| Aladdin | |||
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| Grade: A |
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Last modified 2007/10/12.
The overriding criteria is how fun the game is to play, although control, graphics, and sound are also taken into account. |
Screen shots courtesy of Video Game Museum, GameScreenShots.com, Video Game Advantage.
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I was expecting the typical side-scrolling swordplay from Actraiser, but I got more - a lot more. Actraiser is really two games in one, providing solid platform action along with a heavy dose of Sim City-style strategy. The two parts of the game couldn't be more different, yet are nicely intertwined and engrossing to play. You assume the role of a small cherub aiding the people of six lands rid themselves of monsters and develop their cities. You view their world from an overhead perspective, and use menu icons to communicate with them. To help them overcome obstacles, you can perform "miracles" in the form of rain, lightning, and earthquakes. Constructing cities is easy and fun, and never feels tedious. As your people progress, they provide offerings that serve as power-ups. When it's time to defend the people from monsters, you assume the form of a warrior and embark on some impressive side-scrolling levels. This action is pretty standard but more fun than most hack-n-slash games. The graphics are colorful and attractive, featuring large mythological creatures including minotaurs, centaurs, demons, and walking trees. The difficulty level is very fair, and you can save your progress to battery back-up at any time. Unlike many side scrollers, you won't be frustrated by blind jumps or cheap hits. Another aspect of the game that shines is its music. The wonderful classical score reminded me of Zelda; very elegant and pleasant to listen to. I have to give Actraiser a lot of credit for being two fine games intermingled into one superb package.
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This has got to be the best Disney game I've played on the SNES. Not only are its graphics absolutely beautiful, but Aladdin's gameplay and controls are outstanding. The game is loosely based on the movie's storyline, with Aladdin's adventures taking him through a market place, the Cave of Wonders, a pyramid, and finally, Jafar's Palace. Particularly in the "Genie" levels, the visuals are wonderfully imaginative and colorful. High-quality music plays throughout the levels, and you'll instantly recognize it if you've seen the film. Yes, there is a lot of platform jumping, but this game is more forgiving than most platformers. Should you just miss a ledge, Aladdin will at least hang on the side, giving you a chance to climb back up. There are several areas where you think you've lost a life, only to have something save you at the last moment. In the final boss encounter the villain Jafar transforms into a huge cobra, and it's pretty astounding. A bit of slowdown threatens to mar the otherwise excellent gameplay, but it's not a show-stopper. A password is provided to save your place. I've grown somewhat weary of platform games over the years, but I know a good one when I see it.
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I appreciate its sharp graphics and harrowing sound effects, but Alien 3's gameplay just didn't do it for me. Playing the role of a bald-headed Ripley, you are fully strapped with a pulse rifle, flamethrower, and grenade launcher. Each stage consists of a series of missions you can play in any order. Typically you must rescue prisoners, repair pipes, or destroy alien eggs. You'll explore large rooms of platforms connected by tunnels, and missions often require a lot of tedious backtracking. You actually need to consult a map to scout out the location of your next mission, which seems like a lot of unnecessary work if you ask me. Alien 3's graphics are dark and realistic. Ripley is fluidly animated, but the aliens can be difficult to discern. A superb audio track boasts creepy music and digitized sound effects. Much like the film, Alien 3 fails to build any suspense, partially because the aliens attack early and often. The controls are lousy. I like how you can shoot while hanging from a ceiling or ladder, but most areas are inundated with small creatures, requiring you to constantly squat and shoot low. Getting into that squat position is harder than it should be, as each hit knocks you back upright. Consequentially, those little face grabbers will torment you to no end. Other issues include really bad collision detection. Sometimes you'll miss an alien egg at point-blank range, yet somehow shoot the egg behind it. Technical glitches and tedious missions really drag down this otherwise good-looking title.
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Arkanoid is Breakout for the 90's! It features classic "balls to the wall" action with just about every variation you've ever imagined. Each level has a different brick layout, and certain bricks have special properties, including some that dispense power-ups. These power-ups might change the size of your paddle, provide a temporary forcefield (to help keep the ball in play), or let you shoot the bricks directly with missiles! UFOs buzz around the screen and add even more unpredictability. A two-player simultaneous option is also included. With all these bells and whistles, you might expect this to be the best breakout game ever. Well, not quite. While many of the levels are well-designed, others are pretty dull. Yes there are tons of power-ups, but many just distracting, and their ubiquitous nature make this game far less challenging than it should be. The digital joypad doesn't give you the best control, but the SNES mouse is also supported. Arkanoid is a decent effort, but it's not as madly addictive as I expected.
