Blaster Master Zero Reviews

Fun adventure game (Metroidvania). Great choice of weapons. Wonderful remake.

Great remake of the original Blaster Master with fun new twists and a great post game. 100% every map and dungeon to get it!

What a great blast(er) from the past. I played the heck out of the original NES Blaster Master, which with it's zero saves and low total of lives made the experience very difficult at first. What it was though, was fun, the most important aspect of any video game. Blaster Master Zero, is very similar. A lot of the "outdoor" screens are very similar to the original. The "inside" caves are quite a bit different. I've only played this through section 3, but I can tell this game, like it's grandfather, is going to provide hours of game playing fun. Highly recommend!

[quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote] [h1]Overall Rating - Exceptional ★★★★★[/h1] [h1]First Impressions[/h1] The title of this game, Blaster Master Zero (BMZ), becomes humorous when you consider there's two sequels, meaning they're called Zero 2 and 3. I understand why they didn't just leave it as Blaster Master, as it's a remake of the NES original release. Having tried the original, I was always interested in the game, but not its difficulty. A more accessible version sounded great, so I got it on sale. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] If you know anything about the NES version, you're aware of its brutal difficulty. You have limited continues and no way to save progress, so it'd have to be beaten within a single playthrough. Thanks to modern design choices and some quality of life improvements, the core game feel is similar, but much more approachable. Within either version, there's two main components. Starting off, you'll make use of the tank in order to traverse larger locations, relying on this vehicle to transport the squishy NPC. When you get out of the tank, you can platform, but the human is much less mobile and capable in the overworld. There's a few matters only he can take care of, but thankfully these are limited, considering a fall any greater than his jump height will kill him. Across the different zones, the futuristic explorer will cave-dive and investigate abandoned areas from several years past. He's much more lethal in this overhead view, able to utilize a range of firearms. Taking damage will drain his arsenal, so if you're careless, he won't have access to his most powerful weapons. These locations are where you'll find maps, upgrades, and fight most of the bosses. I found switching between both sides made for a really engaging gameplay loop. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3431727978 [h1]Controls[/h1] Something that takes time to adapt to is the floaty, momentum-based movement of the tank. It's hard to describe, but there are times you'll have to creep around carefully to make tight jumps. A few other nitpicky areas came from climbing ladders, moving through water, and firing the cannon without harming yourself. [h1]Story[/h1] In BMZ, a young man stumbles across a strange frog and inexplicable tank, but compared to the original, he learns more about what's going on during the adventure. Saving a strange female acts as the source for most of this knowledge, as it turns out that Earth's mutant problem has an extraterrestrial origin. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3431727719 [h1]Visuals[/h1] Although later areas include what I'd consider uglier and more threatening mutants, it's funny how many of them look fairly harmless. I don't find the walking rocks or jumping worms that threatening, even when they're dyed red. The surrounding environment looks much more disturbing than anything else. Comparing the visuals is hardly fair with how much technology has advanced over the years, but I like that BMZ still has a semblance of the original's aesthetic, while being willing to make improvements. For instance, boss fights have more structure with an actual arena and clear phases, instead of taking place in a black void. [h1]Sound Design[/h1] Much of the music has an upbeat, energetic tone to it, supporting the mood of a young man going on an adventure. When necessary though, to help match the warped environment, the music makes use of less harmonic and more unsettling sounds, making for a creepier sensation as you're playing. The music seems to be composed using chiptunes, much like the original would have been. Unfortunately, due to their short compositions, most of the songs are on the short side, so they can get repetitive as you're exploring. There's only a few annoying sound effects throughout the game, such as the radar turning pink, but these don't last for very long. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3431728524 [h1]Pros[/h1] 🌟 There's cheap DLC and unlockable modes available after obtaining the true ending. For those who really enjoy the game, it gives replayability to what would otherwise be a single playthrough. 🌟 Although there's no fast-travel system, when going from area to area, the layout allows for reasonably quick transitions. [h1]Cons[/h1] ❌ Unless you're curious about boss weaknesses, there's little reason for using the range of weapons available. However, it can be worthwhile to learn a few exceptions, such as the zap that hits all on-screen enemies, or melting ice with the flamethrower. ❌ Some of the controls can be fickle, especially if an enemy crashes into you. Getting away is a real struggle. [h1]Tips[/h1] 🔍 Losing access to your gun might make you panic. You can always pause in order to collect your thoughts, and decide whether you should die to restart the boss fight, or swap your weaponry. As long as you activated the checkpoint, dying is a minor inconvenience. 🔍 Exploring every square or map tile isn't necessary for the true ending. Therefore, you can ignore areas that are hard to navigate, or don't have anything worthwhile. [h1]Final Thoughts[/h1] Despite making many improvements to the original game, I think locking what weapons you can use to your health bar was a mistake. I understand it stems from the NES version, but most enemies' health melts under the onslaught of the 8th gun, making it your de facto choice. Most bosses were designed with at least one unique weakness, yet it's rarely worth using. When facing Gurnahide, it seemed to be weak against the flamethrower, because it was hit with such strong knock-back. Seeing it struggle like this was fascinating, but it died within seconds once I used the 8th weapon instead, which ruined its possible novelty. Locking more weapons behind secrets, making them options designed for specific locations and scenarios, would have made things much more interesting. As it is, I completely ignored a few of the weapons, like the shotgun. Despite this issue, I'm curious how the sequels turned out. Having made an NES original a title at least 25% are getting the secret ending for, I'd highly recommend this game. It's a master of the blast. [table] [tr] [th]PC Specs[/th] [th]Performance[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]Ryzen 2700 RTX 2070 16GB RAM ADATA SSD 1920x1080 [/td] [td]The game ran without incident on default settings. 💖 - BMZ is healthy [/td] [/tr] [/table]