Bio-Hazard Battle.

zaphod · Post by **zaphod** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:15 am

This old genny shooter (made into ana rcade in te uk!) is quite the interesting one. it's a "manic memorizer" believe it or not. it has 4 ships, which have different combinations of special weapons and charge shots, so it's got a lto of replayability. when you beat it with on wship, then you can try another where your old tactics may not work so well.

The thing that stands out the most, though, is the fact that two of the normal ships (the two on the right) get - i kid you not - a homing laser. Yes, the same thick beam that curves and tracks at all angles you've seen in some shooters aimed at you. Except this one is longer and moves MUCH faster, so that even the fast enemies have trouble dodging it
! The other weapons are quite creative too (except for the crappy green one).

ANyway it' quite fun, and the collision dtection is very fair. that's not to say the levels design is, as there WILL be times you will die if you haven't seen that part of the level before, but that's forgivable in a console shooter.

Oh, and it has 2 player simultaneous play, for double the fun. and yes both players can get the homing laser if they pick the two ships on the right.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:07 am

I actually started playing this again yesterday... The number of bullets that enemies fire at you really takes a big jump at stage 4 (or the 3 real stage), it was a cakewalk up to that point.. But I STILL keep missing the 1UP in stage 2...

I'm a sucker for the homing laser too, it's my key to survival.

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:15 am

ThunderForce elitists will hate me for saying this, but... BHB is my personal favorite Genesis shmup.

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:44 am

Great game. I still break it out now and then.

Alpolio · Post by **Alpolio** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:17 am

That is one cool shooter! I can still remember the day when I picked up BHB at Babbages. I couldn't believe my luck at finding a new shooter and as soon as I paid for it, I went straight home to try it out. And playing it for the first time was awesome!

And it's one of the few 16-bit games that I still play today. It has some of the best 16-bit graphics & audio out there -- stage 3's jungle beat bgm is fantastic! And it's one of the first shmups that I remember playing that filled the screen with baddies that were bigger than my ship! How the Genesis was able to do that without choking still amazes me today!

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:50 am

i got rid of my copy a while ago with my megadrive (boooo) but it was really dodgy and hardly worked anyway so i'm on a quest to find it again. i think i'm going to go on a quest to collect the megadrive shmups in good condition and nothing else. that way i can avoid my age old problem of buying too much to play and then instead of playing, i'd look at the games and think maybe later...

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:03 pm

i've said it before, but the best thing about this game is the japanese title (which is "crying"), and the music is alright too. the game itself is pants.

zaphod · Post by **zaphod** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:44 am

Bah, you just aren't used to playig fast paced memorizers. (laugh) How can yu not like a game that gives you a homing aser? (laugh)

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 6:48 pm

iatneH wrote:I actually started playing this again yesterday... The number of bullets that enemies fire at you really takes a big jump at stage 4 (or the 3 real stage), it was a cakewalk up to that point.. But I STILL keep missing the 1UP in stage 2...

I'm a sucker for the homing laser too, it's my key to survival.

What makes this game survivable is the amount of slowdown - particularly with 2 players. I can clear the game with my old roommate on the hardest difficulty with only losing 2 or 3 lives. Stage 4 just fucking DRAAAAAGS. You have tons of time to see all the bullets and easily swerve by them.

Great game though.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:31 pm

I've always felt that in a sea of 'generic' Genesis shooters, this one takes the cake for being the lamest.

Maybe if the monsters had more detail, or something to make it fun. The music was creepy in some stages.

TVG · Post by **TVG** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:40 pm

BH is pretty good, innovative weapons and hella fast paced action.

ennemies dont lack detail man, if there's one thing this hame has, it's the amazingly detailed ennemies.

but i guess its one of these games you shouldnt judge on the first stage alone (which is more like an intro than a stage)

Alpolio · Post by **Alpolio** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:50 pm

LoneSage wrote:I've always felt that in a sea of 'generic' Genesis shooters, this one takes the cake for being the lamest.

Maybe if the monsters had more detail, or something to make it fun. The music was creepy in some stages.

If BHB's monsters had more detail? I just grabbed a couple of screen shots.

If you see a game thats got better looking mosters than this, you're probably looking at a Saturn game.