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This vertical shooter was universally acclaimed upon its release, and it's still just as fun to play today. In fact, Axelay may be the definitive shooter for the SNES. Its five lengthy stages alternate between vertical shooting and side-scrolling action, and most are set over planet surfaces although a few take place in deep space. Axelay's high-resolution graphics are stunning, with so many types of enemies that you rarely see the same one twice. Several weapons are available at any given time, and each is uniquely suited for a particular situation. The centerpiece of this game however is its bosses, which are huge and imposing. The first boss is a gigantic spider, and the second boss is one of the coolest I've ever witnessed, making one heck of an entrance. Axelay is a must-have for any serious SNES collector.
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If you thought Batman Returns was good on the Genesis, you'll be blown away by this remarkable SNES game. With a completely different look and feel, this plays more like Streets of Rage or Final Fight. In contrast to the dark, grainy graphics of the Genesis version, the visuals in this game look bright and crisp. Batman Returns more or less follows the film's storyline, with the Catwoman and Penguin serving as the main villains. The characters are absolutely huge and fluidly animated, and the fighting action is top-notch. Not only can you execute the obligatory punches, jump-kicks, and throws, but you can actually fling enemies into the background scenery! I can't put into words how satisfying it is to toss a thug through a department store window! You'll need to beat down belligerent clowns of all sizes, including fire-blowers, sword-swallowers, jugglers, and skull-headed motorcyclists - to name a few. Should you find yourself between two enemies, you can grab them both and bash their heads together! Superb sound effects accompany the action, so when you slam one evil clown into another, it makes an audible "thud". Your Batarangs and spear gun provide you with projectile attacks, and you also have a supply of "test tubes" that function as smart bombs, obliterating all visible enemies on the screen. The snow-covered Christmas scenery is a joy to behold, and some stages feature nifty lighting effects - very impressive for a 1992 game! The dramatic musical score is outstanding, apparently lifted directly from the film. A Batmobile driving stage is also included, and while it's not nearly as flashy as the Sega CD version, it's still a nice bonus. Is there anything wrong with Batman Returns? Well, Batman looks like he let himself go a bit and picked up about 50 pounds. Also, some gamers may regard the non-stop fighting as repetitive, but in my opinion that comes with the territory. This may be the best Batman game of all time, thanks to its winning combination of tight controls and gorgeous 2D graphics.
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Undeniably good-looking, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs features crisp, colorful graphics and absolutely huge characters. This side-scrolling brawler pits one or two toad warriors against a bizarre assortment of enemies including pigs, wasps, snakes, rats and skeletons. Some of the animals are dressed in funny little outfits, and I love how the skeleton heads bounce in place when you punch them. The bosses can be towering in height, and the "dark queen" is a real eyeful (if you know what I mean, wink wink, nudge nudge). Sadly, good graphics do not necessarily make a good game. The main problem with this Battlemaniacs is its long, repetitive levels. There are five unimaginative stages, starting with an underground cave with pools of lava, followed by a floating disk that descends further into the earth. Hey, I think I've played this game before! You'll face the same enemies over and over, and they require an excessive number of hits to defeat. Worst of all, when you die you have to restart the whole level, which can be excruciating.
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This is an early game by Rare, the company who later produced quality Nintendo 64 titles like Donkey Kong 64 and Perfect Dark. At first glance, Battletoads/Double Dragon seems like another run-of-the-mill side-scroller, with only a few attack options and endless enemy clones. After all, only two buttons on the controller are used. But it didn't take me long to discover loads of fighting techniques that aren't obvious from the start. For example, in the first stage you fight on the surface of a moving spacecraft, and it's possible to hang off the side of the craft as well as knock off hanging enemies. In the second stage you can climb on ladders and wire mesh, and in the third stage you swing from ropes. There's even a speeder-bike level where you kick enemies off of their bikes while trying to avoid obstacles. Each stage feels fully interactive and full of surprises, preventing the action from feeling monotonous. Some of the attack animations are absolutely outrageous. When fighting the blonde women thugs, the toads will grab them by the hair and start kicking them in the butt! Hilarious! As the title indicates, you can select between three Battletoads or the two Double Dragon characters, and the two-player action is definitely where it's at! The graphics are outstanding, and the music is enough to get your adrenaline pumping. For side-scrolling beat-em-up fans, Battletoads/Double Dragon definitely proves to be a winning combination.
