Developer: Zap Publisher: Natsume Released: 1992 Genre: Shooter Platform: Turbo Grafx-16
Everyone loves a good deal. In the age of the Steam sale these days you can find even new releases at a decent price. Back in 1992-1993 when the Turbo Grafx was on its last legs the games were dirt cheap. Even the system was cheap; we bought ours for $50 brand new which was unheard of. I don’t even think the NES was that cheap yet in 1991. Dead Moon is a game that dropped in price insanely fast, kind of like Phalanx. Unlike that game however there is no undiscovered gem here, just a thoroughly mediocre shooter with no stand out qualities.
Most shooters feature an elaborate weapon system of some kind to differentiate them from the pack. Dead Moon is content to provide the basics available in nearly every other title in the genre. There are four weapons: blue (lasers), red (rings), green (waves), and the default yellow (Vulcan). Collecting the same weapon powers it up, to a maximum of four times. Stronger weapons are also a shield in that taking hits reduces your weapon power instead of outright death. Secondary weapons such as missiles and satellites are also available. Weapon drops are frequent enough that even during boss battles you aren’t powerless. It’s a solid setup, it just leaves you wanting more.
Dead Moon isn’t necessarily bad. But it isn’t that good either. At its worst it is extremely generic. All of its weapons are practically identical to any other shooter. It does nothing new with them to excite the player. At its best it will remind you of any number of better shooters. Stage 1 is practically a palette swap of the first level of Aero Blasters. The underground caves of the Moon would not look out of place in Phalanx and its mid-stage boss is reminiscent of the Big Core in Gradius. This type of similar content is rampant within the shooter genre but at least most titles try to offer a few cool features to separate themselves from the pack. Dead Moon is content being average.
The challenge is a little bit high in Dead Moon despite its strong weapons. Extra lives are not awarded at all which is odd for the genre. The game is fairly generous with weapons but even so the enemies are strong. At full power you can suffer three or four hits before death. Even at full strength you’ll be surprised how fast and easy it comes. You do get three bombs upon respawning but they aren’t the screen clearing weapon of death you expect. The bosses are aggressive and put up quite a fight despite their easily recognizable patterns. The game may be generic but it at least fights you up until its moribund conclusion.
It does have two slightly notable aspects. One is its level progression. There are six stages in Dead Moon. The journey begins on Earth before you take off into space. From there you land on the Moon’s surface, battling enemy forces before descending underground. Once you’ve fought far enough you go deeper, landing in an underground river before emerging in the Moon’s core for the final battle. That sense of one continuous journey isn’t common in most games, which seem like a disjointed collection of random themed levels. Lastly, all the bosses are undead creatures. Not that it saves the game or even that their designs are interesting, its just a weird choice.
Dead Moon is also a better-looking title than the majority of the system’s library. The overall journey to the center of the moon is incredibly varied and looks great. The backgrounds are the standout, often featuring layers of scrolling six layers deep. It tosses around a ton of sprites with very little visible slowdown as well. Surprisingly the bosses are its weakest point. While certainly large the undead creatures elicit bewilderment rather than awe. They look cheap rather than terrifying outside of the massive fish of stage four. I wish I could say the music hits the same heights but the soundtrack is completely forgettable.
In Closing
Dead Moon is a slightly above average game that is simply unremarkable. Unless you are on a mission to play every shooter for the Turbo Grafx there are better titles to spend your money on. This one is easily skippable.
