Blaster Master Zero (PC, 2019)
Graphics-8 Sound-8.5 Control-7.5 Challenge-6.5/8.5* Story-6
Level Design-7 Frustration-6/9* Fun-7 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
*Destroyer mode
+
Can now switch between main weapon types gained during the top down segment
Adds a good map system (marks dungeon (TD view areas) doors (different types are color coded) and seen item locations, marks the next main objective/boss dungeon, optional layout+point of interest location revealing maps found in mini-dungeons)
Some new weapons (Jason: shotgun, shot that goes through enemies and walls, rapid fire+long range shot w/ a minor spread - kinda weak, projectile shield which reflects shots*, slow electric shot with a chain reaction on hit - takes out crowds of smaller enemies, flamethrower; Sophia (tank): three charge shots (piercing laser, 2 tiles wide shot, cannon shot - AoE blast that can hit breakable blocks below you+destroy spike hazards in the OW, super charge shot - cool but takes too long to charge up)
New sub weapons (while in Sophia: shield mine - placeable projectile shield (not that useful besides in parts of area 7); as Jason (the pilot): mines that the player triggers, flash bomb - freezes enemies on screen+lights up a couple of dark dungeons, decoy turret - kinda inefficient at attacking but does help with the spongy guards in area 7, artillery strike/remote blast (choose up to 15 targets in 10 seconds for the tank to shoot at in the dungeons while the game is paused, doesn't quite make sense but it's useful and looks cool))
Life bar upgrades
Some shortcuts for avoiding backtracking
Strafing (BM1 NES) and diagonal top down view movement
The less efficient TD view weapons in the NES game were replaced
Some fun new level gimmicks (conveyor belts in the overworld that trigger platforms/walls in area 3 - MM10, tidal water bits in area 4 is a decent one as well - Castle of Illusion, pretty good platforming puzzles in area 6/ice area - breakable ice blocks+some in areas 7-8, basic stealth element (enemies with flashlights and moving search lights in a few rooms, pretty much optional) - BM: Blasting Again, final area's "water" tiles (similar to Skyblazer or Ecco 2) mixed with minor wall/ceiling climbing puzzles, chase sequence before the final boss fight)
Good main bosses overall from area 3 onwards
Some side view bosses
Mini-bosses (too easy overall though)
Adds some new tank moves (multi jump (jump over and over for as long as you have ammo) - can't equip it and flight at the same time but can switch after double jumping, tank's speed boost from BM: Blasting Again (PS1) returns as a dash attack which can also be used to dodge+be used in mid-air)
Some large scale environmental effects (water level lowering in area 4, covering most of an area in ice in area 6 - freezes water and creates ice blocks in some parts+makes surfaces slippery)
Pretty satisfying impact from hitting and getting hit+most weapons
Wall- and ceiling climbing can now be toggled (was automatic on NES)
Good sense of vulnerability during some pilot only OW segments
A bit of foreshadowing of later rooms (area 5) - could've had a bit more
Decent intro and ending cutscenes
New game+ and unlockable boss rush mode
Two alternate playable chars (gunvolt and another one - slightly different out of tank moves, shovel knight and shantae can be bought as DLC)
+/-
Mostly linear structure (linear area to area progression from areas 1-8, mostly straightforward and short dungeon areas but they do get more maze-like later on, some optional dungeons for more sub weapons, linear areas 3-4+7 besides the 1-2 optional mini-dungeons in each)
Frequent save points and checkpoints (lose exploration and collection progress after dying) - save points can only be used once per visit to the overworld however (need to enter a dungeon and go back to re-activate one). Can also save via the select menu which makes you respawn outside the last dungeon you visited
Remake/remix of the NES game (first area and parts of others are heavily based on the original besides the dungeon areas, same intro story)
No mini-map (BM: Blasting Again) but there's a signal in the HUD which changes color and starts flashing as you get close to the next sub goal
Pretty frequent comments by the player char on what's happening and what to do next such as after finishing dungeons
Somewhat easier bosses (even easier in 2-player)
Slowly regenerating sub weapon ammo for the tank here
Optional radio communications from Eve after rescuing her in area 2
Main weapon still gets downgraded with each hit taken in the top down view segments at first however in the 2nd area you gain a 1 HP shield (energy guard) against this which regenerates over time
Destructible enemy spawner machines in some rooms (these and the enemies respawn whenever you exit a room)
Sometimes you find the area map a bit too early which lowers the sense of exploration (it also reveals hidden paths, optional to grab it but you don't know which dungeon it'll be in and you'll probably not wanna leave a dungeon with nothing after finding one)
Can't teleport out of beaten dungeons (do it automatically when first beating the boss in one, the boss doesn't respawn either) nor teleport out of bossless dungeons but they're generally very short - what you can do instead is save and quit and you'll reload at the entrance
No sub weapon upgrades nor sub weapon/flight/multi jump ammo capacity upgrades (BM: Blasting Again)