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The first thing that caught my attention about Biometal was its music. The title screen plays "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited, which was a popular dance hit in the clubs of the early to mid 90s. While it's a pretty good rendition, the bouncy, high-energy tune seems oddly out of place in a "serious" game like this. Biometal is an unspectacular 2D shooter where you battle legions of huge metallic flying monsters. You're equipped with a gun and missiles, both of which can be upgraded. Personally I prefer the vulcan/homing missile combination. Biometal certainly is challenging, with enemies that appear in hordes and spray missiles all over the screen. You'll die early and often until you learn to harness the power of your "GAM" weapon, which effectively decreases from difficulty from "insane" to just plain "hard as all hell". The "GAM" looks like a bunch of blue spheres circling your ship, and when it's activated, it destroys anything it touches. You can expand its radius or even "throw" it at an enemy, inflicting serious damage. The problem is, once your GAM energy runs out you're toast, so be sure to shut it off whenever you get a breather to let it recharge. Biometal's graphics did not impress me, but at least there's no noticeable slowdown. Your metallic foes all tend to look the same (including the bosses), and the backgrounds are equally boring. The first stage just features a few layers of storm clouds, and it's just plain ugly. Still, the high challenge of Biometal kept me playing for quite a while, so it's hard to complain too much.
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Two-dimensional shooters are one of my favorite types of video games. I thrive on their simple gameplay, satisfying destruction, and the short time commitment required to play most of them. Blazeon is a typical side-scrolling shooter, but not one of the better ones I've played. The first thing I noticed was its distinct lack of color. The initial white, red, and blue color scheme reminded me of those old PC games running in CGA (4 color) mode. Not much to look at, Blazeon features forgettable enemies, unspectacular visual effects, and backgrounds mainly composed of generic space stations. Its gameplay is so typical that there's no need to read any instructions. Your ship is equipped with a normal cannon (press X for rapid-fire) and a special missile weapon. Most of your adversaries are boring pods or cannons, but periodically you'll encounter oversized, mechanical creatures. Defeating one of these beasts and touching its "ghost" lets you assume its hulking form and its considerable firepower. Of course, your enlarged size also means it won't be long before you absorb a few hits and return to your original form. That's different, but Blazeon is still too flawed to even qualify as average. First, you sometimes encounter "blinking" enemy ships that will seriously strain your eyes. Apparently the blinking is supposed to signify that they are in the "background" (hence out of shooting range), but it's just irritating. Later stages are plagued by a serious case of slowdown - even when there's not a whole lot happening on the screen! Finally, the music is pretty "blah", and it just loops over and over. Blazeon is a playable shooter, but it lacks that addictive quality you look for in a game like this.
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Submitted by RPG correspondent Jonathan Hawk
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Submitted by RPG correspondent Jonathan Hawk
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There aren't many bowling games for the SNES, so it's kind of hard to judge this one. Brunswick World Tournament has options out the ying-yang to configure a bowler, tournament, or league. There's even background information about the professional bowlers you can challenge. But that all amounts to window dressing without solid gameplay, and Brunswick didn't exactly set my world on fire. The bland setup screen lets you view the action from up high and behind your bowler, offering a fair view of the lane. From here you can adjust your position and aim the ball. Once set, you hit a button to engage the power and spin meters. At this point everything goes to hell. The animation of the ball rolling down the lane is absolutely appalling, moving in a herky-jerky manner as if it had a schizophrenic mind of its own. The close-up screen showing the ball hitting the pins incorporates realistic physics, but the pins tend to have a flat, cardboard look to them. You can see your bowler's reaction to his roll, but there's little fanfare. Bruswick World Tournament really didn't do much for me, but if you're desperate for a bowling game, this may suffice. Then again, maybe not.
