Hyper Iria (SNES, 1995)
Graphics-7 Sound-7.5 Control-7 Challenge-7 Story-6
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6.5
+
AI assistant (gives directions and tips, talks with the main char during gameplay; similar to OoT or Burning Rangers but less intrusive),
Double jump from the get go
Shopping and gear customization between levels (can buy a lot of different gear from the get go, mission-based and non-linear (can do the first 4 (out of 5) missions in any order)
Decent variety (one rescue mission - no escorting required, one collect mission with a surprise attack, most end up as search and destroy missions though and one that sounds like a protection mission on paper isn't one)
Slide kick and running jump attack moves (can follow them up quickly with a regular attack) plus a tackle move
Some strategy in what to bring to a mission (can hold only 3 weapons and 3 items at a time, you're not given any info on what you'll face though so it's a trial & error process)
Ranking system (kill rate, time taken - can adjust the amount of time allowed to get a bonus, life left; do better and you'll make more money per mission)
Can skip dialogue on a per sentence/paragraph basis (basic cutscenes before missions where your char talks to the AI)
Switch between weapons and items with L and R respectively (only issue is you can only cycle one way and there's always an empty fourth slot in each category which is part of the cycle)
Difficulty options (very easy to very hard, time limit for mission bonuses, number of continues - can also pick unlimited continues)
Sometimes you're attacked while flying towards a mission's location - these levels are very basic and easy plus you can't use your bought gear (instead there's a basic shot power up you can get from enemies which adds spread to your shot and disappears after the segment is beaten) but you can gain some extra ammo for the gear you have equipped in them
Can buy two movement upgrades (upgradeable jump height, glide jump; can only use one at a time) - both are optional but the higher jump is useful in mission 2
Pretty nice intro cutscene and artwork stills between missions and during the ending
Shows boss and enemy health bars
Some good bosses (mission 3, final boss is decent)
Some cool gear (trail bomb, sliding bomb, machine gun (triple shot - can turn around during the volley to shoot in both directions))
+/-
Maze levels
One escape sequence (mission 1 - no directions given though)
No extra lives but the game has frequent checkpoints after using a continue (right before a boss room if you died at one and you regain the ammo used in that area/room)
Resource management (ammo and health) - ammo and healing items are placed and there are only ammo drops from enemies
Kicking an enemy is sometimes more effective than shooting it with a gun
Can ignore the AI's directions but there's usually no point (in some cases you'll find an item though),
Radar instead of a map system (shows nearby enemies only, not layouts)
Can't move while crouching, password save (not that long) - given after beating a mission
Female protagonist
Can shoot enemies from off screen
Enemies can drop health in the shoot 'em up segments (not needed there) - can't carry health items with you for later
Can't replay beaten missions or revisit the locations they took place in
No block move (the slide can sometimes be used as a dodge but there's no invincibility time during it)
No health or ammo upgrades
Double tap to run
Somewhat small sprites overall and no really large ones
-
Pretty severe slowdown
Plenty of dead space in most levels
AI assistant issues (no directions in mission 2, can't make the AI repeat dialogue by pressing a button (can sometimes do it by walking into the script trigger again) and sometimes it's a bit vague - if you take a wrong turn on the way to a sub goal it also doesn't tell you so in some levels and there's no sub goal journal (however you can sometimes find health or ammo in a dead end), sometimes it doesn't say which route to take and only after you take the wrong one it says "no, go back")
Some control/interface issues (no mid-air control (can't move sideways after jumping straight upwards) - can move a little bit when double jumping after a straight jump though, can't see how much time has passed during a mission, vertical focused jumps (see Contra), menus don't wrap around, can't jump kick upwards if you jumped while pressing left or right - can do a double jump without holding a direction and then do it though)
Trial & error (a couple of surprise attacks from above, the AI's communication breaks up during parts of the final level which means you're left to navigate a maze in a samey environment, using a slide kick or tackle against enemies that won't get knocked back makes you take damage rather than bounce back, some shots from off screen, some one way doors, elevators in mission 4 don't come back down if you fall off them so you have to find a door and go in and out of it to make them respawn where they were, no directions given during the escape sequence in mission 1)
Short (only 5 levels, ~1-2 hours)
Some backtracking (and some situations where you have to backtrack pretty far if you miss a jump)
Too many enemies that kill your flow in mission 3 (turrets)
Can't sell items
The story doesn't explain much about the world or what happens after you beat the villain
The bazooka is somewhat disappointing considering its price
Notes:
-The game is based on the anime prequel to the sci-fi movie Zeiram