No difficulty options but there is an unlockable hard mode (destroyer mode - enemies take more hits to kill+shoot at you when destroyed+drop fewer items+dungeon enemies are immune to most of your weapons+your dungeon weapons upgrade slower, too hard compared to normal unfortunately)
The flamethrower and the slow electric bolt being the next weapons from the right means you're likely to take another two hits after losing the best weapon in dungeons unless you pause and switch
Could've added jumping (BM: Blasting Again) or HLD-style dashing to the TD view engine
-
Over the top fall damage as Jason - die from falling about 5 tiles down
Some control/interface issues (can't place map markers - ability gated paths(+walls within rooms) aren't marked w/ specific icons so you'll have to memorize/note what is needed at each (not that many of these though), can't aim while standing still, pretty slow crawling as the pilot+no jump height control, somewhat floaty tank movement - move a bit more after letting go of the d-pad+stay airborne for pretty long when jumping, flamethrower's shot arc is a bit weird (goes back and forth without player control)+makes you move slower+resets its fire if you change direction, can't switch between flight and multi jump on the fly, moving between rooms cancels a charge shot, short invincibility time after taking a hit in the tank, grabbing the ladder inside a stream leading to the turret sub weapon's dungeon (area 5) and during the area 7 boss is overly tricky - took me about 3 times each, can only view the current area on the map screen, unskippable staff roll, *shield should've been a main weapon since it can be bad when the game switches to it during a boss fight)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (easy bee swarm boss in the second area+second area in general, easy area 3 turret mini-boss, very easy area 4 salamander boss, easy larger bosses in area 5 (underwater), bit of a difficulty spike in area 7's dungeons, cool but easy area 7 boss, pretty easy first form of mutant lord/kinda cheap second form, kinda easy final boss)
The 2-player co-op mode isn't that good (asymmetric style where the second player just aids the first by using a crosshair like in a light gun game, can only hit enemies as well - not break blocks or pick up items, can switch between 1p and 2p each time you load a save though which is nice)
Some pointless dead ends in dungeons and the overworld if you're at full health/ammo/main weapon upgrades (and some dungeons only exist for refilling these, works a bit better in hard mode but even there you could grind on regular enemies usually)
Can't use any upgraded jason weapons nor his sub weapons in side view/the overworld - feels arbitrary even if he's meant to be weaker here
Repeats some bosses and enemies in the late game (nearly all area 8 enemies are repeated without being made more challenging)
Most overworld enemies in area 4 are repeats from area 1
Doesn't add enough complexity to dungeons/td view areas (no puzzles) nor add more intensity and challenge to them (see Smash TV for example, even at area 5 they're pretty easy because of the OP wave beam+energy guard - otoh some enemies would be spongy without it). Besides stealth in area 7 but it's a bit overdone
Some tedious parts (backtracking to the top of area 4 and later from area 6 to area 3 via area 1, some zig zag paths in the dungeons and no movement speed upgrades here, some slow moving platforms in area 5, most of the switch puzzles in area 7 feel kinda pointless and slow, relies a bit too heavily on stealth segments with spongy enemies if you get caught in the area 7 dungeons, some slow out of tank parts in the final area, boss gauntlet in the final area)
Some trial & error (game doesn't explain that only the flamethrower breaks the small blue rocks in area 4's dungeons - also melts ice and spikes in area 6 though that's kind of obvious (although it is inconsistent how bombs don't have the same effect), some boss patterns, some shots from off screen)
A few temporary points of no return (area 2 IIRC)
Flash bombs could've been used in a more interesting way (just a key for lighting up a dark dungeon here)
The bloom effect on the search lights and certain shots later on clashes with the low-res pixel art
Keep finding consumables that you already have a full stock of+no enemy drop magnet (enemy drops are so common that it's a minor issue though)
No new enemies appear when backtracking through a previously visited area
Very light on hidden items in the overworld areas overall - starts improving around area 5
Visuals occasionally adhere too much to the NES palette (odd choice when it clearly uses more colors than a NES game could as well as ones outside of the NES color palette)
Missing a couple of cool features from Blasting Again PS1:
Field guard (spinning shield orb that takes out enemies) and the pilot now has a sub weapon with unlimited ammo (napalm - area of effect explosion around the avatar) as well as a charge-based one (hypersonic - a minor smart bomb of sorts with long cooldown during which you have invincibility time)
Lock-on system for the homing sub weapon (up to 6 targets at once when upgraded, tank only and you have to charge it for about 2 seconds each time, can't make the camera focus on the enemies you've locked onto) - TBF the remote blast attack is similar
Smart bomb power ups (these trigger when touched though)