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The SNES edition of Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball is certainly a step up from the mediocre Genesis version in terms of graphics and sound, but it's still pretty bland. In terms of baseball games, it doesn't get much more generic than this! Lacking a major league license, the teams, players, and three stadiums are completely fictional. The single exception of course is Cal Ripken himself, who appears in the game with a .348 batting average and 51 homeruns to his credit - the best year he never had! Don't get me wrong - I'm from Baltimore and I love Cal, but let's get real! The simple pitcher/batter screen is easy to control, with handy windows showing runners on base. In the field, the players tend to be sluggish but have cannons for arms. The outfields are expansive, resulting in an inordinate number of extra base hits. Cal Ripken Baseball's graphics aren't very detailed, but the players look sharp. Perhaps in an attempt to reproduce the grass-cutting patterns you see at many ballparks, the fields sport fat green stripes on the grass that look really, really bad. The control is much better than the Genesis version, except for the diving, which is terribly clumsy. The baseball has a tiny shadow that makes fly balls difficult to track down. In terms of audio, this is a pretty quiet game. Low-key background music plays throughout the contest, and an enthusiastic umpire calls strikes and outs. Cal Ripken Baseball's best feature is the "zoom window" which displays full screen close-ups of exciting plays. These are cool but brief, so don't blink or you may miss them! All in all, this is a repectable baseball game for the SNES, but there's no way it can compete with the faster and more polished Ken Griffey Baseball.
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Submitted by RPG correspondent Jonathan Hawk
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Yuck! It's hard to believe my friends and I actually liked this game at one time. An opportunistic release, Clayfighter came out when one-on-one fighters were at their height, resulting in a short-lived burst of popularity. What was innovative about the game is how it incorporates pseudo-3D "clay-mation" characters never before seen in a video game. The result is a bizarre fighter that's short on gameplay but long on novelty. I will give Clayfighter credit for being imaginative. The well-rendered but unlikeable clay characters include an Elvis impersonator, a scarecrow, a blob, a fat opera woman, and an evil snowman. These are not exactly your usual suspects when it comes to fighting games. They perform some humorous animations and sound bites, including Elvis saying "thank you very much" after winning a bout. When executing their bizarre attacks the fighters will sometimes transform into oversized weapons like hammers and buzz saws. While amusing at first, you can expect a lot of cheap hits and minimal technique. Although the characters are nicely rendered, they lack smooth animation, making it hard to tell what's going on in the heat of battle. You can adjust the game speed, difficulty, and controller configurations. Clayfighter is amusing for the short term, but in the long term it's more irritating than anything else.
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This is one of the more blatant examples of a company trying to cash in twice on the same freakin' game! Besides a new intro and some minor tweaks in the gameplay, this is exactly the same as the first Clayfighter game! There aren't even any new characters! Pass!
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This game is based on a pretty good movie in which Sly Stallone (Gabe) played a mountain climber trying to save his friends from the evil Qualen, played by John Lithgow. Cliffhanger isn't nearly as bad as it should have been. I say that because it contains so many shameless 2D fighting game cliches. Henchmen all look the same but wear different colored outfits. When killed, they simply flash and disappear. You're asked to make impossible leaps with little margin of error. The list goes on. Still, Cliffhanger has enough positive traits to pull it through. First and foremost, there's a lot of snow, and for some reason snow always looks great in video games. The action is mainly a side-scrolling affair, but there are a few unconventional stages that let you scale the side of a mountain or run from an avalanche (please kids - don't try this at home). Fighting thugs with punches and kicks seems pretty boring at first, but you'll need to employ some technique to defeat a converging gang. It helps if you can grab their knives and machine guns to use against them. The worst parts of the game force you to make difficult leaps, in which one false move will cost you a life. With the exception of those tricky areas, I actually enjoyed playing Cliffhanger. There are continues available, but they sometimes take you way back to the beginning of a stage! My buddy Eric has actually made it to the final showdown with Qualen, and he says it's well worth the effort. So keep making those leaps of faith!
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Make no mistake - College Slam is nothing more than a blatant attempt by Acclaim to milk its aging NBA Jam franchise for all it's worth. Simply replacing the NBA players with college players sounds pretty easy (and lame), but Acclaim couldn't even get that right! Players are identified by number, but Acclaim didn't bother making them look or play as they do in real life! Don't be surprised if your favorite player is inexplicably wearing goggles or isn't the correct skin color! My friend Eric is a die-hard college basketball fan, and he was totally disgusted with College Slam. In the one-player mode, you can't even select your opponent - the computer chooses it randomly! The crowd is a bit more defined and there are some cheerleaders on the sideline, but the gameplay is still a poor man's NBA Jam. There's really no good reason to purchase this pathetic rehash. Note: At Best Buy, this game initially came with a free "so-bad-it's-funny" video called "Slams, Rams, and Jams" featuring a few minutes of old grainy footage of unremarkable plays. As low quality as it was, it actually had more entertainment value than this game.
