Space Hunter (NES, 1986)
Graphics-6.5 Sound-6 Control-6.5 Challenge-7 Story-?
Level Design-5 Frustration-8 Fun-5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-5
+
Can map inventory items to A and B buttons (similar to Link's Awakening however there are two categories of items here and you can only map the ones in the A category to the A button and vice versa)
Flight and swimming (need to find the fins on Furekisid to do the latter)
Decent arsenal of weapons (some are very similar though)
Time freeze item
Basic sub area/planet maps (shows your location and where there are buildings but no topography or where the bosses are) - no top down view maps but those rooms are one screen only anway
Can exit a planet at any point
Escape sequences after each boss killed (1 min to escape the current planet - pauses while in the pause menu)
Find notes with gameplay hints (what items do and which weapons bosses are weak to)
8-way aiming with the boomerang
Can escape from bosses
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (Hub area/overworld (can move around but not get hit or attack anything), can explore any planet except for the blue one from the get go?, some bosses require a certain weapon to be used to damage them, seventh planet appears after beating the first six)
Kind of odd default attack (proximity bomb which only goes of if you move away from it on the Y axis - it only operates on the X axis while the Super version works like upgraded bombs in Bomberman)
Power requirements on certain weapons (it also works like ammo for all but the default weapon)
Password save
Checkpoints in-between finished planets (no lives)
Flip screen (no scrolling)
Weird how capsules (which restore 5 power) aren't picked up - power is restored as you find them and you can break them by attacking them (which has no effect) and then re-find them by bombing where they first spawned (meaning you can keep farming them over and over)
HP drops are pretty common and restore all HP
Respawning enemies (when you re-enter the room they were in)
Side view/top down view hybrid (top down when entering buildings) - similar to Blaster Master
No strafe/dodge/block moves
-
Gameplay pauses for a bit every time you or an enemy uses a bomb
Repeats some notes several times and some have nothing written on them (some also just troll you)
Trial & error (no clues to most hidden items and doors - what's worse is that some required weapons are hidden this way plus there's no way to tell that you've cleared a planet of its items so you'll pretty much have to use a guide)
Can't exit a building if you've found a note in it - have to go and read the note
Can't accelerate downwards while flying
Repetitive
Basic visuals and music
No inventory items on soridia and afuraia planets?
Pretty simple bosses
Very easy final boss
Pretty lame ending
Bugs:
-Your power supply resets if you gain over 255 of it (it's possible to find items that restore/increase it by 30 points by accident)
-If you bomb a found door then it disappears again so you have to bomb it again to make it appear and make it possible to enter it
-If you're holding a direction while going in or out of the pause menu then the game temporarily freezes until you let go of the button
-After switching back from the time freeze the enemies can shoot but not move (might be intended but it's weird)
Level Design-5 Frustration-8 Fun-5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-5
+
Can map inventory items to A and B buttons (similar to Link's Awakening however there are two categories of items here and you can only map the ones in the A category to the A button and vice versa)
Flight and swimming (need to find the fins on Furekisid to do the latter)
Decent arsenal of weapons (some are very similar though)
Time freeze item
Basic sub area/planet maps (shows your location and where there are buildings but no topography or where the bosses are) - no top down view maps but those rooms are one screen only anway
Can exit a planet at any point
Escape sequences after each boss killed (1 min to escape the current planet - pauses while in the pause menu)
Find notes with gameplay hints (what items do and which weapons bosses are weak to)
8-way aiming with the boomerang
Can escape from bosses
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (Hub area/overworld (can move around but not get hit or attack anything), can explore any planet except for the blue one from the get go?, some bosses require a certain weapon to be used to damage them, seventh planet appears after beating the first six)
Kind of odd default attack (proximity bomb which only goes of if you move away from it on the Y axis - it only operates on the X axis while the Super version works like upgraded bombs in Bomberman)
Power requirements on certain weapons (it also works like ammo for all but the default weapon)
Password save
Checkpoints in-between finished planets (no lives)
Flip screen (no scrolling)
Weird how capsules (which restore 5 power) aren't picked up - power is restored as you find them and you can break them by attacking them (which has no effect) and then re-find them by bombing where they first spawned (meaning you can keep farming them over and over)
HP drops are pretty common and restore all HP
Respawning enemies (when you re-enter the room they were in)
Side view/top down view hybrid (top down when entering buildings) - similar to Blaster Master
No strafe/dodge/block moves
-
Gameplay pauses for a bit every time you or an enemy uses a bomb
Repeats some notes several times and some have nothing written on them (some also just troll you)
Trial & error (no clues to most hidden items and doors - what's worse is that some required weapons are hidden this way plus there's no way to tell that you've cleared a planet of its items so you'll pretty much have to use a guide)
Can't exit a building if you've found a note in it - have to go and read the note
Can't accelerate downwards while flying
Repetitive
Basic visuals and music
No inventory items on soridia and afuraia planets?
Pretty simple bosses
Very easy final boss
Pretty lame ending
Bugs:
-Your power supply resets if you gain over 255 of it (it's possible to find items that restore/increase it by 30 points by accident)
-If you bomb a found door then it disappears again so you have to bomb it again to make it appear and make it possible to enter it
-If you're holding a direction while going in or out of the pause menu then the game temporarily freezes until you let go of the button
-After switching back from the time freeze the enemies can shoot but not move (might be intended but it's weird)