Gyruss (NES, 1988)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7.5/8* Control-7 Challenge-8 Story-?
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
*FDS ver.
+
Some innovative mechanics (360 degree rotation around a circle pattern in a rail shooter, missed enemies tend to hang out in the horizon and will eventually return to attack again if they aren't killed, kill an entire enemy formation to get a point bonus or a power up, bosses with shielded weak spots)
Smart bombs (activated as you pick them up though and they leave the screen after a few seconds)
Bonus stages (every fourth stage)
Pretty good art direction
Some interesting bosses (the green virus thingy, stage 16 boss, stage 19 boss (two phases), earth boss (different second phase depending on which ship you kill last?))
Fast default ship speed (doesn't increase or decrease though)
Gets pretty intense towards the end
Hard mode/second loop (need to beat the game on normal - new boss and enemy patterns)
Two control setups (first one is more intuitive)
Compared to the arcade ver. (1983):
New enemies and bosses
Adds a satisfying special attack (goes through enemies and obstacles)
Improved sprite work and difficulty curve compared to the arcade original
Adds a galaxy map in-between levels and two new music tracks (boss and ending)
39 stages (compared to 24 in the arcade game) and the game ends at the sun
Adds an intro and ending (pretty basic though)
+/-
The rotation controls take some getting used to
Power ups leave the screen after a few seconds if you don't pick them up
Each stage has three sub stages and ends with a boss
Respawn on the spot
Difficulty ramps up at level 30 where the mine layers start appearing
No stereo effects
Some remixed music
Fairly easy to rack up extra lives
The player ship's hit box is somewhat smaller than the size of the sprite
Inspired by Galaga, Tempest and Asteroids
-
No continues (there's an extra life code but still)
Choppy scaling (good for the NES though)
Slowdown and flicker when things get hectic
Sometimes hard to differentiate bullets from enemy ships due to them having the same color
No auto-fire (using turbo isn't always useful because the allow no. of bullets on screen is pretty low and it doesn't time the enemy formations right)
Gets repetitive after a couple of stages (lacks more elaborate level hazards and mechanics, no visual variety in the backgrounds, repeated enemy patterns and boss types with minor variations) and there's only three different stage tracks in the OST
Trial & error (what can and can't hit you when on the same position on the z-plane as your ship, memorizing patterns to get power ups and points)
Simple weapon system (only one weapon type (a single shot which can be upgraded once to a double shot) and a limited special shot)
Can't see the UI during boss fights, no "original" mode
The stages that are a multiple of two get a bit tedious after a while
Notes:
-FDS version features a better ending and a rearranged soundtrack featuring wavetable instruments
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
*FDS ver.
+
Some innovative mechanics (360 degree rotation around a circle pattern in a rail shooter, missed enemies tend to hang out in the horizon and will eventually return to attack again if they aren't killed, kill an entire enemy formation to get a point bonus or a power up, bosses with shielded weak spots)
Smart bombs (activated as you pick them up though and they leave the screen after a few seconds)
Bonus stages (every fourth stage)
Pretty good art direction
Some interesting bosses (the green virus thingy, stage 16 boss, stage 19 boss (two phases), earth boss (different second phase depending on which ship you kill last?))
Fast default ship speed (doesn't increase or decrease though)
Gets pretty intense towards the end
Hard mode/second loop (need to beat the game on normal - new boss and enemy patterns)
Two control setups (first one is more intuitive)
Compared to the arcade ver. (1983):
New enemies and bosses
Adds a satisfying special attack (goes through enemies and obstacles)
Improved sprite work and difficulty curve compared to the arcade original
Adds a galaxy map in-between levels and two new music tracks (boss and ending)
39 stages (compared to 24 in the arcade game) and the game ends at the sun
Adds an intro and ending (pretty basic though)
+/-
The rotation controls take some getting used to
Power ups leave the screen after a few seconds if you don't pick them up
Each stage has three sub stages and ends with a boss
Respawn on the spot
Difficulty ramps up at level 30 where the mine layers start appearing
No stereo effects
Some remixed music
Fairly easy to rack up extra lives
The player ship's hit box is somewhat smaller than the size of the sprite
Inspired by Galaga, Tempest and Asteroids
-
No continues (there's an extra life code but still)
Choppy scaling (good for the NES though)
Slowdown and flicker when things get hectic
Sometimes hard to differentiate bullets from enemy ships due to them having the same color
No auto-fire (using turbo isn't always useful because the allow no. of bullets on screen is pretty low and it doesn't time the enemy formations right)
Gets repetitive after a couple of stages (lacks more elaborate level hazards and mechanics, no visual variety in the backgrounds, repeated enemy patterns and boss types with minor variations) and there's only three different stage tracks in the OST
Trial & error (what can and can't hit you when on the same position on the z-plane as your ship, memorizing patterns to get power ups and points)
Simple weapon system (only one weapon type (a single shot which can be upgraded once to a double shot) and a limited special shot)
Can't see the UI during boss fights, no "original" mode
The stages that are a multiple of two get a bit tedious after a while
Notes:
-FDS version features a better ending and a rearranged soundtrack featuring wavetable instruments