Developer: Toaplan Publisher: Dreamworks Release: 11/90 Genre: Shooter
I like Toaplan’s shooter output but will admit that a good portion of it is a bit repetitive. They sure did love that World War II setting. Flying Shark was a vast improvement over Tiger Heli, a game that I really do not like. But I admit that is based on the awful NES port; for all I know it could have been a classic in the arcade but I’ll be damned if I ever go back and find out. Fire Shark is the direct sequel and continues the streak they were on as it improves on many areas Flying Shark was deficient in. But it feels more like a mission pack than a full-fledged sequel. It is still a good game but there is a feeling of déjà vu when playing it.
Fire Shark treads familiar territory as its predecessors, Sky Shark and Flying Shark. It uses the same military setting, locales, and sometimes even enemies. It even has an identical structure, being ten levels. But Fire Shark has more variety in its environments which makes it more interesting to look at in the long haul. Aside from being a prettier game (relatively speaking with this version) there are a number of gameplay changes that make it a better playing title as well.
The biggest point of contention with Flying Shark was its weapon system. It took way too long to feel moderately powerful and if you died you had to go through that long process all over again. Fire Shark arms you pretty well from the start. Your default weapon is a spread shot that covers a decent portion of the screen. There are only three weapons in the game; the spread, the green laser, and red flame thrower. At their base level each is strong if not useful. But by collecting three power chips you can level them up to four times. At full power each item becomes a screen clearing weapon of mass destruction. It does not take as long to reach this point, allowing gamers of all stripes to jump in and have fun in short order.
The weapons are powerful; some might even say too powerful. The game is not shy with its power-ups and you will rarely be at base level even after death. The laser might be the most straightforward but it cuts through enemy ships like a knife through butter. The flame thrower however is game breaking. At full power it has five flaming streams that that cycle back and forth. These gouts of flame cover the front, back and sides of your ship. It is so overpowering that you literally never have to take your hand off the fire button and only dodge the occasional bullet.
Due to the overpowered weapons Fire Shark is significantly easier than its predecessor. The improved pacing also helps as well. The first few levels are median in terms of enemy waves. More importantly they are generous with power-ups, allowing you to reach a decent level of power quickly. You get to flex that power for a few levels as you easily mow down enemy ships. But the last three level s see a massive difficulty spike that can be off-putting. Enemies are incredibly accurate with their shots and the screen is littered with bullets. If you die the odds of making a comeback at that point are slim. It sounds damning but it is far better than the previous game where it felt like you were under-powered the entire time.
As with most Toaplan ports to the Genesis the game is very ugly. The reduced color palette sticks out like a sore thumb as the majority of the game is overly brown and green until the ending levels. The game’s ugliness cannot be entirely blamed on the system. The game seems to use 20-25 colors at most when the Genesis is capable of more. It has its moments of course. The game throws around a lot of sprites both big and small with little slowdown until the end. But you could easily mistake this for Flying Shark as they both use the same theme and seeming enemies. You are not playing this one expecting graphical excellence is all I am saying.
In Closing
Fire Shark is a competent arcade port and a good game. But on a system with such shooter heavyweights a good game barely stands out. Not a bad game but it faces stiff competition and is a secondary or third purchase.
