Soldier Blade
Soldier Blade
Been playing this on my Wii all week, the game is awesome.
To be totally honest, I don't like Soldier Blade too much anymore.
Same goes for Gunhed and a few other PC-Engine shmups, which I really enjoyed when I played them at my uncle's years ago.
But nowadays I can't enjoy them anymore, not that I don't like old games or that I can't like "easier" shmups. It is the level design, it feels pretty mindless today. I don't want to ruin your fun Kamakazie by all means, I liked those games back then as well. and tastes are different offcourse.
I was just surprised how I liked those games back then and how "mediocre" they seem to me now. Usually I remember games pretty well and seldom get dissapointed by games I liked 10 years ago and pick up nowadays. But anyway....

Same goes for Gunhed and a few other PC-Engine shmups, which I really enjoyed when I played them at my uncle's years ago.
But nowadays I can't enjoy them anymore, not that I don't like old games or that I can't like "easier" shmups. It is the level design, it feels pretty mindless today. I don't want to ruin your fun Kamakazie by all means, I liked those games back then as well. and tastes are different offcourse.

I was just surprised how I liked those games back then and how "mediocre" they seem to me now. Usually I remember games pretty well and seldom get dissapointed by games I liked 10 years ago and pick up nowadays. But anyway....
long time no play soldier, but the thing i like(liked?) best in the game is/were the music (of course), the way the boss taunts you (ill be back, ill kill you, blahblahblah), and the additional "suicide" bullets/extra attacks on hard. obviously the game is still easy because your special weapons' invincibility window lasts too long, but hey, no one forces you to use them. the 2min game is quite okay too.
+1
+1
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scrilla4rella
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yeah this game has got real class, but why the hell havent they released gunhed/Blazzing Lazers for VC? I mean it's probably a good thing that Final Soldier got passed up and they went straight to Soldier Blade but if NES Gradius port gets released the why no Gunhed?
It must be just a name-brand thing..
It must be just a name-brand thing..
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animefanjr
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RippleScythe
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I think its only a matter of time before Blazing Lazers is released, although Soldier Blade is the absolute best of the HuCard shooter offerings. If only we could get a channel that would allow us to play original Super CD games. Soldier Blake is good, but nothing Hu-Card based beats Gates of Thunder, Lords of Thunder, and Spriggan in terms of gameplay AND presentation.scrilla4rella wrote:yeah this game has got real class, but why the hell havent they released gunhed/Blazzing Lazers for VC? I mean it's probably a good thing that Final Soldier got passed up and they went straight to Soldier Blade but if NES Gradius port gets released the why no Gunhed?
It must be just a name-brand thing..
RippleScythe wrote:I thought it got canceled in the USA and stayed in Japan, mainly for the fact that it was one of those games I saw in magazines but NEVER actually saw on the shelf in public.
Nah, it actually got a US release:

But then again, back in the day I never really saw any TG16 games on shelves in public whenever I was in the US either. And I was actively looking for them!

Ok, I have to resurrect this topic to say how awesome I think this game is. I recently got the Hu-Card, and have been playing it to death for the last couple weeks. It gets many things right that so many shmups don't-- especially shmups from that era:
- Well-paced levels which aren't too long and which have plenty of variety
- An easy mode that will challenge beginners and a nicely balanced hard mode for everyone else. It's tough without being cheap and also adds new shot patterns.
- Weapons are good for different purposes.. there is no useless weapon or an overpowered one.
- Great challenge modes (though I think I like the challenges in Spriggan better)
It kind of blows my mind that I keep reading reviews saying how generic the game is... the gameplay is tight, and certainly less generic than many well-liked arcade shmups imo. And then the graphics and music are both very good.
I do wish though that there had been more levels like stage 3 which feature both ground and air enemies, and that there had been some scoring opportunities in the main game and not just the extra modes.
- Well-paced levels which aren't too long and which have plenty of variety
- An easy mode that will challenge beginners and a nicely balanced hard mode for everyone else. It's tough without being cheap and also adds new shot patterns.
- Weapons are good for different purposes.. there is no useless weapon or an overpowered one.
- Great challenge modes (though I think I like the challenges in Spriggan better)
It kind of blows my mind that I keep reading reviews saying how generic the game is... the gameplay is tight, and certainly less generic than many well-liked arcade shmups imo. And then the graphics and music are both very good.
I do wish though that there had been more levels like stage 3 which feature both ground and air enemies, and that there had been some scoring opportunities in the main game and not just the extra modes.
Humans, think about what you have done
I also love soldier blade, one of the few old-school shmups I really like. It's cool how the type of bomb you have is determined by the weapon you currently have, and using a bomb powers you down.
"I think Ikaruga is pretty tough. It is like a modern version of Galaga that some Japanese company made."
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To compare Soldier Blade to Final Soldier, I'd have to say that the former wins hands down. Although it would've been nice if Hudson Soft released a Super CD-Rom2 version of Soldier Blade with more cool 2D animated scenes (like the opening intro showing the various bits of the Super Interception Airforce (SIA) fightercraft and it's accompaning Gunbody sidekick. Would've been cool to see some animated scenes with the slick Gunbody mecha as well. ^_~
For CIT,
The USA region Toys-R-Us stores sold the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo games back in 1992 through 1995. It was a great time to buy the TG-16 game brand new at clearance prices at the beginning of 1994 and well into the 1995 year timeline with no more than $14.99 to $19.99 USD per game title at the most. ^_~
And get this, it was possible to buy a brand new copy of TTI's uber-rare Magical Chase from a USA based TRU store for a mere $19.99 USD back in 1994. If you bought a few copies brand new, just think of all the extra $$$ to be made selling them nowdays. ^_~
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
For CIT,
The USA region Toys-R-Us stores sold the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo games back in 1992 through 1995. It was a great time to buy the TG-16 game brand new at clearance prices at the beginning of 1994 and well into the 1995 year timeline with no more than $14.99 to $19.99 USD per game title at the most. ^_~
And get this, it was possible to buy a brand new copy of TTI's uber-rare Magical Chase from a USA based TRU store for a mere $19.99 USD back in 1994. If you bought a few copies brand new, just think of all the extra $$$ to be made selling them nowdays. ^_~
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
louisg wrote:I do wish though that there had been more levels like stage 3 which feature both ground and air enemies, and that there had been some scoring opportunities in the main game and not just the extra modes.

