Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire (PCE CD, 1995)
Graphics-8 Sound-7.5 Control-8 Challenge-8* Story-?
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5* Fun-8* Originality-5
Overall Score-8
*1p
+
Many cool effects (sprite scaling, prerendered polygon enemies, morphing effect, hl/shadow effect, enemy and boss entrances)
tons of bosses (most are great)
Difficulty options
2-player
Very little slowdown and flicker
Pretty forgiving (respawn on the spot (even when losing credits) while gaining a power up and some invincibility time, you can set how often you'll gain lives)
Four different playable characters/ships
Smart bombs (cancel all shots)
Great intro and ending cutscenes
Good variation
Special attack using gun drones (similar to TFIV, not very useful in this game though)
Fast paced
+/-
Can't change formation on gun drones (they block enemy fire)
Cheesy guitar rock soundtrack
Female protagonist
-
Somewhat short
Can't adjust your speed (characters have different speeds and the two slow ones aren't up for the task really)
Some annoying sounds
No music/voice in between levels
Uneven visual quality (art direction is all over the place, some single color background segments, some tacky stuff like the zoomed in boss explosions and most polygon enemies)
Somewhat uneven difficulty (two bosses in a row on every level, some mini-bosses go down fast)
Trial & error (fast boss attacks, enemies popping out of the background, sped up part in the pyramid)
Only three weapons which are also very similar
Bosses before main bosses have no music theme
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5* Fun-8* Originality-5
Overall Score-8
*1p
+
Many cool effects (sprite scaling, prerendered polygon enemies, morphing effect, hl/shadow effect, enemy and boss entrances)
tons of bosses (most are great)
Difficulty options
2-player
Very little slowdown and flicker
Pretty forgiving (respawn on the spot (even when losing credits) while gaining a power up and some invincibility time, you can set how often you'll gain lives)
Four different playable characters/ships
Smart bombs (cancel all shots)
Great intro and ending cutscenes
Good variation
Special attack using gun drones (similar to TFIV, not very useful in this game though)
Fast paced
+/-
Can't change formation on gun drones (they block enemy fire)
Cheesy guitar rock soundtrack
Female protagonist
-
Somewhat short
Can't adjust your speed (characters have different speeds and the two slow ones aren't up for the task really)
Some annoying sounds
No music/voice in between levels
Uneven visual quality (art direction is all over the place, some single color background segments, some tacky stuff like the zoomed in boss explosions and most polygon enemies)
Somewhat uneven difficulty (two bosses in a row on every level, some mini-bosses go down fast)
Trial & error (fast boss attacks, enemies popping out of the background, sped up part in the pyramid)
Only three weapons which are also very similar
Bosses before main bosses have no music theme