Blaster Master completion, how long?

[Dylan1CC]

How many hours straight would I have to sit in fornt of my TV to complete it? I love the game since I have owned it this year playing it off and on, but i hear it is somewhat tough to beat since it has no save or password. I have it on my PSP right now but I just feel nostalgic to beat it on my NES instead of using save states.

[Nemo]

If you know where to go, an hour, maybe an hour and 15 mins. It's really not a long game if you only go to the boss dungeons (which is all you need to do), though they can be confusing to find at first. Basically just look for the most obscure location of a dungeon and voila!

[landshark]

Level 5 takes a while as do 7 and 8.

If you do not know where to go and are not familiar with the boss tactics, allow yourself a day at least (I always found that game to be really hard).

[Dewclaw]

I never beat world 5. Had to get out of the sophia and could never find the way to continue! This was before I knew about gamefaqs though.

[steveovig]

I had trouble beating it a couple weeks ago. Even with gamefaqs, I still couldn't get past like Level 5. I must've searched that place over and over and the only other area I couldn't get through was the area at the beginning with the spikes and the high jumps. This is the level where you get the jet aka the ability to float in mid-air.

[Dylan1CC]

Thanks guys. Looks like I will stick to the NES cart and commit myself to this game Sunday evening (my work schedule allows me to sleep in on Mondays)

Then I can save the emu for road trips and the office

[BrianC]

The GBC version adds passwords, if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure how good of a port it is.

[landshark]

Depending on how well you know the game, you may grow angry with the game. It has a limited number of continues if I remember correctly.

Level 5 is a big maze and requires you to get out of yer vehicle and swim a good way to the entrance to the boss's lair.

I think you have to go wayyyyyyyyy down, then left, then wayyyyyyyyy down again, exit and swim through this little crack on the left side of the screen.

[Regulus]

The GBC version adds passwords, if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure how good of a port it is.

I'm pretty sure it's a sequel rather than a port. It's supposed to be similar to the original, though. It looks like it's probably the closest to the original as far as Blaster Master games go, making it probably something closer to a Mega Man sequel, where the gameplay is generally the same, but the stages, bosses, and power ups differ. Of course, I can't really confirm any of this, because I haven't played it.

[BryanM]

AVGN's been using this one in his recent monday filler content. It's... really hard to watch since I have some basic Blaster Master proficiency. Seeing non-spergs fumble around like a greased up monkey trying to learn how to use chop sticks for the first time; it's rough.

Game is hella long, 2 to 3 hours if you're decent and don't suicide to use continues to backtrack faster. This one really should have had a password system.

This is a thing I point out a lot, but Super Mario Brother's warp system is really brilliant. It's a stage select that adds variance to your playthroughs, so you're not doing the same thing over and over every time you play. It serves the same function as random levels in a Diablo clone, or, just a fudge that gets around not having a save or password system.

[SuperSoaker360]

I could never beat the fucking frog for the life of me on the ice level (Area 5 I think?)

[BIL]

DON'T TOUCH ME YOU FILTHY NON-SPERG (・｀W´・)

I can't bring myself to watch their Batman videos. It's like that one Japanese gameshow with the dog wearing a triangle-shaped facemask who has to figure out to use the triangle-shaped opening in the barricade to get delicious bacon. Who gives a shit?

I got into the FC version Metafight recently. Sidescrolling heavy machinery / tiny man action rocks, but those overhead dungeons sections are bland at best. Worth having on balance but I'm a Famicom, sidescrolling and Naoki Kodaka fiend.

META FIGHT [1988 Sunsoft] or Blaster Master without the overseas version's memorably idiotic premise. This game has a woeful problem. The overhead walkabout bits are weak to begin with, but they become utterly pointless once you know which one the area boss is hiding in. Should've associated them with something worth searching for, like permanent inventory upgrades ala Metroid. However, the sidescrolling tank's handling is utterly fantastic, and the overworld is a satisfyingly labyrinthine venue to drive and bounce around in with increasing mobility.

Would be a vastly better game if it'd chopped out all the overhead filler and concentrated on the tank (ultimately, as fun as they are in their respective showcase areas, none of the upgrades feel fully utilised). But on balance it's still good fun. Could've used a password (even a monstrous one like Guardic Gaiden or Downtown Nekketsu's) - it's a bit long for a single sitting.

It's a shame METAFIGHTO didn't get a FC sequel, spiritual or otherwise, circa 1990 when Sunsoft had figured out how to do overhead shooting. Gremlins 2 FC may be a platformer first, shooter second, but its late game tooled-up action is satisfying as hell. Superb Contraesque weaponry and no end of meaty baddies to perforate/incinerate with, and a couple of really good bosses. MF's anemic equivalent is, at very best, tolerable in short doses. Shitty weapons. Bloated, beachball-noggined player sprite. Zero tension. Luckily short doses are exactly what you can limit the badness to with experience. A leisurely ~2hr clear is 95% tankin' now. METAL ATTACKER clearly got all the developer love. Expert balancing of a smidgen's inertia and weight with instantly responsive controls. The way it handles on rough or icy terrain, wheels spinning and suspension bouncing, makes me squee with delight. Heavy machinery sidescrolling this good tied to G2FC calibre shooting would've been a genuine classic. Still a MFN good time, mind.

[BIL]

So I tried META FIGHT EX for the GBC - holy cow, disappointment! It cannot be overstated: the topdown shooting sections choke balls. Most definitely not a BIONIC COMMANDO GB which every fan of the FC original should play.

[Stevens]

I played it a bunch as a kid, but I could never never never finish world 8.

[BIL]

The last area ramps up the difficulty quite a bit. Unlike virtually all of the previous it's a genuinely lethal environment with those killer spikes everywhere and some very aggressive enemies. Needs a practiced route to stave off disaster.

One thing the GBC remake does add is a password, which the FC original could've certainly used. It's such a downgrade otherwise that you're ultimately better off with the FC, though.

[SuperGrafx]

I played it a bunch as a kid, but I could never never never finish world 8.

Same here.
Nothing worse than sitting down and devoting x amount of hours to complete it, only to come up short.
Such was gaming in the 80's.

[BrianC]

This may sound odd, but I'm actually more interested in Bomber King Part 2/Blaster Master Boy than Enemy Below.