Run Saber (SNES, 1993)
Graphics-7 Sound-7.5 Control-7 Challenge-7 Story-4.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-7
*2-player
+
Borrows some good parts from Strider (climb walls and ceilings, move while attacking, climb platforms from below)
Some fun set pieces (airplane ride)
2-player coop (the two playable chars play the same besides the woman having a wider but shorter swing arc)
Two mini-bosses per level
Smart bomb-style special attacks however they can't be used to block most incoming attacks and the animation is a bit longer
Difficulty options (easy-hard)
Possibly invented the arrow that points in the direction you're supposed to go (not really needed in a linear action platformer though ironically, though it is of some use in level 4)
Partial control config (can't remap the shoulder buttons)
Can destroy various enemy projectiles
Slide attack (has some issues making it not that useful though)
Bounce off of enemies using jump kicks (too slow and short unlike in Shinobi 3 but can still be useful vs some enemies and bosses)
Some decent bosses (the humanoid rival, the robot)
+/-
Linear structure
Respawn on the spot until game over (can be bad if there's no way to regain sword power or bombs where you died)
Automatically grab walls and ceilings when jumping into them (sometimes good but often distracting)
Can't attack upwards while standing on the ground but your swings hit slightly above you
Frequently respawning enemies in various segments (can grind for power ups)
Start with your health bar at about 30% on Normal
Randomized enemy drops (some placed and static ones as well)
The somersault attack doesn't defend against enemy attacks making it not that useful
Repeats some bosses over the course of the game although they have slightly different behavior
Only one level of sword upgrade
Fairly easy to rack up extra lives and HP
-
Some control/interface issues (floaty jumps, delay at the end of each slide that you can't cancel out of, running doesn't affect horizontal jump speed, double tap to run - could've let you map it to L or R and since those already let you slide in the direction you're facing, some delay before a downwards mid-air attack triggers unless you're falling, some scrolling issues such as right after the first mini-boss where you can jump but not walk down a slope to scroll the screen downwards, weird how you jump lower when using the somersault attack than when you don't, enemy drops can get stuck inside walls)
No health refill after bosses
Only three continues
Can't use the slide to dodge through enemies
Some trial & error (vine segment in level 3, some boss patterns, elevator segments)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (easy second boss, easy level 4 robot chase segment but hard sawblade chase segment, kinda easy second to last boss, easy final boss if you saved up on smart bombs)
Sometimes spongy enemies or an abundance of hazards you have to wait for (tedious third level boss)
Some arbitrary points of no return within levels
Kinda short at 5 levels
Pretty generic art direction
No run animation
No alternate main weapons and no sub weapons
Meh intro and ending
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-7
*2-player
+
Borrows some good parts from Strider (climb walls and ceilings, move while attacking, climb platforms from below)
Some fun set pieces (airplane ride)
2-player coop (the two playable chars play the same besides the woman having a wider but shorter swing arc)
Two mini-bosses per level
Smart bomb-style special attacks however they can't be used to block most incoming attacks and the animation is a bit longer
Difficulty options (easy-hard)
Possibly invented the arrow that points in the direction you're supposed to go (not really needed in a linear action platformer though ironically, though it is of some use in level 4)
Partial control config (can't remap the shoulder buttons)
Can destroy various enemy projectiles
Slide attack (has some issues making it not that useful though)
Bounce off of enemies using jump kicks (too slow and short unlike in Shinobi 3 but can still be useful vs some enemies and bosses)
Some decent bosses (the humanoid rival, the robot)
+/-
Linear structure
Respawn on the spot until game over (can be bad if there's no way to regain sword power or bombs where you died)
Automatically grab walls and ceilings when jumping into them (sometimes good but often distracting)
Can't attack upwards while standing on the ground but your swings hit slightly above you
Frequently respawning enemies in various segments (can grind for power ups)
Start with your health bar at about 30% on Normal
Randomized enemy drops (some placed and static ones as well)
The somersault attack doesn't defend against enemy attacks making it not that useful
Repeats some bosses over the course of the game although they have slightly different behavior
Only one level of sword upgrade
Fairly easy to rack up extra lives and HP
-
Some control/interface issues (floaty jumps, delay at the end of each slide that you can't cancel out of, running doesn't affect horizontal jump speed, double tap to run - could've let you map it to L or R and since those already let you slide in the direction you're facing, some delay before a downwards mid-air attack triggers unless you're falling, some scrolling issues such as right after the first mini-boss where you can jump but not walk down a slope to scroll the screen downwards, weird how you jump lower when using the somersault attack than when you don't, enemy drops can get stuck inside walls)
No health refill after bosses
Only three continues
Can't use the slide to dodge through enemies
Some trial & error (vine segment in level 3, some boss patterns, elevator segments)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (easy second boss, easy level 4 robot chase segment but hard sawblade chase segment, kinda easy second to last boss, easy final boss if you saved up on smart bombs)
Sometimes spongy enemies or an abundance of hazards you have to wait for (tedious third level boss)
Some arbitrary points of no return within levels
Kinda short at 5 levels
Pretty generic art direction
No run animation
No alternate main weapons and no sub weapons
Meh intro and ending