Not to be confused with Final Soldier on the same system.
Splendid arcade like PCE shooter. It features an interesting rank system, profound setpieces and a sublimely creepy atmosphere at times. I highly recommend this one!
Would be glad to see some activity in this thread, for sure! I'm not quite certain how the rank works in detail, it seems like dying is the only reliable way to drop the rank for the following stage, I've never seen the other factors influencing the rank in a verifiable manner, although it might've been the case. Could be worthwhile to experiment a little with the option sacrifice to see whether you can't get something out of it, though!
I'm all up for a GD thread about this game, if one doesn't already exist.
Picked it up around 12 years ago or so when i was buying up all PC Engine games I came across, and always considered it a bit of a mistake since it supposedly doesn't compare to the similarly looking Star Soldier games.
If it has some "hidden" qualities I would love to hear more.
Howbeit understandable to draw the comparison to the Hudsonsoft games at first glance, Final Blaster is a consolized Image Fight at its core - and much more competent at that than the actual PCE Image Fight port, ironically enough. One might think it's about ceaseless, improvised action, but it actually rewards memorization and strategic planning more than it does anything else. You want to tinker when to use all three spheres for maximum damage in the front and when to renounce one in favour of the directional coverage provided by the pair of them - very similar to the blue/red accountrements in Image Fight. Using the relocatable verticality to your advantage can also be rewarding, especially during busier moments. You want to know when it's safe to hug the bottom of the screen and when to go up since you can't pick up your power-ups when you die all the way down, it's a splendid little risk-reward system. I also personally love the grim later bosses and especially the final stage, those indeed represent iremesque bio-horror. Just a quality game all around as far as I'm concerned.
i don't know why the hecking frick youtube wants to think this is bosconian, somehow. i have "final blaster" typed right into the name entry for the game in the advanced settings tab, and yet somehow...
i don't really ever play for score in these games, but i have for the last couple of years at least kept track of most of my scores. however, there's nothing really worth posting - all pretty much average/below average on my 1cc's/nomiss clears on games because i have pretty console sensibilities and usually tend to just play for survival. i figure this game is pretty underexposed, however, so i guess i'll contribute to one of these threads, even if i'm far from its biggest fan. anyone able to nomiss like i did will be able to beat my score without much effort, imho.
~Imagination and memory are but one thing, which for diverse considerations have diverse names~ | ~*~*~*~*~*~* If there's a place that I could be ~ Then I'd be another memory*~*~*~*~*~*~
Missed a couple of the lithic faces due to bad positioning (which also lead to tense moments), satisfying run otherwise. It's pretty tricky to get a 1LC in this game, the rank is rather nasty if you don't die for long enough. Definitely an excellent Irem epigone.