Notes:
-Original 3DS/NS version is from 2017
Level Design-7 Frustration-6/9* Fun-7 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
*Destroyer mode
+
Can now switch between main weapon types gained during the top down segment
Adds a good map system (marks dungeon (TD view areas) doors (different types are color coded) and seen item locations, marks the next main objective/boss dungeon, optional layout+point of interest location revealing maps found in mini-dungeons)
Some new weapons (Jason: shotgun, shot that goes through enemies and walls, rapid fire+long range shot w/ a minor spread - kinda weak, projectile shield which reflects shots*, slow electric shot with a chain reaction on hit - takes out crowds of smaller enemies, flamethrower; Sophia (tank): three charge shots (piercing laser, 2 tiles wide shot, cannon shot - AoE blast that can hit breakable blocks below you+destroy spike hazards in the OW, super charge shot - cool but takes too long to charge up)
New sub weapons (while in Sophia: shield mine - placeable projectile shield (not that useful besides in parts of area 7); as Jason (the pilot): mines that the player triggers, flash bomb - freezes enemies on screen+lights up a couple of dark dungeons, decoy turret - kinda inefficient at attacking but does help with the spongy guards in area 7, artillery strike/remote blast (choose up to 15 targets in 10 seconds for the tank to shoot at in the dungeons while the game is paused, doesn't quite make sense but it's useful and looks cool))
Life bar upgrades
Some shortcuts for avoiding backtracking
Strafing (BM1 NES) and diagonal top down view movement
The less efficient TD view weapons in the NES game were replaced
Some fun new level gimmicks (conveyor belts in the overworld that trigger platforms/walls in area 3 - MM10, tidal water bits in area 4 is a decent one as well - Castle of Illusion, pretty good platforming puzzles in area 6/ice area - breakable ice blocks+some in areas 7-8, basic stealth element (enemies with flashlights and moving search lights in a few rooms, pretty much optional) - BM: Blasting Again, final area's "water" tiles (similar to Skyblazer or Ecco 2) mixed with minor wall/ceiling climbing puzzles, chase sequence before the final boss fight)
Good main bosses overall from area 3 onwards
Some side view bosses
Mini-bosses (too easy overall though)
Adds some new tank moves (multi jump (jump over and over for as long as you have ammo) - can't equip it and flight at the same time but can switch after double jumping, tank's speed boost from BM: Blasting Again (PS1) returns as a dash attack which can also be used to dodge+be used in mid-air)
Some large scale environmental effects (water level lowering in area 4, covering most of an area in ice in area 6 - freezes water and creates ice blocks in some parts+makes surfaces slippery)
Pretty satisfying impact from hitting and getting hit+most weapons
Wall- and ceiling climbing can now be toggled (was automatic on NES)
Good sense of vulnerability during some pilot only OW segments
A bit of foreshadowing of later rooms (area 5) - could've had a bit more
Decent intro and ending cutscenes
New game+ and unlockable boss rush mode
Two alternate playable chars (gunvolt and another one - slightly different out of tank moves, shovel knight and shantae can be bought as DLC)
+/-
Mostly linear structure (linear area to area progression from areas 1-8, mostly straightforward and short dungeon areas but they do get more maze-like later on, some optional dungeons for more sub weapons, linear areas 3-4+7 besides the 1-2 optional mini-dungeons in each)
Frequent save points and checkpoints (lose exploration and collection progress after dying) - save points can only be used once per visit to the overworld however (need to enter a dungeon and go back to re-activate one). Can also save via the select menu which makes you respawn outside the last dungeon you visited
Remake/remix of the NES game (first area and parts of others are heavily based on the original besides the dungeon areas, same intro story)
No mini-map (BM: Blasting Again) but there's a signal in the HUD which changes color and starts flashing as you get close to the next sub goal
Pretty frequent comments by the player char on what's happening and what to do next such as after finishing dungeons
Somewhat easier bosses (even easier in 2-player)
Slowly regenerating sub weapon ammo for the tank here
Optional radio communications from Eve after rescuing her in area 2
Main weapon still gets downgraded with each hit taken in the top down view segments at first however in the 2nd area you gain a 1 HP shield (energy guard) against this which regenerates over time
Destructible enemy spawner machines in some rooms (these and the enemies respawn whenever you exit a room)
Sometimes you find the area map a bit too early which lowers the sense of exploration (it also reveals hidden paths, optional to grab it but you don't know which dungeon it'll be in and you'll probably not wanna leave a dungeon with nothing after finding one)
Can't teleport out of beaten dungeons (do it automatically when first beating the boss in one, the boss doesn't respawn either) nor teleport out of bossless dungeons but they're generally very short - what you can do instead is save and quit and you'll reload at the entrance
No sub weapon upgrades nor sub weapon/flight/multi jump ammo capacity upgrades (BM: Blasting Again)
