Saturday, November 29, 2014

Friday, November 14, 2014

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Blazing Lazers (Turbografx-16, 1989)

The final game of Shooter Week is a legendary, revered, beloved retro shooter. It's from Hudson Soft rather than Compile, but it sure does have a lot in common with the Aleste series. Mainly Super Aleste, which this game is closer to than any of the other shooters that I've played this week. That's right, I had to go to the Turbografx-16 (a system I've never played anything on before) to find a game that might be on par with my beloved Space Megaforce. I'd still put this game in second-place, but it isn't far off.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Super R-Type (Super NES, 1991)

Time for one of my favorite SNES shooters. The R-Type series, from Irem, was sorta the Ross Perot of the shooter universe circa the 1990s. Not as popular or well-known as Gradius and not as beloved by the hardcore as the vertical Compile games. It spans five games (that I know of...there may be more) and while it's side-scrolling, it has a number of innovations that set it apart from (and even surpass at times) the Gradius games.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Gradius 3 (Super NES, 1991)

One of the Super NES's coolest launch titles, and one of Konami's many fine moments. That said, it's not without problems. Shooter Week rolls on!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Gradius Galaxies (Game Boy Advance, 2001)

I've come to the conclusion that Konami shooters are the Final Fantasy of shooters, while Compile shooters like Zanac, Gun Nac, and Aleste are the Dragon Quest of shooters.

Time for a portable (and late-era) entry in the Final Fantasy of shooter serieses. Spoiler Alert: There will be shooting.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Grindhouse Double Feature: Nemesis (Game Boy, 1991)

Today I'm looking at another pair of portable games. Nemesis was a Game Boy version of Gradius, not unlike how Operation C is a Game Boy version of Contra. Konami likes to do that.

It isn't a straight port, but rather its own similar-yet-different game. It also got a hard-as-hell sequel in the same year, but only in Japan and Europe.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Grindhouse Double Feature: GG Aleste (Sega Game Gear, 1991 and 1993)

 
It's Day Two of Shooter Week. Time for Compile's next major followup to Zanac. The original Aleste was a Sega Master System game, called Power Strike in the U.S.

It was ported to the MSX, Mega Drive, and Game Gear, and the ports later got a sequel. Out of all of these potential options, I chose to play the Game Gear versions simply because they were the easiest to emulate get ahold of.

These are, of course, the predecessors to Super Aleste, known in the West as the rad Space Megaforce

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Zanac (NES, 1987)

Space shooter week begins with one of the great early shooters from Compile. This game is legendary...and incredibly difficult. Ask your doctor if Zanac is right for you! (Protip: It probably isn't)

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals #5 - Sinistrals of Anarchy

Today on Lufia 2... our heroes climb mountains, as the repetitive litany of tower/cave/tower/cave is broken! Also, we repeatedly beat Idura senseless. The Sinistral MC won't be pleased with their prospect. The Crow Flies Straight!