say "by now" since it might take a little more time for Aero Fighters Special/Sonic Wings Limited to reach the Arcade Archives library, along with breaking the routine of focusing on Namco and Taito or even releasing two games per week instead of one. Waiting a week for a release is boring.
The Lea Scale is on the positives this time.