Sonic Blast Man II (SNES, 1994)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-7.5 Story-5.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7/7.5?* Originality-5
Overall Score-7
*2-player
+
Alternate/strong attack button (a bit different for each char but can be used as a minor ranged attack for each)
Smart bomb special attack (charge then use the alternate attack button, wastes 2 special attack ammo)
Ranged special attacks (and some alternate attacks as well which can be used to deal with exploding enemies)
Pretty fast paced overall (dash and roll moves - the latter was first used in Alien Storm?) - slower when playing as the green guy (captain choyear)/very fast as the girl
Grabs and throws (can only control the direction with the green guy? - can also throw enemies upwards and then do an an upwards dash attack into them, otherwise backwards)
Decent in-game cutscenes (dialogue with bosses and some "meanwhile" scenes showing the bad guys interacting) and intro
2-player co-op
Some good bosses (the second to last one has three forms and the last one two phases though the second one is easy)
The different playable chars (not that different besides one being faster and a bit weaker and one being stronger but slower; minor alternate attack differences)
Difficulty options (easy-hard, lives per continue - up to 5)
Unusual special attack charge in that there's no delay and you can cancel it by pressing the button again - more like an activation toggle
Exploding enemies also affect other enemies
Mini-bosses
Over the top combo finisher moves and overall vibe ("I'm fighting for freedom!" said with a heavy accent)
Improved animation and more enemies on screen at once compared to the prequel
+/-
Very large hit box for your special attacks
No weapon power ups (can't throw barrels either)
The dash is pretty short
No block moves (however there's invincibility time during the roll move and at the end of regular attack combos) - rolling into or behind enemies/bosses and attacking often works even later on
No save or password feature
Health items are a bit rare
Several checkpoints per level
Unlimited continues?
No alternate paths through levels
Partial control config (can't remap L/R functions - always special attack charge)
Sometimes interactive environment but at a very shallow level (press some switches to open some doors)
No move upgrades or new moves gained over the course of the game
HUD shows enemy portraits and health bars but not names
One boss looks like something out of Mega Man
Missing the mini-games from the prequel
-
Limited continues (only 3) - can't gain more but can gain several 1-ups
Not enough invincibility time after getting knocked down - some enemies can hit or throw you over and over
Some control/interface issues (can't activate a special attack while knocked down, can't dash/jump/roll sideways/on the z-axis - makes some bosses kinda cheap, sometimes unforgiving hit detection on boss attacks, can't change direction mid-combo, can't switch double-tap to dash to a button press)
No attack combos involving pressing both regular and alternate attack buttons
Keep finding health items even if you have full health
Some trial & error (even some regular enemies' attacks take priority over yours, some bosses)
Sometimes generic or tacky looking sprites
Repetitive (repeats some enemies, some take too long to kill considering their patterns)
So-so ending (you don't really get to see what happens when Blast Man dives for the crashing enemy spaceship)
The final boss is easier than the previous one (can just roll into and then keep hitting the brain thingy after beating its guardian if you do it just right)
Some waiting for enemies to enter or re-enter the screen
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7/7.5?* Originality-5
Overall Score-7
*2-player
+
Alternate/strong attack button (a bit different for each char but can be used as a minor ranged attack for each)
Smart bomb special attack (charge then use the alternate attack button, wastes 2 special attack ammo)
Ranged special attacks (and some alternate attacks as well which can be used to deal with exploding enemies)
Pretty fast paced overall (dash and roll moves - the latter was first used in Alien Storm?) - slower when playing as the green guy (captain choyear)/very fast as the girl
Grabs and throws (can only control the direction with the green guy? - can also throw enemies upwards and then do an an upwards dash attack into them, otherwise backwards)
Decent in-game cutscenes (dialogue with bosses and some "meanwhile" scenes showing the bad guys interacting) and intro
2-player co-op
Some good bosses (the second to last one has three forms and the last one two phases though the second one is easy)
The different playable chars (not that different besides one being faster and a bit weaker and one being stronger but slower; minor alternate attack differences)
Difficulty options (easy-hard, lives per continue - up to 5)
Unusual special attack charge in that there's no delay and you can cancel it by pressing the button again - more like an activation toggle
Exploding enemies also affect other enemies
Mini-bosses
Over the top combo finisher moves and overall vibe ("I'm fighting for freedom!" said with a heavy accent)
Improved animation and more enemies on screen at once compared to the prequel
+/-
Very large hit box for your special attacks
No weapon power ups (can't throw barrels either)
The dash is pretty short
No block moves (however there's invincibility time during the roll move and at the end of regular attack combos) - rolling into or behind enemies/bosses and attacking often works even later on
No save or password feature
Health items are a bit rare
Several checkpoints per level
Unlimited continues?
No alternate paths through levels
Partial control config (can't remap L/R functions - always special attack charge)
Sometimes interactive environment but at a very shallow level (press some switches to open some doors)
No move upgrades or new moves gained over the course of the game
HUD shows enemy portraits and health bars but not names
One boss looks like something out of Mega Man
Missing the mini-games from the prequel
-
Limited continues (only 3) - can't gain more but can gain several 1-ups
Not enough invincibility time after getting knocked down - some enemies can hit or throw you over and over
Some control/interface issues (can't activate a special attack while knocked down, can't dash/jump/roll sideways/on the z-axis - makes some bosses kinda cheap, sometimes unforgiving hit detection on boss attacks, can't change direction mid-combo, can't switch double-tap to dash to a button press)
No attack combos involving pressing both regular and alternate attack buttons
Keep finding health items even if you have full health
Some trial & error (even some regular enemies' attacks take priority over yours, some bosses)
Sometimes generic or tacky looking sprites
Repetitive (repeats some enemies, some take too long to kill considering their patterns)
So-so ending (you don't really get to see what happens when Blast Man dives for the crashing enemy spaceship)
The final boss is easier than the previous one (can just roll into and then keep hitting the brain thingy after beating its guardian if you do it just right)
Some waiting for enemies to enter or re-enter the screen