Maybe
this is supposed to read "BLA" Zeon. Because that is just about
what describes the overall feel of this shooter: Bla. Once again
this is one of those games where it has one redeeming quality that
makes it stand out, that makes it worth reviewing, that keeps it
from being lost in the pile of garbage cluttered with failed shooters
that just wouldn't catch on. I will try to keep in mind that this
game was made in 1992, and by today's standards it is sub-standard.
Blaze-on
pits a tiny, heavy as anything ship against six or so levels of
what looks to be ripped off R-Type
sections (hardcore gamers will recognize the similarities). The
mini-terror in question has only one hit, but when you do get hit,
the ship breaks apart rather than just blowing up. You have two
means of attack, the regular shot and what I call the freeze missile.
The freeze missile has the ability to *redeeming quality* shut down
certain enemies in their tracks so you can hi-jack them and play
as that character *redeeming quality*. While this is somewhat like
Gaiares, in Blazeon
you actually change character, not just the weapon system. This
means you get more hits now, your special weapon changes, and the
very cumbersome and difficult to control main ship can be a bit
easier to handle. The fun of Blazeon is finding out which enemies
you can steal and what they do.
Besides
this, Blazeon is lacking. Gameplay is very slow, the graphics have
weird color schemes, and the music is ……different, but also very
slow. It's very calming and puts you to sleep, while being repetitive.
And to top things off, there is NO ENDING, NOTHING whatsoever. You
just start again, but this time your ship is RED. Granted, this
may be a second quest, but I just don't care. At least tell me to
go through again. (Note, if you want to make me give your game a
bad review, leave out the ending……this will do it every time). Now
if shmup designers today would take all the lower-end games out
there, pull out the best elements from them, and combine ideas,
what a killer game that would be. Just strain out the enemy changing
idea from Blazeon and use it in a real game……..anyway, if your Saturn
is off being chipped, play this to hold you over, if not, read the
review and pass it up.
