Shatterhand / Tokkyuu shirei: Solbrain (NES, 1991)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-8 Challenge-8 Story-5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Good bosses overall (multiple patterns)
Some innovative gameplay (a flying robot sidekick with different weapons (sword, missile, flamethrower, you can also make the sidekick carry you upwards and then throw it (pretty much useless in most situations though because it's too slow))
You can choose the order of levels to play (after a short intro stage)
Collect money to buy stuff (punch upgrade, 1-up or health) in certain spots in the levels (white platforms)
Pretty good variation (though some enemies are reused a lot)
Nice cutscenes
Destructible scenery in some parts
Good art direction and use of colour
Some nice visual effects (teleporter, end boss)
Turn into an invincible cyborg for ~10 seconds (collect same symbol combination twice, cancels your sidekick for the duration of the effect)
Deflect shots with your fists
+/-
The robot sidekick doesn't carry over into the next level
Only two 1-ups can be acquired throughout the game
Solbrain has more cutscenes
No slide or dodge moves
Small delay after doing a finisher punch (third punch and every consecutive punch afterwards in a combo)
Sometimes you just have to get hit to get past a segment unless you have a good robot combo or a punch upgrade
Boss rush (not all bosses)
Some different music and background graphics in Solbrain
-
Trial & error (trapped power ups, boss patterns, anti-grav segment in final stage)
Some slowdown
Very difficult to protect the sidekick because it hovers slightly in front of and above you (also can't see its individual HP though it starts blinking before death)
Uneven difficulty (some bosses are pretty weak, some levels harder than others, BBB robot owns most bosses and can take out enemies safely from a distance)
Some enemies and bosses take way too many hits to kill (breaks flow, can be helped a bit by buying a punch upgrade)
Unbalanced weapons for the sidekick (a projectile attack is much better than a melee/short range attack, flamethrower is rather ineffective)
Very short main attack range (helped somewhat by the finisher punch)
Somewhat sloppy hit detection (especially for the sidekicks weapons, somewhat forgiving with enemy bullets)
Some tedious parts (underwater, lava/fence segment near the end)
No difficulty options
There's a 5 second delay when you die (rub it in will ya!)
Some enemy AI is pretty dumb (some enemies just stand around or run away from the player)
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Good bosses overall (multiple patterns)
Some innovative gameplay (a flying robot sidekick with different weapons (sword, missile, flamethrower, you can also make the sidekick carry you upwards and then throw it (pretty much useless in most situations though because it's too slow))
You can choose the order of levels to play (after a short intro stage)
Collect money to buy stuff (punch upgrade, 1-up or health) in certain spots in the levels (white platforms)
Pretty good variation (though some enemies are reused a lot)
Nice cutscenes
Destructible scenery in some parts
Good art direction and use of colour
Some nice visual effects (teleporter, end boss)
Turn into an invincible cyborg for ~10 seconds (collect same symbol combination twice, cancels your sidekick for the duration of the effect)
Deflect shots with your fists
+/-
The robot sidekick doesn't carry over into the next level
Only two 1-ups can be acquired throughout the game
Solbrain has more cutscenes
No slide or dodge moves
Small delay after doing a finisher punch (third punch and every consecutive punch afterwards in a combo)
Sometimes you just have to get hit to get past a segment unless you have a good robot combo or a punch upgrade
Boss rush (not all bosses)
Some different music and background graphics in Solbrain
-
Trial & error (trapped power ups, boss patterns, anti-grav segment in final stage)
Some slowdown
Very difficult to protect the sidekick because it hovers slightly in front of and above you (also can't see its individual HP though it starts blinking before death)
Uneven difficulty (some bosses are pretty weak, some levels harder than others, BBB robot owns most bosses and can take out enemies safely from a distance)
Some enemies and bosses take way too many hits to kill (breaks flow, can be helped a bit by buying a punch upgrade)
Unbalanced weapons for the sidekick (a projectile attack is much better than a melee/short range attack, flamethrower is rather ineffective)
Very short main attack range (helped somewhat by the finisher punch)
Somewhat sloppy hit detection (especially for the sidekicks weapons, somewhat forgiving with enemy bullets)
Some tedious parts (underwater, lava/fence segment near the end)
No difficulty options
There's a 5 second delay when you die (rub it in will ya!)
Some enemy AI is pretty dumb (some enemies just stand around or run away from the player)