Final Star Force!?

[Macaw]

And here I was thinking the star force series was forgotten well before the 80's ended when I suddenly come across this game. I've played it a few times now and it certainly isnt all that great, but still... its a star force game!

So is this game widely known and i've just somehow managed to not come across it until now? I think of the star force series as kinda a classic (super star force on the nes is mad awesome) but this 'Final Star Force' has completely taken me by surprise I had no idea star force was revived in the 90's.

[Damocles]

Not all that hot, methinks.

[Andi]

(super star force on the nes is mad awesome)

I have an NES game called Star Force. Is this what you mean by Super Star Force, or are they two different titles?

[CIT]

I much prefer the original over Final Star Force. Star Force feels fast, manic and fresh, even by today's standards. Whereas Final Star Force just tries hard to be old.

[Macaw]

(super star force on the nes is mad awesome)

I have an NES game called Star Force. Is this what you mean by Super Star Force, or are they two different titles?

They are 2 different games. Super Star Force has upgraded graphics and completely different stages and stuff as well as zelda style on foot areas.

[FRO]

Yeah, Final Star Force kinda sucks. I'd say it's pretty awful, actually.

[Andi]

They are 2 different games. Super Star Force has upgraded graphics and completely different stages and stuff as well as zelda style on foot areas.

Interesting. I'd love to buy a copy if I happen to see it somewhere. The "on foot" sections don't seem like my cup of tea, but I'm certainly curious.

[Obiwanshinobi]

(super star force on the nes is mad awesome)

I have an NES game called Star Force. Is this what you mean by Super Star Force, or are they two different titles?

They are 2 different games. Super Star Force has upgraded graphics and completely different stages and stuff as well as zelda style on foot areas.

Turns out there are 2 different original Star Force ports on Famicom/NES: one by Hudson released in Japan and one by Tecmo/Tekhan released in the US. According to the title screen, Hudson also ported it to SG-1000 (horribly choppy scrolling there; I wonder how the MSX port - Hudson again? - compares).
There's one thing about those Hudson ports I admire - polychromatic stars. That's the way I rember stars looked to me when I was very young (disappointment it was no longer the case is one of the very first disappointments I recall, so THAT young).

In contrast, the US version (arguably flashier, but it's 2 years younger) depicts the stars how I've seen them ever since said loss. The music in all three versions is rad.

I can see why it's not reminisced about much around here; it may seem pretty antiquated. What a lively game, though! Isn't it something of the founding Caravan title? Wasn't there a Star Force craze in Japan at some point? How many shmups got two ports for one system? Then the Caravan Shooting Collection came out in 1995, when SFC was yesterday's news.

Final Star Force lagged terribly when I played it on MAME back when. NES/FC ports hold up much better. You can tell there would be no Recca without at least one of them.

[BrianC]

Turns out there are 2 different original Star Force ports on Famicom/NES: one by Hudson released in Japan and one by Tecmo/Tekhan released in the US. According to the title screen, Hudson also ported it to SG-1000 (horribly choppy scrolling there; I wonder how the MSX port - Hudson again? - compares).

Star Force US has some differences in graphics and music, but it's still based off the FC port. There is a claim on you tube that the US version is harder, but the gameplay looked pretty much the same in videos. Hudson had nothing to do with the SG-1000 port. The MSX version is different.

edit: It's interesting how the NES Star Force actually advertises Super Star Force after one of the later stages is beaten. I wonder if it was planned for the US at one point.

[Obiwanshinobi]

My bad, the title screen says "REPROGRAMMED GAME: [copyrtight] SEGA"... but so does the SMS Aleste title screen, which I was told (on here) to be bullshit.

Star Force US has some differences in graphics and music, but it's still based off the FC port.

Looks and sounds (the explosions!) totally different to me.

[BrianC]

Looks and sounds (the explosions!) totally different to me.

I disagree it looks totally different. Some graphics were altered, but some like the ship and some parts of the boss graphics are still the same. It's clear that it uses the Japanese version as a basis. Here is a comparison between the two versions. While it's clear the NES version has music that uses extra channels and some altered graphics (with some graphics being left alone), it's still not completely different.

I'm not completely sure, but I have a feeling that the SMS version of Star Force may have been done by Dempa (don't quote me on this) due to some odd similarities to the SG-1000 Exerion (which is the same as Dempa's MSX version).

[Obiwanshinobi]

The stars make for the biggest difference for me and I'm not sure if the fire rate (or the way it responds to auto-fire) doesn't differ.

[BrianC]

The stars make for the biggest difference for me and I'm not sure if the fire rate (or the way it responds to auto-fire) doesn't differ.

I'm not saying they aren't different, just that they aren't completely different. It seems the message about Super Star Force after the omega target is only in the US version. Because of that message, I'm under the impression that Temco reprogrammed the US version, but used Hudson's version rather than reprogramming from scratch.

edit: watched some more videos and the NES version definitely looks like the harder version. Later stages have more of the tougher enemies and enemies seem to shoot more and move faster.

I forgot to mention I have the SG-1000 port and I like what I have played. Despite the choppy scrolling, it seems to be a solid port of the arcade version.