By the mid-90s the US market was overrun with shooters. If you owned a Turbo Grafx, Genesis or Neo Geo you had more choices than you knew what to do with. And it was even worse in Japan. While most hit fatigue with the genre at that point in 1990 it was actually exciting. With more powerful systems the really cool arcade games could be ported, to say nothing of original efforts like Thunder Force. And then there were games like Arrow Flash. There’s nothing offensive about Arrow Flash but at the same time it wasn’t exactly exciting despite its early release. This slightly above average shooter was quickly eclipsed by superior efforts in short order.
At first glance Arrow Flash seems typical of the genre. Your ship features many of the weapons typical of the genre. There are speed power-ups and heat seeking missiles. There is a shield that will protect you from three hits as well as options that change depending on your current mode. Weapons come in 3 forms that don’t differ too much. Number I is a blue laser that is longer than the standard shot. Number II packs more power but is slower while III is a wave beam that is the slowest but strongest.
Most of your weapons and their behavior change depending on your ship’s mode. Arrow Flash’s most unique feature is its transforming mech. At the touch of a button you can switch between ship and mech. As a mech you present a larger target but moves quickly vertically. Its fire tends to cover more of the screen while the options stay in a fixed position. In ship form you move faster in general with more focused fire. The options follow your movements like Gradius.
These distinctions also apply to the Arrow Flash itself. The reason for the game’s namesake is an all-powerful super move that takes two forms. In mech form you become a blazing comet, invincible to damage and able wreak havoc for a few seconds. The ship emits five massive lasers that inflict large damage on a single target. You can choose to either build up a stock or charge it manually for unlimited use in the options menu. Both choices have their drawbacks and it’s really cool they let you decide.
Arrow Flash had the makings of a pretty good game but ultimately falls flat. Despite the wealth of options at your disposal the game never really gives you reason to use them. The game’s pace is incredibly slow with long delays between enemy waves. There is nothing wrong with a slower paced game so long as it has its moments of excitement. Unfortunately Arrow Flash doesn’t have that. What’s the point of arming you with an extensive array of weapons if you barely get to use them? Stage three is especially guilty of this. Your heat seeking missiles will kill most enemies in the level’s first half before they even appear. You are left cruising against a cloud backdrop for long periods doing nothing. The game looks so much like Thunder Force, too bad it doesn’t play like it.
As you’ve probably guessed this is a walk in the park. Once you’ve powered up you’ll have to go out of your way to die. The boss battles are the only areas that might present some difficulty. With the generous respawn system you can brute force your way through the roughest moments, not that its necessary. With its easy difficulty you’ll blow through its five levels in less than thirty minutes. There’s nothing particularly wrong with a short game as long as you enjoy the experience. Sadly I doubt most will find much to like in Arrow Flash.
As average as the game’s production values are it suffers from terrible slowdown and flicker. The slowdown is particularly embarrassing considering how few enemies appear at once. It is most noticeable during boss fights, where the large screen filling monsters grind the game to a halt. For as much as the SNES deserved its reputation in the genre I think people tend to gloss over titles like this that show developers need time to adjust to new hardware.
In Closing
Cool features alone can’t save an average game. If Arrow Flash were paced better and not so derivative it could have been a decent first generation shooter. As is it is largely forgettable, especially on a system oversaturated with shooters.