Anyways, agreed, one of the best hu-card games and the best of the soldier series.
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PC Engine Fan X! wrote:For CIT,
The USA region Toys-R-Us stores sold the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo games back in 1992 through 1995. It was a great time to buy the TG-16 game brand new at clearance prices at the beginning of 1994 and well into the 1995 year timeline with no more than $14.99 to $19.99 USD per game title at the most. ^_~
And get this, it was possible to buy a brand new copy of TTI's uber-rare Magical Chase from a USA based TRU store for a mere $19.99 USD back in 1994. If you bought a few copies brand new, just think of all the extra $$$ to be made selling them nowdays. ^_~
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
We used to go to the states every year (my family is American, even though we always lived in Europe) and I always wanted to get a Turbo Duo back in the day, but being your average kid Inever had the cash. Then when the system finally became affordable I could somehow never get my hands on one.

However, I came back to fight another day, and got a japanese Duo-R (that I had RGB modded) together with Dracula X years later. So all's well that ends well.

That's not to say it wouldn't have been awesome to have picked up a stash of brand new Magical Chases back in the day.

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Diebythesword
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I also downloaded the game on Wii VC and think it's great. What I like about the game are the varied levels, the bosses and the music of course!
Recently I got inspired by the forum to don't use any continues as much as possible. Downside is that it is more clear now that I suck at shooters basically. For Soldier Blade I haven't finished level 6 on normal without continueing yet.
But I thoroughly enjoy practicing, it seldom frustrates me. It is the journey, not the destination...
Recently I got inspired by the forum to don't use any continues as much as possible. Downside is that it is more clear now that I suck at shooters basically. For Soldier Blade I haven't finished level 6 on normal without continueing yet.
But I thoroughly enjoy practicing, it seldom frustrates me. It is the journey, not the destination...

Re:
Thanks for clarifying that - I was under the impression that only Super Star Soldier got a US release of the Soldier series on PCE/TG16. Of course, now I have the Soldier Collection, so I've been playing that on my PSP. Good times.CIT wrote:RippleScythe wrote:I thought it got canceled in the USA and stayed in Japan, mainly for the fact that it was one of those games I saw in magazines but NEVER actually saw on the shelf in public.
Nah, it actually got a US release:
But then again, back in the day I never really saw any TG16 games on shelves in public whenever I was in the US either. And I was actively looking for them!
Re: Soldier Blade
The game is pretty sucky, but the graphics and music and SFX are top notch.
Re: Soldier Blade
Sweet, I think I finally got st4 (on hard) nailed when starting with no powerups!
Thanks for being specificMX7 wrote:The game is pretty sucky, but the graphics and music and SFX are top notch.
Humans, think about what you have done
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Sengoku Strider
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Re: Soldier Blade
This game's awesome but the Operation 6 boss can die in a fire. Even watching Chinopolis' 1CC run it kills him 5 times.
Ko.oS wrote:obviously the game is still easy
Lies. This is what lying liars telling lies looks like.Kamakazie wrote:I found Normal mode to be pretty easy
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Starfighter
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Re: Soldier Blade
Oh, shoot... I could've sworn I had this game, but it turns out I just have the other two, Super Star Soldier and Final Soldier. And my favorite site for buying PC Engine games is gone. This is not going to eat at me this weekend at all! 

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pablumatic
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Re: Soldier Blade
If you want a cheap legit digital copy you still have until March 27 this year to get it on a Wii U. Otherwise you can buy a PC-Engine Mini from Amazon Japan with it on there. You'll be paying a bit for an original of this one.Starfighter wrote:Oh, shoot... I could've sworn I had this game, but it turns out I just have the other two, Super Star Soldier and Final Soldier. And my favorite site for buying PC Engine games is gone. This is not going to eat at me this weekend at all!
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Starfighter
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Re: Soldier Blade
I'm not unfamiliar with paying up for expensive games once in a while but you know, I just might go the digital route in this case. I'll think it over, thanks for the heads up!pablumatic wrote:If you want a cheap legit digital copy you still have until March 27 this year to get it on a Wii U. Otherwise you can buy a PC-Engine Mini from Amazon Japan with it on there. You'll be paying a bit for an original of this one.
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Sengoku Strider
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Re: Soldier Blade
I bet you don't even have Star Parodier either. You're practically missing a limb. Stumpy.Starfighter wrote:Oh, shoot... I could've sworn I had this game, but it turns out I just have the other two, Super Star Soldier and Final Soldier. And my favorite site for buying PC Engine games is gone. This is not going to eat at me this weekend at all!
Spoiler
No disrespect to anybody missing a limb, particularly anyone with anger issues who got it replaced with bleeding edge deadly 21st century cybernetics.
Or with a copy of Star Parodier.

Or with a copy of Star Parodier.