A nice tidy example of a PC Engine vertical shooter with a surprisingly high difficulty level. Think Super Star Soldier but stripped down to the bare bones and a ramped up in the difficulty stakes and you won't be far wrong.

Gameplay.....

Now i'm not a tolerant person at the best of times and this game really plays up to my short gaming temper. Tantrums have been brimming just under the surface in every session of this game I have played and i'm ashamed to say that my lovely briefcase setup has been in mortal peril on more than one occasion.

That said, this is a great little game that I have enjoyed playing immensely, so please don't walk away with the impression that it's pap. It's not.

So why the temper tantrums? Well this game is hard. Very hard. In fact, more than that, it's unfair. I'll qualify this statement with a list of reasons:

1) Each level tends to throw a lot of enemies at you which generally move very quickly and fire very quickly.

2) When the two things above combine that means lots of fast moving bullets a lot of the time.

3) There are a lot of sections where the level puts you in confined spaces and throws lots of fast bullets at you (e.g. the mid level boss on Level 2).

4) Level 2 throws asteroids at you which can't be destroyed with enemies weaving in and out of them and firing at you.

5) Enemies often come flying up behind you from the bottom of the screen without warning.

6) All the enemies and bullets considered, your ship still explodes as soon as it hits anything and the shield pick up only lasts 1 hit.

You may have noticed that speed is mentioned a lot here. In fact I would argue it is the main contributor to the difficulty of this game - whether its enemies, bullets or the level itself (i'm thinking of level 3s zig-zagging corridors in particular here).

Now you may think that this sounds like a lot of other shooters and to some extent you'd be right but I still think this is more unfair than a lot of games - you'll see what I mean when you play it.......

......because, play it you should. This game is great. 

Yes it's hard, yes there are only 3 types of main weapon and no they can't be powered up. But despite all these annoyances there is something about this game that just makes you want to keep playing it. I know I shouldn't like it but I do, and having read other opinions of this game on the interweb, so do a lot of other people.

Why it's so good is hard to pinpoint. 

Having given it a lot of thought I have decided it's because, for every annoyance there is a balancing positive which makes for a well rounded shooting experience. 

For example, the speed and control of your ship is smooth and quick, the sub weapon pickups (homing lasers, diagonal firing lasers, diagonal firing bullets or homing shooty pods) are very nice and make life a lot easier, explosions are satisfying and above all else, the satisfaction of getting out of a particularly tricky part unscathed is immense. This game has had me swearing and taunting at exploding bosses more than any other shooter I can think of.

Like many of it's contemporaries, when you die in Nexzr you are set back to pre-determined start points rather than being allowed to carry on, however unlike the Gradius' of this world you do stand a fighting chance despite all your weapon pick-ups being lost. This is mostly to do with the fact that they don't bolster your firepower an enormous amount as in other shooters of this ilk.

Additionally, should you feel the urge to continue (*cough, splutter*) once all lives are depleted, you are set back to the beginning of the level rather than the last re-spawn point, testing your skill rather than your luck.

The accessibility of the game is also a big plus point in this age of mad scoring/chaining/scratch/dodging systems and bamboozling power-ups. This game is the epitome of shooting simplicity. 3 types of main weapon (Normal shot, Heavy Rapid shot and 3 way) plus the 4 sub-weapons mentioned above. Just keep your finger on the fire button and kill everything that moves, making sure to give flying bullets a wide berth (when you're not squeezed into a tight space, obviously). 

The Visuals.....

I personally think the visuals in this game are excellent. This is really down to stylistics rather than the intricacy of the sprite details and level backgrounds - this is running on a PC Engine after all. 

Levels are nicely varied and the bosses look suitably hulking and mechanical. Sprites are often small and look all the better for it, and there are some very nice backgrounds (Level 1s background laser effects and Level 2s planet-in-the-distance look are particularly noteworthy).

Your weapons are rather understated but are nicely drawn.

Stylistically this lies somewhere between Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade.

Not the nicest looking PCE shooter but nice nonetheless.

Music.........

The music is particularly good. Like the game itself, I shouldn't like it, it's fairly light and poppy and not at all adrenaline inducing (although the boss encounter tune turns the happy level music suddenly dark and oppressive). However the tunes are catchy and nicely arranged.

I have found myself being reminded of aha tunes when listening to it - i'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

In Conclusion.....

I think i've said it all above really. Very hard, bordering on unfair but fun, satisfying and stylish.

A worthy addition to any shooter fan's PC Engine CD collection.

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