Developer: Sting Publisher: Sofel Released: 1992 Genre: Shooter
I love to be surprised by video games every now and then. The problem is as a thirty-nine year old man I am pretty set in what genres and games I like. Generally that means I can tell if I will like a game or not. But it also means I typecast or underestimate plenty of games as well. Flying Hero: Bugyuru no Daibouken looked like the typical cute em up import shooter, like many a game I’ve long since forgotten. But like Pop’n Twinbee before it the game shocked me and quickly established itself as one of the best SNES shooters you’ve probably never heard of.
Flying Hero keeps its array of weapons pretty light. There are only three primary weapons. The standard shot is weak but fast and reliable. The most powerful is the cloud but its only drawback is that it has no rapid fire. The most useful is the lightning. It packs a punch and only suffers in the reach department. But even that isn’t much of a detriment. Weapons gain three levels of power by collecting three cupcakes. Power-ups are fairly generous and even appear during boss battles. Your weapon level also functions as a life bar of sorts. Every hit taken reduces your power one level, and at base form you die in one hit. It might seem like a broken system because of the frequency of items but the game is fairly balance.
The controls in Flying Hero deserve a special mention. Bugle is a speedy protagonist and his speed can be adjusted at any time. More importantly the game offers a surprising degree of control over your shots. The L & R buttons will bend your shots diagonally and pressing both shoots behind you. This helps tremendously when dealing with problematic positioning and allows enemies to attack in weird formations. Using the shoulder buttons shores up the weakness of the lightning weapon, making it the clear favorite.
Flying Hero is certainly cute. The roster of enemies ranges from cute teddy bears throwing boulders to giant mermaids and even a threatening yet happy sun. The cheery exterior does not mean the game is a pushover however. Flying Hero gets busy when it comes to enemy swarms, with very little down time. This is one of the most intense shooters on the SNES and I love it. The pacing is generally excellent, with well-timed power-ups after particularly troubling segments. Most levels feature at least one mini-boss before the end level mayor. Even though this is clearly a fantasy world there are mechs, airships, and other oddities. It might seem like a mismatch but the variety it adds only adds to the game’s charm. This is a pretty long game and despite its length it remains fresh and entertaining until its conclusion.
It is not a conclusion you will see right away either. Flying Hero puts up a decent yet fair fight and is balanced pretty well. It is very easy to lose track avoiding items and get hit by a stray bullet. Even though the game is generous with its power-ups none are overwhelmingly powerful. You’ll still have to do the work to survive and dismantle each boss piece by piece. Honestly the game almost feels like a Treasure title with its frequent boss battles. Stage five is essentially a boss rush and the next level isn’t far behind. The final boss provides the biggest challenge, almost as if the game reserved most of its difficulty for that moment. It serves as a fitting conclusion to an awesome game.
Flying Hero won’t knock you off your socks with its presentation but overall it is solid. The game is exceedingly bright and cheerful and puts the system’s color palette to work. Special effects are minimal, with only the occasional use of Mode 7. For a 1992 release it is surprising that it showed restraint in that regard. The most surprising aspect of Flying Hero is its performance. The game never slows down which is worthy of praise. The screen is full frequently with massive sprites and yet never slows down. It embarrasses early efforts like Super R-Type and the awful D-Force and makes it look easy. Combined with its fantastic soundtrack Flying Hero is just an overall delight in every regard.
In Closing
From top to bottom Flying Hero is an incredible game. Fantastic graphics, intense action, and balanced gameplay make this a dream. The language barrier is non-existent, allowing anyone to jump in and experience this delightful and fun shooter.
