SHMUPS!

Astro Robo SASA - ASCII

Astro Robo SASA

Reviewed by Neil Salvemini

A nice little Famicom Shmup, Astro Robo SASA was never released in the US. It stars two people in space suits, blasting giant pods out of their "Ghostbuster proton packs", to propell themselves into the sky, hitting various targets. The controls are simple: When on land, you can walk left and right. If you push up, you will lie on your back, and aim up. If you push down, you will aim at the ground. To blast into the air, aim down and shoot. Whatever direction you are aiming when you shoot, you will fly in the opposite.

There is a two-player mode in which appears to be a female in a pink space suit accompanying the original character. (I have no idea what their sexes are) ^_^

This game is actually quite fun. The 2-player mode, especially, in which both players get shocked every time they touch. The music is a repeating few notes, although they are actually bearable, and kind of grow on you after a while. The sounds are also pretty goofy.

Here, we see the blue ranger propelling through the air, having shot to the left. The energy symbols are floating in the air, attached to balloons. The E icons need to be collected to complete each stage. Because your energy slowly decreases when firing and playing each stage, these are the only way to get energy.

In this stage, our SD space cadet is high in the air, not being able to move through the cement wall. The cow to the left seems to be some kind of Pokémon, as touching him causes him to let out the Pikachu technique Super Ultra Mega Turbo Volt Blast 7 on our pal.

Our hero seems to have wound up in a parralell version of stage 3. Wha...????

(Eh?? - Akira)

Oh No, Stage 3 is home to flying scissors, ready to shock our cadet, and cut the E pods off the balloons. That Dirty Bast!

(Uhmm.. all these 'levels' look the same to me =P - Akira)

Ahhh, a nice city atmosphere. But, this time, it is unsafe to walk on the ground. Oil cans seem to have come alive, and are after our pal. And what do you know, the E pods are concealed behind a wall. Many shots are needed to remove the wall, and collect the pods.

Helicopters?! Oh no!

(chaa, chachachacha! chachacahchaaaa ...err... Airwolf music! what else? - Akira)

Once again, our hero is accosted by planes. Only this time, it seems as though they have got ahold of some enemy power pods from the outskirts of the planet Gradius, and have shooting capabilities. I wonder what made them so angry.

Finally, inside a room, and no more planes. In this scene, small machines pick up the power pods, and transport them to different places. Make sure you don't hit the pods!

(Ugh, this is starting to look very un-shmuppy! - Akira)

What the...??? Flying bricks?

(Ok ok, I gotcha. Scroll up so we can all see Donkey Kong. This ain't no shmup (cue end-of-level Donkey music) - Akira)

An underwater scene. Here, our cadet is being pushed upward. The barriers blocking the E pods need to be destroyed. There's even electric plants that cant wait to sway your way. Not to mention the Sea Horse that lives close by.

(Horsee!, horseee!...err... I knew Pokémon wasn't good for me brain - Akira)

Here is a 2-player scene. Our cadet is relaxing after the first mission. and leaving everything up to agent Pink. ^_^

(Oh my gawd, I also knew the Power Rangers was not a good show for kids. Look how Blue Ranger pimps and exploits Pink Ranger. Want even more nasty evidence? Notice these guys' addiction to E pills. Surely the blue dude is sobbering because he rolled balls the whole day. Nuff' said. And, in case you are wondering, I'm not drunk and I don't smoke pot - Akira)

Well, another weird jap game. I haven't tried this one,so I don't have a clue of what is it about =P I'm not much of a NES fan anyways, though right now I'd like to buy a strange NES clone that is shaped like an N64 controller and has about 60 games onboard. Pretty small unit, and it costs next to nothing =)

- Akira

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