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Okay, who's looking for non-stop, rapid-fire action? How about huge hulking bosses and ridiculous explosions? Can I interest you in snazzy 3D effects and general mass destruction? Well in that case it sounds like you're in the mood for Contra III: The Alien Wars. As one of the better shoot-em-ups for the SNES, this game has it all! One or two players can blast their way through six harrowing missions to save the planet from invading aliens. Besides firing at everything that moves, you'll leap over fireballs, hang from rails, and perform death-defying somersaults. You're also equipped with a few smart bombs, and can even commandeer tanks and plow right through those alien bastards. Although mainly a side scroller, two missions offer an overhead view, providing a nice change of pace. The bosses look absolutely disgusting. Contra's controls take a bit of getting used to at first, especially when it comes to dropping to the ground. The game offers a few continues, but no passwords, so your journey is going to be a long one. But at least with Alien Wars, you know it's worth the effort.
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I wasn't very impressed with Cybernator back in 1993 when my buddy Steve brought this game over to my house. I did however appreciate the tremendous amount of destruction you could unleash. You control an oversized "mech" robot with its jet propulsion and loads of firepower. Each stage provides plenty of enemy robots and armaments for you to blast before facing some big mechanical boss. There are multiple weapons, power-ups, and everything else that you would expect in a shooter like this. Unfortunately, the storyline sometimes gets in the way by forcing you to scroll through endless text (Do you mind? I'm trying to blow stuff up here!). Although the screen tends to get overcrowded with large objects, the graphics are high quality and the explosions look exceptional. The controls are fair (every button is used), but navigating around enclosed areas can be awkward. The high energy music is a big plus. In retrospect, Cybernator is much better than I ever gave it credit for. I guess I owe Steve an apology.
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Afflicted by rampant slow-down, excessive choppiness, and unforgiving collision detection, this is the kind of early SNES shooter that your mother warned you about. The action begins with your helicopter taking off from a scaling aircraft carrier surrounded by unsightly water rendered with pixilated diagonal blue lines. You're immediately accosted by hopelessly generic enemy aircraft, and their explosions are less than convincing. The sprites are sizeable, and your helicopter makes for a huge target. You can accumulate some serious firepower by gathering icons, eventually spraying bullets across half the screen. The sound effects of your missiles firing however sound like someone tapping their fingers on a table! As a general rule, you'll want to hold down the fire button to engage rapid-fire, and stay away from the bottom edge of the screen where jet fighters attempt to ram you without warning. Mixed in with the normal shooting stages are "exploration" stages that let you use the triggers to toggle between high and low altitudes as you blast dinosaurs in a prehistoric world. It sounds like a good idea on paper, but in practice it's a mess as you increase altitude only to collide with giant birds you didn't know were there. Even more disturbing is how you're expected to blow the heads off of triceratops on the ground. D-Force seems fun at first, with a high level of difficulty that keeps you coming back for more. Once you reach the more hectic stages however, the framerate goes to hell and you'll often find yourself exploding for no apparent reason. Upon losing your last life, there's a sorry sequence showing your copter spiraling down into some insanely pixilated "foliage" below. D-Force has a catchy theme song, but it gets repetitive in short order. The raw challenge of D-Force commanded my attention for a while, but technical glitches force me to give this a D.
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This game should be right up my alley, considering my affinity for occult themes, and the fact that this is a spin-off of the excellent Ghouls and Ghosts series. I've also been advised that this game was preceded by two Gargoyle's Quest games for the GameBoy and NES. Demon's Crest was widely praised by the media, but I don't think it's all that. You control a red demon that can shoot fireballs and hover over the landscape. Later he acquires "crests" which endow him with additional powers, including the ability to slow time, fly high in the air, or swim. The action begins with a boss encounter against a huge zombie dragon which makes a rather dramatic (and frightening) appearance. It certainly grabs your attention, but it's probably not the best way to start a game like this. Upon completing the initial graveyard stage, you glide freely over a pixelated countryside to select your next challenge. Demon's Crest excels in presentation, but its gameplay could be better. Navigating through the graveyards and castles of the early stages is no problem, but too many advanced stages are covered with thorns that are hard to avoid. The controls are touchy, so trying to navigate spiked labyrinths is frustrating. Your demon's size makes it difficult to avoid incoming projectiles, and he can only shoot forward, often unable to hit objects in clear view. Switching crests (powers) can only be done from a menu screen. Why isn't there a button assigned to that? There's no pause button either, which is annoying for reviewers trying to take notes (curses!). In general, I found Demon's Crest too difficult. Its production values are outstanding however, with well-defined graphics and stereo effects so realistic they caught me off-guard. Upon hearing the howl of a ghost, I actually looked around to make sure there wasn't someone else in the room with me! The creepy organ music is also very effective. Flickering torches give castle ruins an eerie glow, and graveyards are overgrown with twisted trees and shrouded in mist. A twelve-character password allows you to save your progress. Demon's Crest is certainly a feast for the eyes and ears, but is it enough to overcome the difficulty and frustration?