No difficulty options but there is an unlockable hard mode (destroyer mode - enemies take more hits to kill+shoot at you when destroyed+drop fewer items+dungeon enemies are immune to most of your weapons+your dungeon weapons upgrade slower, too hard compared to normal unfortunately)
The flamethrower and the slow electric bolt being the next weapons from the right means you're likely to take another two hits after losing the best weapon in dungeons unless you pause and switch
Could've added jumping (BM: Blasting Again) or HLD-style dashing to the TD view engine
-
Over the top fall damage as Jason - die from falling about 5 tiles down
Some control/interface issues (can't place map markers - ability gated paths(+walls within rooms) aren't marked w/ specific icons so you'll have to memorize/note what is needed at each (not that many of these though), can't aim while standing still, pretty slow crawling as the pilot+no jump height control, somewhat floaty tank movement - move a bit more after letting go of the d-pad+stay airborne for pretty long when jumping, flamethrower's shot arc is a bit weird (goes back and forth without player control)+makes you move slower+resets its fire if you change direction, can't switch between flight and multi jump on the fly, moving between rooms cancels a charge shot, short invincibility time after taking a hit in the tank, grabbing the ladder inside a stream leading to the turret sub weapon's dungeon (area 5) and during the area 7 boss is overly tricky - took me about 3 times each, can only view the current area on the map screen, unskippable staff roll, *shield should've been a main weapon since it can be bad when the game switches to it during a boss fight)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (easy bee swarm boss in the second area+second area in general, easy area 3 turret mini-boss, very easy area 4 salamander boss, easy larger bosses in area 5 (underwater), bit of a difficulty spike in area 7's dungeons, cool but easy area 7 boss, pretty easy first form of mutant lord/kinda cheap second form, kinda easy final boss)
The 2-player co-op mode isn't that good (asymmetric style where the second player just aids the first by using a crosshair like in a light gun game, can only hit enemies as well - not break blocks or pick up items, can switch between 1p and 2p each time you load a save though which is nice)
Some pointless dead ends in dungeons and the overworld if you're at full health/ammo/main weapon upgrades (and some dungeons only exist for refilling these, works a bit better in hard mode but even there you could grind on regular enemies usually)
Can't use any upgraded jason weapons nor his sub weapons in side view/the overworld - feels arbitrary even if he's meant to be weaker here
Repeats some bosses and enemies in the late game (nearly all area 8 enemies are repeated without being made more challenging)
Most overworld enemies in area 4 are repeats from area 1
Doesn't add enough complexity to dungeons/td view areas (no puzzles) nor add more intensity and challenge to them (see Smash TV for example, even at area 5 they're pretty easy because of the OP wave beam+energy guard - otoh some enemies would be spongy without it). Besides stealth in area 7 but it's a bit overdone
Some tedious parts (backtracking to the top of area 4 and later from area 6 to area 3 via area 1, some zig zag paths in the dungeons and no movement speed upgrades here, some slow moving platforms in area 5, most of the switch puzzles in area 7 feel kinda pointless and slow, relies a bit too heavily on stealth segments with spongy enemies if you get caught in the area 7 dungeons, some slow out of tank parts in the final area, boss gauntlet in the final area)
Some trial & error (game doesn't explain that only the flamethrower breaks the small blue rocks in area 4's dungeons - also melts ice and spikes in area 6 though that's kind of obvious (although it is inconsistent how bombs don't have the same effect), some boss patterns, some shots from off screen)
A few temporary points of no return (area 2 IIRC)
Flash bombs could've been used in a more interesting way (just a key for lighting up a dark dungeon here)
The bloom effect on the search lights and certain shots later on clashes with the low-res pixel art
Keep finding consumables that you already have a full stock of+no enemy drop magnet (enemy drops are so common that it's a minor issue though)
No new enemies appear when backtracking through a previously visited area
Very light on hidden items in the overworld areas overall - starts improving around area 5
Visuals occasionally adhere too much to the NES palette (odd choice when it clearly uses more colors than a NES game could as well as ones outside of the NES color palette)
Missing a couple of cool features from Blasting Again PS1:
Field guard (spinning shield orb that takes out enemies) and the pilot now has a sub weapon with unlimited ammo (napalm - area of effect explosion around the avatar) as well as a charge-based one (hypersonic - a minor smart bomb of sorts with long cooldown during which you have invincibility time)
Lock-on system for the homing sub weapon (up to 6 targets at once when upgraded, tank only and you have to charge it for about 2 seconds each time, can't make the camera focus on the enemies you've locked onto) - TBF the remote blast attack is similar
Smart bomb power ups (these trigger when touched though)
Notes:
-Original 3DS/NS version is from 2017