NOTE: This was a previous Game of the week discussion thread!
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How did we miss this as GOTW? Certainly one of the most fun shmups on the Neo! And it has an awesome soundtrack too!
If you haven't played it, go now! (Although, the game is known to be quite expensive, I believe ^^; ) If not, as the game so aptly puts it...
"You fail it!"
Blazing Star
Genre: Shoot 'em up (Shmup) Size: 346 Megs Players: 1 or 2 Players Released on: AES, MVS
Brief Description:
Blazing Star was released in 1998 by SNK, and developed by Yumekubo. It is the semi-official sequel to the acclaimed Neo Geo shooter Pulstar, which was itself a close cousin to the R-Type franchise. Noted for its large size (346 Megs), the game makes extensive use of pseudo-3D prerendered sprites, brief anime and CGI cutscenes (mostly during the intro sequence), and frequent Engrish voice samples and captions. The joystick and two buttons are used to play Blazing Star. The joystick moves the ship around, while button A fires the normal shot. If A is tapped rapidly, then a variation on the normal shot is used. If A is held down, then the ship stores energy for a charged shot, which is fired when A is released. The charged-shot attacks have a duration based on how long the A button is held for, and pressing B during the attack will split the projectile in some way, greatly increasing the range.
Kazuya_UK wrote
Now for the inevitable question: Is Blazing Star better than Pulstar? I think that all depends on your own personal taste. I have stated many times that Pulstar is very hard, so if you really like a challenge that will take great skill to get through then you will probably prefer that. If you aren't a complete “shoot ‘em up demon” then you will probably prefer this game though
Videos:
Blazing Star Showcase:
YouTube Video
Other Media:
We have a few tunes in the Jukebox. Lookie, lookie!
I have updated the main post in the BLAZING STAR Highscore challenge so that there is a link to this Thread.
I really like this game and think that its only rival for the title "best shoot´em up for the NEO GEO" is STRIKERS 1945+, which I play the most. even though STRIKERS 1945+ is a vertical scrolling game and BLAZING STAR is a horizontal game I think its fair to compare the two.
Everyone is welcome to enter the BLAZING STAR highscore challenge:
My favourite horizontal scrolling shooter. Fantastic game, looks great, perfect mixture of old school R Type/Darius side scrolling and bullet curtain intensity. Great, great game.
I've never played this, but want to sooo much. I don't do emulation (it just doesn't give you a true idea of how I game really plays I think) so its either I take out a bank loan for the AES version, or wait until I get round to getting some sort of MVS set-up going on at home.
Its going to be a long time before I play this then....
This game is one of the best shooters I've played, not that I've played much horizontal ones, mostly vertical but imo it beats other great shooters as UN Squadron or Gradius (which i particularly hate, dunno why though...)
Great graphis, great sound, great controls and great game, all to be said
Thanks for the GotW again cat, I appreciate you doing it... and this must be the earliest it has ever gone up on a Sunday!
Blazing Star is fantastic... I think at one time it was my favourite Neo Geo shooter, but over time I think I warmed to Pulstar a little more. It's still one of the best though, and a must play for shoot 'em up fans.
Even on MVS this game can be pricey yet its a game I want regardless of the fact I have it on my 100-1 cart. Its a very slick shooter that is often never mentioned by shump fans as its obviously on the NG rather than other more commercial consoles. Despite being 10 years old it really is a credit to the NG and shumps in general.
I reckon if this came out with Pulstar on a double pack for the PS2 it would find a whole new audience * maybe just in Japan mind* .
love this game defo the best shooter on the neo, i have many other shooters like strikers 1945+, prehistoric island and it beats them all. i havnt yet played pulstar but i think the difficulty would put me off. i have this on mvs and play it thru my phantom1 convertor. my mvs cart cost me 100 quid which was alot and was the most i spent on a neo geo game but it was defo worth it.
Words cannot describe how much I love this game. The Graphics, Music and the attitude this game holds is amazing. I think it Still looks good in todays standards and I feel this game showed really what the Neo was capable of.
Blazing Star is a wonderful game. Beautiful graphics, a memorable soundtrack and very addictive gameplay. I voted for the second option because I'm not convinced it's actually better than Pulstar. Personally I have a slight preference for Pulstar.
Mr Vengeance wrote:
I've never played this, but want to sooo much. I don't do emulation (it just doesn't give you a true idea of how I game really plays I think) so its either I take out a bank loan for the AES version, or wait until I get round to getting some sort of MVS set-up going on at home.
Its going to be a long time before I play this then....
Mr. Vengeance I can understand your point of view and I know some people aren't keen on emulation. While I prefer playing Neo Geo games on my AES I would have to say that playing them on an emulator does give you a true idea of how the game plays. Also if you don't use emulation it means there will always be some Neo Geo games you never get a chance to play.
