The Astyanax (ARC, 1989)
Graphics-8 Sound-7 Control-7 Challenge-8* Story-5
Level Design-6 Frustration-9* Fun-6* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6*
*1-player
+
Large and detailed sprites
Good/decent art direction (rips off Alien/Contra in the final stage) and animation, pretty good use of colour (sometimes garish)
Nice stills between levels showing the previous boss fight
A couple of good bosses
Shield (auto-use)
Smart bomb/magic attack (upgradeable)
Good jump control
Good enemy variety
Difficulty options (only has normal and hard modes though)
Start with up to 5 lives and gain more through point gathering
2-player co-op (helps with stamina and overall difficulty and pacing)
+/-
Stamina bar affects your attack strength (makes some parts rather slow/button mash heavy if you don't know when to use your magic (which you can only hold one of))
Faster to jump than to walk
Somewhat loose scrolling (makes it hard to react to fast moving enemies like bats and facehuggers)
Unlimited continues via credits + instant respawn
Lady enemies lose their clothes and run away when beaten
Hit enemies behind you when swinging your weapon (see Castlevania)
Male boob plate
-
Can't turn around or move while crouching (would be useful)
Can't attack upwards (would also be useful)
No dodge/slide move (there's a shield but it's auto-controlled and a rare find later on) - some enemies are very agile or have longer reach than you
No alternate weapons or magic
Short (6 stages)
Trial & error (fast enemies attacking from both sides or falling from above, boss/enemy patterns)
You need to take it really slow in the final stage to not get hit
Mostly simple bosses
Annoying/repetitive grunt when attacking which also cuts out the melody in some music tracks
Almost no platforming beyond the first stage
Level Design-6 Frustration-9* Fun-6* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6*
*1-player
+
Large and detailed sprites
Good/decent art direction (rips off Alien/Contra in the final stage) and animation, pretty good use of colour (sometimes garish)
Nice stills between levels showing the previous boss fight
A couple of good bosses
Shield (auto-use)
Smart bomb/magic attack (upgradeable)
Good jump control
Good enemy variety
Difficulty options (only has normal and hard modes though)
Start with up to 5 lives and gain more through point gathering
2-player co-op (helps with stamina and overall difficulty and pacing)
+/-
Stamina bar affects your attack strength (makes some parts rather slow/button mash heavy if you don't know when to use your magic (which you can only hold one of))
Faster to jump than to walk
Somewhat loose scrolling (makes it hard to react to fast moving enemies like bats and facehuggers)
Unlimited continues via credits + instant respawn
Lady enemies lose their clothes and run away when beaten
Hit enemies behind you when swinging your weapon (see Castlevania)
Male boob plate
-
Can't turn around or move while crouching (would be useful)
Can't attack upwards (would also be useful)
No dodge/slide move (there's a shield but it's auto-controlled and a rare find later on) - some enemies are very agile or have longer reach than you
No alternate weapons or magic
Short (6 stages)
Trial & error (fast enemies attacking from both sides or falling from above, boss/enemy patterns)
You need to take it really slow in the final stage to not get hit
Mostly simple bosses
Annoying/repetitive grunt when attacking which also cuts out the melody in some music tracks
Almost no platforming beyond the first stage