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A blockbuster hit, Donkey Kong Country literally changed the face of video games in 1994. Although its gameplay borrows heavily from Super Mario Bros, its groundbreaking graphics and animation blew everything else out of the water. Country's gameplay is strictly 2D, but its characters and backgrounds are rendered as textured 3D objects, giving them almost a puppet-like appearance. And not only are the characters huge, but their animations are laugh-out-loud funny. Donkey Kong Country screams of quality through and through, with tight controls and imaginative, well-constructed stages. One or two players can control Donkey Kong and little Diddy Kong on their trek through jungles, caves, and even underwater! Although you tend to pounce on most enemies, the ability to toss barrels at them is also a lot of fun. You can actually "ride" some of the animals you encounter (like the rhino and shark), and there's even a crazy minecart-on-the-loose stage. The soundtrack is catchy as hell and the sound effects are amazing. When you first encounter Diddy, he's stuck in a barrel and his muffled yells sound incredible. The cave stages even feature an echo! A battery back-up lets you save up to three games at a time. With its flashy graphics and quality gameplay to match, Donkey Kong Country is truly a classic.
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Playing Doom on the SNES is like playing Warcraft on the Saturn. Sure it's possible, but why subject yourself to such a poor version of the game?? I suppose back in 1993 this cartridge allowed people without a PC get a taste of what this popular first person shooter was all about, but this is downright shoddy compared to the real thing. The graphics are terribly pixilated, the animation is choppy, and your movements lag far behind your commands. It's a real mess, and I couldn't stomach it for more than a few minutes. The best thing I can say about Doom for the SNES is that it comes in a snazzy-looking red cartridge. In 2003, there's really no good reason to play this game, considering any other version is going to be far better. Why are you even still reading this review? There's nothing to see here - please disperse.
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Hockey Night had some serious potential, but lousy controls puts this game on thin ice. The action can be viewed from two angles (side and vertical), but the vertical view is far more impressive because it features scaling 3D players. The player animation is quite realistic by 16-bit standards, and the digitized sound effects are also noteworthy (although that organ music can get annoying). As for the controls, the speed burst control isn't too effective, and it's a bad idea having it assigned to the same button as "shoot". More often than not you'll steal the puck during a body check and accidentally shoot it the length of the floor! The poke and hold buttons are pretty useless, but Hockey Night's biggest problem is selecting the right player. The "change player" button is woefully unresponsive, and by the time do you get the right guy, it's time to switch again! Scoring is easy compared to real hockey, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Hockey Night is loaded to the brim with options, including a battery backed-up full season mode. Too bad there's no instant replay feature - that would have been ideal. If Hockey Night's controls had been tightened up a bit, this could have been a contender, but this simply can't compete with NHL 94.
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This might have been a perfectly good side-scrolling shooter, but Earth Defense Force (EDF) is marred by unbalanced gameplay. It's the shame the developers didn't take a little time to tweak the weapons and difficulty. You begin EDF by selecting from one of eight weapons, and I personally recommend the guided missiles. Since many enemies approach from behind, weapons that only fire forward are pretty worthless. The game's forgettable stages include a cloudy blue sky, an underground river, and an ugly city skyline. There's plenty of parallax scrolling, but the scenery lacks detail and generally looks like garbage. You'll face a wide array of flying mechanical beasts, but most require an inordinate number of hits to destroy. The first stage is nearly insurmountable, especially since you only have a single ship to work with. Yes, you have a shield, but there's no audible cue when you take a hit! In the unlikely event that you survive the first stage with powers-ups intact, you'll likely cruise through the rest of the game. Yes, EDF is one of those "all or nothing" games where you'll suck for ten games, and then get lucky and plow through the entire thing. Slowdown is a factor, but it can be a blessing in disguise, making projectiles much easier to dodge. Despite its old-school flavor, EDF's soundtrack is poor, and sometimes cuts out for no discernable reason. Earth Defense Force might keep shooter fans occupied for a little while, but much of that time will be spent contemplating how much better this should have been.
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