When I was building up my AES collection I actually found that I ended up buying more games because of trying them out on an emulator first e.g. I would never have imagined that Neo Geo baseball games could be so much fun until I actually tried them out.
Also there are a lot of great arcade games that were never ported onto a home console so if you don't use emulation you'll never get a chance to play them which I think would be a shame.
At the end of the day it's your choice and I can understand why you feel the way you do.
I don't like emulation just because it doesn't mean as much as when you play the actual game. Its because you don't pay for it, or actually go to the effort of getting your machine out and putting the cartridge on the slot. Also it always is just a little better on original hardware The worst is when you get a disc with lots of games on - it just devalues the games somehow - it's like now we can have a Final Fight machine in our living rooms - but we don't think 'wow I have a Final fight machine '- its just another game on the disc.
Blazing Star is my fav shooter on Neo Geo. You notice when playing for score how well thought out the risk/reward system is. I reallly like the bosses too. I like thats its dynamic and fast. Pulstar is a v.good game but is a bit more plodding and slow moving. I just prefer the dynamism in Blazing Star. I like the music too, although Pulstar does have a great soundtarck also.
"There's a guy on Geometry Wars. I can't remember his Gamertag, but his score is far above anyone else in the world, and it makes me think this person doesn't have a life, doesn't work, and is completely and sickly addicted to this one game."
merlin wrote:
...While I prefer playing Neo Geo games on my AES I would have to say that playing them on an emulator does give you a true idea of how the game plays. Also if you don't use emulation it means there will always be some Neo Geo games you never get a chance to play.
When I was building up my AES collection I actually found that I ended up buying more games because of trying them out on an emulator first e.g. I would never have imagined that Neo Geo baseball games could be so much fun until I actually tried them out.
Also there are a lot of great arcade games that were never ported onto a home console so if you don't use emulation you'll never get a chance to play them which I think would be a shame.
At the end of the day it's your choice and I can understand why you feel the way you do.
100% AGREE HERE...
I myself only truly took the dive for expensive japanese imports etc after taking a couple of, perhaps, unsavoury avenues...
1) The XboX
as much as I don't really like MS or the Xbox in general, Bills first offering was a hackers delight. As such it gave me ( a non-PC user) the ability to be introduced to and play TONS of games I'd never had chance to play before or indeed games I had never even heard of! It was only because of Emu's like FinalBurnAlpha etc & Kawaks (and some others too) that I decided to track down a load of the games I liked and reference them to their console releases. I'd say most of the games I liked had favourable releases on the Saturn (JP), and as such I know have around 100+ JP Saturn titles that I'm very proud of owning and playing. This in essence is thanks to emulation. The same goes for the NEOGEO titles too. There's so many games I played on Emu that I may never have had the chance to play back in the day... long before there were any signs of Kizuna Encounter or WWaku7 coming to PS2 etc.
ON A SLIGHTLY DIFFERING NOTE...
2) The Dreamcast
not so much Emulation, than blatant piracy! A lot of the JP games I have now are simply expensive replacements of a ton of copied discs I amassed over the DC's 'golden' era. Like emulation, I simply used these cheap pirates as a means to acquire a taste of the East... and I would honestly say my life is all the better for it. Without it, I would never have EVER played the likes of Mars Matrix, Zero Gunner 2 or the DCs amazing rendition of Capcom VS SNK2... I would have only had the measly PS2 port.
OVERALL THOUGH...
I'd equate as follows: Emulation=Education
Personally I have to give Pulstar the nod in the perpetual Blazing Star Vs. Pulstar debate, but luckily I don't have to actually choose between them. Blazing Star is a great game.
Also, it has some of the funniest Engrish of all time in the ending.
Also, it has some of the funniest Engrish of all time in the ending
haha definately this game is home to some of the finest examples of SNK-grish out there. As if the random messages appearing in the game ("hey poor player" "get it more" weren't enough the ending and stage names were also hilarious (the "guardian's criff" anyone?). It works in it's favour though, giving the game a joyfully over-the-top japanese feel.
The final boss is just plain creepy though. Someone really must have liked 2001: A Space Odyssey lol. I wonder if it'll find a home on a games download service like XBLA. It certainly deserves a new audience as it is quite simply fun to play.
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The worst is when you get a disc with lots of games on - it just devalues the games somehow - it's like now we can have a Final Fight machine in our living rooms - but we don't think 'wow I have a Final fight machine '- its just another game on the disc.
weren't enough the ending and stage names were also hilarious (the "guardian's criff" anyone?). It works in it's favour though, giving the game a joyfully over-the-top japanese feel.