Power Blade 2

Developer: Natsume    Publisher: Taito    Release: 10/92   Genre: Action

Power Blade was one of the rare times the US version of a game was better than its Japanese counterpart. Power Blazer was a complete mess of a game that was near broken at a fundamental level. But Taito completely retooled it and created one of the better action games for the system. For some inexplicable reason Power Blade 2 was released toward the end of the NES life. But rather than being an expansion of what made the first game great it settles for being a plain action title like its contemporaries. Its good at what it does but at what cost?

Power Blade 2 was one of many late era NES games from Taito. Talk about a publisher finding their footing, Taito was on fire near the end of the system’s life. Kick Master, Little Samson, and Panic Restaurant are all hidden gems that cost a pretty penny due to low print runs. Power Blade 2 is the odd man out in that group. It is a solid game overall but loses what made its predecessor unique and as a result is kind of generic. This is still worth playing but not at an exorbitant price.

The large variety of power-ups has been paired back to almost nothing. In their place instead are a variety of power suits. By facing a mid-boss in every level Nova gains access to four power suits. The Wet Suit, Rocket Suit, Patriot and Power Suit all have different abilities that come in handy throughout the game such as allowing you to swim or even fly. Suits are governed by energy which slowly depletes over time. But refills are common and you can even keep restocks in reserve.  In fact you can find energy tanks just like Mega Man. With its stage select the similarities are even more pronounced but Power Blade 2 isn’t as good as those games.

Although Power Blade was an action platformer it was unique in that you had to find a contact before being able to face the end level boss. The levels were huge as a result with plenty of secrets. Power Blade 2 tosses that element and is a straightforward action game instead. While it could be frustrating to spend upwards of twenty minutes on a single stage it did make the game unique. Luckily the heavier focus on straight action kind of makes up for it. Nova returns and is still equipped with his trusty boomerang. He is just as slow as before but has gained a slide attack to compensate. Since you aren’t exploring the levels and forging your own path time is not really a factor anymore.

Without that element Power Blade 2 resembles many prior NES titles like Shatterhand or Shadow of the Ninja. That is not bad company to be in but Power Blade 2 shows its hand pretty early and is repetitive. The levels are still massive and unfortunately they drag on. Each level is considerably longer than any in the previous game which is overkill. Since you are destroying a series of towers they all share the same small roster of enemies and traps. Even the mid-level bosses are near identical, with a mere palette swap and slightly different attack. By the third level you will have seen all the game has to offer. Don’t get me wrong, what is there is solid. It just needed more variety.

Power Blade presented a moderate challenge but the sequel is the direct opposite. Burgers drop frequently and there are convenient enemy generators you can farm for more, time permitting. Power suit energy depletes so slowly you can spend an entire stage in one, allowing you to breeze through most of it. You can find energy tanks easily which, like Mega Man 2, almost completely trivializes the difficulty. It has its moments for sure; many of the platforming sequences can be tricky and lead to instant death. But it is nothing you have not seen before. Even the boss rush at the end poses little threat thanks to your energy tanks. Whether the lacking difficulty hurts the game comes down to personal preference.

In Closing

Power Blade 2 is a good game but still disappointing. What few unique features the series had are gone, leaving behind a decent if generic action game. It is still enjoyable but not as good as the titles it now resembles.