Mega Drive Saga

To start off, here's what I played yesterday on the Mega Drive:

Mazin Saga (1993)

A side-scrolling beat 'em up where you (as the main sword-wielding character) go around in an alternate year 1999 slicing up robots and generally causing grief to machinekind.

The graphics are nothing special at all, with fairly tiny sprites and minimal environmental detail. In the moves department, there didn't seem to be a huge amount at first, but a few more could be found tucked away in there once you had a play around, such as an E. Honda-style 100 sword swipe achieved by mashing the attack button and a rushing flying spinny twirly... yeah you get the picture.

To the game's credit, it kept me entertained for about five or ten minutes anyway, but I don't think I'd go back to it again as it was starting to become a bit mundane. Furthermore, there are a variety of other beat 'em ups like Battletoads that do the job far better.

Score: [5/10]

High Seas Havoc (1994)

I remember reading about this one in MEGA a while back, where it received a completely average score by all accounts. Sure enough, the guys didn't disappoint as this game is absolutely middle of the road.

Taking control of... um... a feline-looking rodent-pirate hybrid, your goal is to collect diamonds while jumping on enemies and avoiding objects such as rocks and dynamite.

In fact, I don't really need to explain much more about this game, other than it's patently Data East's attempt at doing their own Sonic. The level design shows more than a striking resemblance, and after puzzling over where my attack key was, it appears there's only the option to jump on the heads of your foes to dispatch them. Sounding familiar yet?

The thing that does set the game apart from the Sonic series is that it's nowhere near as quick. Think of Mouseypirate the Wondercat being the Pensioner on their way to cash their Giro, with Sonic being the wiley Scouser who nicks off with their handbag and into the distance before they get the chance to do so. In summary, this game is probably best avoided.

Score: [4/10]

Starflight (1991)

From the minute the game asked me to 'enter captain's name', I knew this was going to turn out to be some dodgy Elite-influenced encounter which I really cannot be bothered to play right now.

As I blasted through the multitude of screens with random information sprawled all over and pretty much ignoring the trade and ship upgrade areas, my concentration was already beginning to lapse. It actually took me about 10 minutes to be deemed ready to venture out into the final frontier, as naming my ship and hiring crew members was mandatory. Oh, and the fact that it took what seemed like full minutes to get from one side of the 'station' to the other didn't help either - a character perhaps even slower than the Piratecat?

Nevertheless, soon came the moment of triumph - I was ready to launch! Trying to contain my excitement, I sat in glee as the doors opened, some of the worst sound effects I've ever heard pummled my unexpecting ears and I was greeted by what looked like the 'flying through space' screensaver from an old PC. This was going to be great!

The next course of events mainly consisted of me trying to exit the orbit of the space station (didn't know they had a planetary core?), hurtling towards the nearest planet and having my Science Officer 'Jeff' tell me what was on it.

More random information greeted me warmly onscreen.

'Thanks Jeff, now where's the power switch?'

Score: [3/10]

Burning Force (1990)

This little '3D' shooter by Namco is pretty much their own version of Space Harrier. The main difference with this one is that you can obtain Power Ups as you progress over each barren wilderness, while taking down the usual gaggle of enemies and either shooting or avoiding obstacles on your way. You also seem to change from being on a hover scooter to a plane on some levels, and the bonus stage looks like something out of I, Robot, or an early version of Starwing.

The game doesn't seem too bad, but after playing Space Harrier recently in the Retroleague, I wasn't prepared to put myself through the mill again. Worth a look in any case.

Score: [5/10]

Dangerous Seed (1990)

Another Namco(t) game, this time a vertical shooter. On first impressions, the game seemed fairly tricky, with the ship being relatively slow and enemy bullets being as quick as something you might expect from an arcade. There are the usual power ups and weapon changers to be collected, as well as missiles and health. The game actually gives you 3 rechargable segments of health here, so it's more forgiving than most. There also seems to be some kind of 'formation' system going on, but I couldn't change it from Alpha which it was defaulted on, nor did I know what this would actually achieve.

The graphics were passable, but nothing like some of the excellent shmups you can get your hands on today, or even at that time. Sound is nothing to write home about either, with no 'pew pew' from your own laser and a fairly bog-standard soundtrack. Saying this, Dangerous Seed does look like something I'd go back to for another go, as we all know Namco have done some damn good shooters in the past, so it will most likely be a solid experience.

Score: [6/10]