Mega-busting like in the NES-era.
Trophy can best be described as a Megaman clone which takes notes from the very first Megaman as we don't have the dash function, a "Rush" or "Item-1" to reach high places or something like that, anyway we're not gonna need them in this game, as it compensates that with hidden heart and weapon upgrades similar to the Heart-Tanks from Megaman X, while the Weapon Upgrade increases the strength of your basic "Buster" weapon which is all what you're gonna get in the game. When I said basic, that also means no chargeable buster since most of the enemies fall with three shots while the rest takes 5 or 7 shots. The controls are very responsive as if you're playing an official Megaman game. One of the main aspects of the majority of Megaman games is being able to select your starting stage, while the screen displays only four and you have to change screens to see the rest, you're granted 8 levels before hitting the final level. Difficulty on those can vary from easy to hard as they feature the classic spike jumping and the inclusion of underwater physics and zero gravity which add fun and challenge to keep you on the game as long as possible.
Cheap Spike Placement. This feels like a "Kaizo" Megaman hack.
Despite having the key elements of Megaman action, the game has problems. First off, the enemy and obstacle placements could range from tricky to absurd. Instances can be found in the Carnival stage where there's enemies that can only be hit when they're "exposed" but they're in small blocks that require to land in almost precise jumps and take'em down fast before they shoot you or else you'll be pushed to your death (see the first screenshot for reference), and in the ocean stage, there's a spike obstacle that requires a pixel precise short jump. Unless you're a Megaman veteran or a Kaizo-hack lover, you'll be OK with that.
Any Megaman player knows that defeating enemies grant you their powers. Well, not in this game. You're stucked with your "Buster" weapon and if you find the Weapon Upgrade then it will be the only enhancement you're gonna get. But if you take a few hits, you'll lose it until you regain your health by picking Trophies. Also, there's no Energy Tanks/Sub-Tanks to replenish health, making this game as tough as the infamous Mighty No.9 in some occasions.
Unlike Shatterhand, Dr. Sword has no problems about fighting on county fairs.
The game will send you through 8 battle zones: from a carnival, a train, a warehouse, to the bottom of the ocean and even a space station on an asteroid. This "Stage variety" reminds me more of Tokkyu Shirei Solbrain (the Japanese version of Shatterhand) due to the use of a carnival/county fair as a combat zone, while space was used on Megaman (Starman from Megaman V and Dr. Wily in Megaman 10) making it quite fitting for fans of the "Blue Bomber".
This is where the game "Ends".
The final boss is going to be the last thing you'll face before pulling the plug. The reason why is the random nature of the bullet drops, despite having an arched trajectory, they are fired in random directions making them hard to predict. Combine that with the boss slow paced descent keeping it away from harm and without a Rush Coil-like item, you're a sitting duck praying not to take a hit.
This pose describes me as a gamer.
With all the mega-problems mentioned before, there's a redeeming aspect of this Megaman clone?, Well, yes. 10 Achievements waiting for you to be unlocked. The Health and Weapon upgrades will be tricky since those are pretty well hidden, but they're quite useful when you want to survive for a little while.
...once I knock the Moon out of its orbit with this weapon, it will fall on Earth.
And not even the Centurions could stop me from taking over whatever is left of the world.
When it comes to the graphics and the sound, the game makes a very Capcom-faithful execution starting off with the graphics that feel like an unreleased NES game, with the exception of the void on the sides of the screen, something that the developers could fill with a wallpaper like Capcom did with Megaman Legacy Collection by using the Japanese Rockman artwork. My only complaint about the game is the design of the bosses which feel like it was made by a kindergarten student as we have cute robots most of the time, not to mention the giant clown head in the carnival stage that feels like a ripoff of the Krusty balloon from Konami's The Simpsons. The music is another point in favor with chiptunes that feel like they belong to the Megaman games. There's some KID/Taxan (Low-G-Man, G.I. Joe) notes here and there, but most of the time is right-on with the Megaman influences that inspired the game.
While the game borrows a few elements from Megaman and Megaman X elements, Trophy fails on the difficulty curve as it lacks of the key features that make the Megaman games the masterpieces they are. It had the potential, but Gradual Games and The 6502 Collective dropped the ball. If you're looking for a Megaman challenge, stay on the Megaman Legacy Collection compilations. Forget this thing unless your plan is to pick 10 achievements and then uninstall this game for good.
This "Sad Lea" means "Bad, but not unplayable".
Do you want me to review CrossCode sometime in 2022? (Probably....)
I'll keep that in mind, Lea.