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Blaster Master Zero
Nintendo Network
A Solid Re-Imagining Of The NES Version
4/5 stars
Blaster Master Zero will remind you of the NES days and there's enough of a difference from the original to give you an enjoyable, all be it perhaps not a better, experience.
Inti Creates acquired the Blaster Master license from Sunsoft and basically recreated the original NES Blaster Master in their own image for 3DS and Switch. If you're a fan of the Blaster Master series and know the original on NES well, you will see a lot of similarities but fortunately as you progress through the game there's enough differences to give you basically an original experience.
The story is somewhat convoluted but it does make sense. The character you control in this game is named Jason. He follows his pet frog down a hole and he finds this tank like machine in this vast underground environment. The story goes that this is where humans lived hundreds of years ago while the surface was uninhabitable. While looking for his pet, Jason encounters a bunch of mutants and discovers he needs to take them out to save the planet. It's a little crazy, I know. But, that's basically the plot of the original, too.
Graphically speaking, Blaster Master Zero has an 8 bit NES feel. While the graphics are minimally better than what you would have seen on the NES don't assume that's bad. That's what they were going for. The music is also of that era, and even some of the tracks are identical to the NES version.
Now on to the game play. As someone who knows the NES version very well, I will make some comparisons. First, SOPHIA, the tank, moves a little faster than in the NES version and it's a little harder to control. But, you can do all the same things. Plus, with the extra buttons of the Switch controller you are allowed to tilt you gun at a 45 degree angle without being forced to move your tank to that's nice. All of the upgrades to the tank are basically the same. You'll eventually upgrade your firepower, be able to hover and climb walls, that sort of thing. Traversing levels in the tank is still fun and you still face obstacles you won't be able to overcome unless you find bosses and upgrade your tank. What's nice about this game is there are actually a couple bosses that you fight while in your tank. That was a nice change of pace that was welcome.
You can exit the vehicle as Jason and walk around as well. While there are times you must do this, it is not recommended. The idea is to find dungeons in the tank and then enter them as Jason exposing yourself as little as possible. Once inside the dungeon, it turns into a top down view where you control a blaster and grenades and then you take on enemies and bosses. You can still upgrade your weapon, and it's recommended you do because the best upgrade is a wave weapon that will dramatically make things easier. What's nice is that you can pick what weapon to use where in the NES version you could only use one weapon at a time and you lost if if you got hit. The same thing applies here, if you get hit you lose a weapon upgrade and health. It's smart to be patient in this game.
One of the things Zero offers that wasn't in the original NES version is clarity. First, there are save points. Considering I spent around 9 hours completing this game it's absolutely necessary. The NES version doesn't have that. Second, there are maps you can find in dungeons of the 8+ areas of the game. This makes exploring much, much easier and there are beacons on where to go at various points as well. It almost makes things too easy. The goal when you enter each area is to find the map. If you do you should be able to locate all the other upgrades somewhat easily. You not only can find upgrades to your tank, but you can also find health and grenade upgrades too. If you locate all the upgrades in the game, once you finish it a new area opens up and you can get an alternate ending. It was worth doing. Not only that but there's a harder mode you can unlock and extra DLC characters you can play with to change things up so there is some replay value there.
As a Blaster Master fan, I found this game enjoyable. In general it's easier than previous versions. Perhaps because of that, I think the NES version, the Game Boy Color sequel and the Wii VC version Overdrive was better. All in all I think it was worth the ten bucks for it though.
4/5
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