Gaiares

The Sega Genesis diverse lineup of shooters is both a blessing and a curse.  On the one hand there are some truly awful games in there as you would expect.  But on the other some of the most brilliant games in the genre were released for this system.  Unfortunately, that also means many amazing titles slipped through the cracks.  M.U.S.H.A. is mostly remembered for its ridiculous acronym, if at all.  Trouble Shooter is an amazing game that I absolutely recommend to any fan of action games.  And Gaiares isn’t spoken of at all.  Well with one exception.

If there is one reason anyone remembers Gaiares it is because of its goofy marketing.  In it a young teenager with one of the finest mullets human hands have ever crafted informs you on how to pronounce the game’s title and extol its virtues.  There were a series of these ads so apparently someone must have proud of it.  Seeing as Gaiares has become a cult classic I would say it didn’t work.  Well, it at least worked on me as the ads are the reason I decided to rent Gaiares in the first place.  I’m glad I fell for it even if the game left me furious at times.

Gaiares has a lengthy intro explaining its heavily anime influenced plot.  Earth has become a ravaged wasteland in the future thanks to mankind’s excesses.  A group of space pirates named Gulfer, led by ZZ Badnasty, plan to harvest its few remaining resources to create weapons of war.  The United Star Cluster of Leezaluth gives the Earth one chance to defeat Gulfer before they destroy the Sun and do it for them.  On the flip side if they succeed Leezaluth will restore the Earth.  No pressure eh?

Gaiares does not offer an extensive range of power-ups like most shooters.  In fact, there are only two.  The rare shield will protect you from a few hits and is invaluable.  There is also a screen clearing bomb but like the shield it isn’t common.  Your primary means of offense is the TOZ system.  This satellite functions like an option in Gradius.  It supplements your shots and can absorb hits, but its main function is to steal enemy weapons.

Nearly every enemy in the game has a weapon that can be snatched.  Sending out the TOZ to latch on and copy a weapon leaves you vulnerable but is worth it.  The first latch copies it at the weakest level but you can do so again to power it up.  Most enemies spawn in groups or waves for this reason alone.  While most of these are your standard shooting fare there are a few cool originals like the rolling colador.  I total there are thirteen weapons; you won’t see every one in each level but there are enough that you can play around with it.

Where other shooters have predefined enemy waves Gaiares is different.  Enemies spawn based on your position which makes it chaotic but fun.  While the randomness can be annoying there is some consistency.  Most enemies come in groups to better facilitate powering up your weapons.  Gaiares is an extremely fast paced game and one of the few games where manually adjusting your speed is almost a prerequisite.  Whether its navigating tight passages or keeping pace with a speedy boss managing your speed is one of the most valuable skills you need to master.  Next to its random enemy waves occasionally the environment is also dangerous.  Stage three features numerous black holes that threaten to swallow you whole while stage five limits your field of view with lava.  I like these moments; too bad the game doesn’t have more.

On average shooters are more challenging than other genres.  Even with that in mind Gaiares is one of the most difficult games on the system.  How hard the game is varies from moment to moment.  If you have a great weapon for a given situation it is a breeze.  The Plasma Cannon isn’t powerful but covers a wide area.  It’ is not the weapon you want when dealing with bosses though.  If you’ve made a bad choice it can be near impossible.  If you die you lose your current weapon and won’t always get a decent replacement.  Checkpoints are few and the levels are excruciatingly long.  These are capped off by bosses that are very aggressive, with the speed of the game working in their favor.  With limited continues most will have to resort to cheating to see this one through.  I will say the end is worth it though.

In Closing

Gaiares is a tough one to judge.  It has stellar production values, a great weapon system, and varied level design.  Those that stick with Gaiares will find one of the best shooters on the system.  But the high difficulty will put off most players.