Xexyz · Post by **Xexyz** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:06 am

BHB was one of the games that got me into collecting for classic discontinued systems, so I've got no beef with it. Heck, I love the game. It's a solid hori with a reverse movement pod which takes a little getting used to. And the detail is great for a 16-bit shmup. Lacking in detail?... pfft.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:02 am

Alpolio wrote: If you see a game thats got better looking mosters than this, you're probably looking at a Saturn game.

You're right; I guess I had just forgotten how good the enemies look.
I must have been thinking of the backgrounds or something, because I remember thinking last time I played the game I thought "Wow, how bland.." for the backgrounds.

I did like that part with the flies circling shit in the city? Or perhaps I'm imagining that as well.

ROBOTRON · Post by **ROBOTRON** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:13 am

BHB looks awesome, I don't have that yet.

*goes ebaying*

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:47 am

We need more threads with retro screenshots. I love em.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 5:01 am

I found a nice Genesis 3 console for cheap today and was thinking of playing Contra HC on it. Maybe I'll play BHB instead.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 5:08 am

I noticed how a BHB thread pops around here periodically. Either from people who just bought it for a dollar or veterans who'd like to discuss it more.

I believe this is because this game is ace. Truly one of the genesis hidden gems. Oh, and it has 2 player mode, too.

Post by **system11** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 5:55 am

This was one of my old Megadrive favourites too, it felt different to everything else. Then again, I also through Alyssia Dragoon rocked, so what do I know?

MadSteelDarkness · Post by **MadSteelDarkness** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:08 am

I put this down as the shmup I'd most like to see a sequel to. But upon reflection, perhaps it's best to have this one unique gem, without any subpar sequels to soil its' reputation.

This game rocks. And the music is fantastic.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:28 am

bloodflowers wrote:This was one of my old Megadrive favourites too, it felt different to everything else. Then again, I also through Alyssia Dragoon rocked, so what do I know?

I don't see contradiction... Alisia Dragoon does indeed rocks!!

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:40 am

Alisia Dragoon kicks ass, she will be my wife!

TVG · Post by **TVG** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:33 am

alisia dragoon kicks copious amount of ass.

+1

Alpolio · Post by **Alpolio** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:15 am

I was talking about Bio Hazard Battle with a Gamestop clerk a few months ago, and he thought that I was talking about the import version of Resident Evil. OMG... what is this world coming to???

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:49 pm

I resurrect this old thread 'cause there's no need to open another. Anyway, I was testing some roms, and I noticed that the japanese version of BHB, "Crying" doesn't seem to use one of the three MD buttons for autofire... Can anyone confirm this?

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:04 pm

I,m not big on horizontals but I got some fun out of this game I love the soundtrack it has allot of traditional old genesis beep and sweeps that I love great game and I believe out of all the 2-D hardcore games I,ve seen or played this by far has the most segemented enemies I,ve seen ever.

overdrive · Post by **overdrive** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:14 am

BHB is a personal favorite of mine. I loved the stages, the monsters and the weaponry that game had. It just had an awesome vibe to it, especially with little touches like taking the standard "big battleship" level and spicing it up a bit by having that ship infested with worms and stuff. You'd blow off a chunk of it and see these worm-like tendrils protruding from the main part.

Most of the early levels did a great job creating the image of you being on a planet just like Earth that has been overrun by genetically mutated insects, plants and small animals. The enormous pea pods in the background of the third level were a nice little touch to show someone tampered with science and......that might not have been the smartest thing to do....

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:58 am

*Covers ears and runs away* NOOOOOOOOO! Take it away, please! AAAAAAAH!

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:49 am

I personally like BHB-- not sure how some on this thread can say it's the worst 16-bit shooter and things like that. Really, there was an endless stream of totally atrocious shooters for the 16-bitters (especially some of the jp-only ones like Rock On).

Now I want to play this again =)

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:42 am

i managed to find it again on ebay for a few quid and it is indeed a great game. when i'm finished with the games i'm currenty playing i may finally put some serious time into it for a 1cc attempt. i just hate doing the first bit every time i die... move up a bit, wait for a minute, move down a bit wait for a minute etc...