-Got Bs for most missions
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6.5
+
AI assistant (gives directions and tips, talks with the main char during gameplay; similar to OoT or Burning Rangers but less intrusive),
Double jump from the get go
Shopping and gear customization between levels (can buy a lot of different gear from the get go, mission-based and non-linear (can do the first 4 (out of 5) missions in any order)
Decent variety (one rescue mission - no escorting required, one collect mission with a surprise attack, most end up as search and destroy missions though and one that sounds like a protection mission on paper isn't one)
Slide kick and running jump attack moves (can follow them up quickly with a regular attack) plus a tackle move
Some strategy in what to bring to a mission (can hold only 3 weapons and 3 items at a time, you're not given any info on what you'll face though so it's a trial & error process)
Ranking system (kill rate, time taken - can adjust the amount of time allowed to get a bonus, life left; do better and you'll make more money per mission)
Can skip dialogue on a per sentence/paragraph basis (basic cutscenes before missions where your char talks to the AI)
Switch between weapons and items with L and R respectively (only issue is you can only cycle one way and there's always an empty fourth slot in each category which is part of the cycle)
Difficulty options (very easy to very hard, time limit for mission bonuses, number of continues - can also pick unlimited continues)
Sometimes you're attacked while flying towards a mission's location - these levels are very basic and easy plus you can't use your bought gear (instead there's a basic shot power up you can get from enemies which adds spread to your shot and disappears after the segment is beaten) but you can gain some extra ammo for the gear you have equipped in them
Can buy two movement upgrades (upgradeable jump height, glide jump; can only use one at a time) - both are optional but the higher jump is useful in mission 2
Pretty nice intro cutscene and artwork stills between missions and during the ending
Shows boss and enemy health bars
Some good bosses (mission 3, final boss is decent)
Some cool gear (trail bomb, sliding bomb, machine gun (triple shot - can turn around during the volley to shoot in both directions))
+/-
Maze levels
One escape sequence (mission 1 - no directions given though)
No extra lives but the game has frequent checkpoints after using a continue (right before a boss room if you died at one and you regain the ammo used in that area/room)
Resource management (ammo and health) - ammo and healing items are placed and there are only ammo drops from enemies
Kicking an enemy is sometimes more effective than shooting it with a gun
Can ignore the AI's directions but there's usually no point (in some cases you'll find an item though),
Radar instead of a map system (shows nearby enemies only, not layouts)
Can't move while crouching, password save (not that long) - given after beating a mission
Female protagonist
Can shoot enemies from off screen
Enemies can drop health in the shoot 'em up segments (not needed there) - can't carry health items with you for later
Can't replay beaten missions or revisit the locations they took place in
No block move (the slide can sometimes be used as a dodge but there's no invincibility time during it)
No health or ammo upgrades
Double tap to run
Somewhat small sprites overall and no really large ones
-
Pretty severe slowdown
Plenty of dead space in most levels
AI assistant issues (no directions in mission 2, can't make the AI repeat dialogue by pressing a button (can sometimes do it by walking into the script trigger again) and sometimes it's a bit vague - if you take a wrong turn on the way to a sub goal it also doesn't tell you so in some levels and there's no sub goal journal (however you can sometimes find health or ammo in a dead end), sometimes it doesn't say which route to take and only after you take the wrong one it says "no, go back")
Some control/interface issues (no mid-air control (can't move sideways after jumping straight upwards) - can move a little bit when double jumping after a straight jump though, can't see how much time has passed during a mission, vertical focused jumps (see Contra), menus don't wrap around, can't jump kick upwards if you jumped while pressing left or right - can do a double jump without holding a direction and then do it though)
Trial & error (a couple of surprise attacks from above, the AI's communication breaks up during parts of the final level which means you're left to navigate a maze in a samey environment, using a slide kick or tackle against enemies that won't get knocked back makes you take damage rather than bounce back, some shots from off screen, some one way doors, elevators in mission 4 don't come back down if you fall off them so you have to find a door and go in and out of it to make them respawn where they were, no directions given during the escape sequence in mission 1)
Short (only 5 levels, ~1-2 hours)
Some backtracking (and some situations where you have to backtrack pretty far if you miss a jump)
Too many enemies that kill your flow in mission 3 (turrets)
Can't sell items
The story doesn't explain much about the world or what happens after you beat the villain
The bazooka is somewhat disappointing considering its price
Notes:
-The game is based on the anime prequel to the sci-fi movie Zeiram
-Got Bs for most missions