Developer: Hudson Soft Publisher: TTI Released: September 1992 Genre: Shooter
To be honest I am amazed I like the soldier series as much as I do. I played Star Soldier on the NES early on and did not think much of it. Star Soldier was bare bones next to Gradius and could not compete in my eyes. But in Japan it was extremely popular and the years were kind to each successive installment. Soldier Blade is the last in the series for the Turbo Grafx-16 and is a fitting swan song. There are not many shooters on the system with production values and action at this level that remains accessible at the same time. It would also be the last remaining bright spot for the series as it would experiment with 3d to varying degrees of success. But I digress.
In the 21st century Earth’s resources are drying up, prompting the need to explore space for more. Scientists create the Warp Drive gate to send multiple spaceships to distant corners of the galaxy but 4 months later it ends in disaster. The research team sent to other solar systems returns battered with the Zeograd army hot on their heels. It isn’t long before the Warp Drive is stolen, and all hope is lost until a lone scientist develops the Soldier Blade space fighter to combat this threat.
Even though Soldier Blade is the fourth game in the series it doesn’t go all out to dazzle players. This is evident in its weapon system, which is a bit pedestrian. There are only three weapons, the wave beam, Vulcan shot, and laser. This is a regression from Super Star Soldier and Final Soldier, which offered more interesting options. Each of these can be upgraded three times at which point they become massively powerful. Picking up any weapon also creates a satellite that follows your movements. You’ll also want to power-up faster as they double as a life bar of sorts. Each hit reduces your weapon level, leading to death at its base form. This is a significant change from prior games in the series, allowing it to ease gamers in to its pace.
While the weapons are few the true depth comes in managing your cache. You can collect and store up to three separate weapons. At any time you can detonate your current choice to use as a super bomb to switch. The effect is different for each; the laser becomes one massive blast that covers a sizable portion of the screen while the wave beam turns your option into a homing bomb that drains enemies until death. More important than the momentary burst of power is the fact that you are invincible for their duration. You can and should abuse this to cheese some of the more difficult encounters in the game. While it would have been nice to be able to switch weapons without sacrificing the current one the system in place works.
Soldier Blade immediately throws you into the action. Enemy waves are frequent and the game backs them up with giant mechs and massive space ships. While the action is high I find the game’s pacing bit too fast. Even on low speed your ship moves quickly. Considering the level of chaos rampant it is a bit of a detriment. Each level is extremely long, sometimes as long as two stages in similar titles. For a game that isn’t big on spectacle it pulls no punches with its bosses. The frequent boss battles can sometimes last as long as the levels themselves as each is composed of multiple parts and has several phases. While you can accuse the game of being too similar to its predecessors it does enough that it does not feel like a clone. Soldier Blade is an evolution and takes the series tropes to their nadir.
In spite of its frantic pace Soldier Blade is median in terms of its difficulty. Power-ups are well paced and usually drop in pairs of two or three. At full power (which is easy to reach) you can sustain four hits before death. This allows for some mistakes, of which there will be many. Even after death you can reclaim some of your power-ups, allowing you to recover. With its generous item drops, infinite continues, and instant respawns most will be able to reach the end with some difficulty along the way. Playing on higher settings will reveal more of the ending which gives some incentive for replay value. But the game is so good any way you would have done so anyway.
In Conclusion
Even on a system blessed with a great shooter library Soldier Blade rises to the top. Soldier Blade is a great game and one of the best for the system. And it remains accessible for casual gamers even though it is the last in the series. This is an essential part of any Turbo Grafx library in my opinion.
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