I'm joining the recent Mega CD discussion by asserting that its small shooter library is simply incredible. It might only have six pure genre representatives (I'm not counting Devastator - that's partly a below-average shooter and partly a frankly terrible action platformer
; I'm also excluding rail shooters, I'm plainly not able to play any of them, I never know what the hell is going on
) but even the "worst" one of those is still a solid title. My thoughs on them, going from "worst" to best (subjective):
- Sol-Feace is an underappreciated game. I understand that it looks like an average run-of-the-mill effort at first, but it's actually a creative specimen. The angled cannons provide a little tactical note to the game, especially in combination with the three different weapon types. There's quite a bit to see in terms of different stages and concepts, ranging from an archetypical huge battleship to a breakthrough mission where you can singe enemy fighters that come from behind with your thrusters - love that stage! Its only real downside is that the Genesis Sol-Deace (it's a US exclusive conversion) is flat-out better. No flickering or slowdowns and even a better soundtrack in my opinion. I still highly recommend checking this one out, it is a trimly crafted game through and through.
- Winds of Thunder/Lords of Thunder differs in a few interesting ways from its PCE original. The downgraded colour palette is quite apparent, the Mega CD version has some instances where textures look fairly dark. I don't deem it that much of an issue, however - the shop keeper, on the other hand, does have voice samples in this version and she is more scantily clad.
The gameplay-related aspects are more interesting. First of all: the sword is ludicrously overpowered in this version. It's possible to kill bosses in mere seconds with it, it is that obscene. Second: there's no limits for the crystals any more, meaning that this version is better suited when playing for score (every crystal in reserve gets converted into points after finishing the game). Last but not least: the higher difficulty settings are different from the PCE's, most notably the lack of suicide bullets is to be duly noted. I do like this game overall even though it has distinct euro shmup tendencies, particularly on Hard and Super. Certain bullet patterns are pretty much unavoidable no matter what, gotta tank it like a man. The overall difficulty is deplorably low, but the atmosphere makes up for it: more of a roller coster ride than anything else, really.
- Bari Arm/Android Assault is an interesting one. It blatantly steals from other shooters/games (there is a high speed tunnel right out of Gradius II, one enemy looks exactly like the ship in Gleylancer, there are huge cannons mounted in asteroids just like the ones in Assault Suits Valken, the highway section is right out of Down Load, one boss has the same head as one boss in Rayxanber II and so on and so forth) yet it still manages to convey its own style. It sort of has that figurehead aura to it (which is not suprising for it rigorously tries to be the Thunder Force IV on the Mega CD), being a classic space shooter and all that. What keeps it from being great is the slightly callow charge shot design. If you wait long enough it fills up to three bars in order to unleash a powerful attack which sounds great in theory. The crux of the matter is that there is almost never a reason not to sit there and wait for the meter to fill up. There should've been more of a risk/reward system so that it actually feels meaningful. Chiefly the last two bosses are way too resilient, thus tainting the game a bit with noble ennui. Still an awesome game overall.
- I'm not sure why most people dismiss Silpheed so heedless. Sure, the polygons overstayed their welcome, but the gameplay is what matters, right? And dissimilar to Star Fox it actually constantly runs at a brisk pace, none of that three-and-a-half frames per second business. Relentless action from the first stage to the last, the energy bar testifies to the programmer's overarching concept instead of being a frowsy makeshift solution. It is perfectly possible to lose almost the entire health in a few seconds if one is not diligently vigilant. Bosses are specifically great, they behave immensely aggressive but can be dispatched in the twinkling of an eye if played properly. This is how it should be. The tilted perspective might need getting used to, in view of the fact that I'm terrible at rail shooters (see above) it can't be that problematic, however. Supreme narrative Star Wars style including a Death Star sequence and a grueling final boss makes this a must.
- Dennin/Robo Aleste is without a modicum of doubt my favorite Compile shooter so far (it must be recognised that I still haven't played Super Aleste on the higher difficulty settings, so it's not a complete statement). Much harder than your regular Musha, Sylphia, Spriggan (Mark 2), Gunhed or what have you, and for the better. The first hit will kill you, no matter how much you powered up the Aleste. And dependent on the current stage/situation this might yield grave consequences. Logically, this'll change the player's paradigm when playing this game. Add to that the pretty brillant selection of four weapons that are all useful in certain spots and the usual audio-visual excellence (I personally think this is the best-looking and -sounding Compile shooter) and you got a clear winner. The penultimate boss fight is one of the fiercest, exhaustive, nail-biting skirmishes I've ever had the pleasure to see in a 16-bit shooter, and the final boss might not be nearly as tough, but it is still epic. Great game!
- Keio Yuugekitai/Keio Flying Squadron is one continuous ode to carefulness. I've yet to see another game where one can change the position of the hitbox - it is even displayed by little raster graphics.
Plays like a mixtum compositum between Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius (with raccoons instead of penguins) and an Irem game (there's even one boss straight out of Gun Hohki, was delighted to see that). Some memorization is definitely required to beat this game as it is littered with traps that will inevitably deplete unwary player's life stock - as it should be. I adore the option system: if you cease your fire up to two little helper dragons will materialise out of thin air. It is possible to sacrifice said little dragons for considerable damage and a bullet-neutralising effect which comes in really handy. This adds a profound layer of decision-making into the fray: is it wise to use one or two dragons in precarious situations? It drastically decreases the overall offensive capacity, and there might be not enough breathing room to create more of them so it might end up being counter-productive. If one dies, on the other hand, they're lost, anyway. This is the risk-reward system that Bari-Arm is lacking. The cute, wacky theme is also nicely done.
All in all: splendid portfolio of shooters! I'm glad that I ended my solemn plight of clearing every 16-bit shooter on such a high note (well, I don't own a 32X and a SuperGrafx and I'm not going to change that, but I tackled all the HuCard/PCE CD/MD/Mega CD/SFC stuff) nothwithstanding that I'm just a bit sad this journey has come to an end. I'm glad I decided to get the system, discovered quite a few new favourites for my 16-bit shooter selection.
