Crisis Force |
Famicom |
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Review by Rob "Dire 51" |
Konami |
Shoot'em-up |
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Graphics: 9 |
Sound: 8 |
Gameplay: 9 |
Overall: 9 |
![]() Konami chose that time to release one of the greatest overhead shooters they ever created for the Famicom. However, due to several factors it was never released in the U.S. (the declining popularity of the NES at the time and the amount of cash it would have taken to manufacture the custom chips in the game - especially for a game that was liable to be overlooked - seem to be the major ones). The game? None other than Crisis Force. The story seems to be your typical SHMUP plot - a force of robots is descending on Tokyo City in 199X and causing havoc. A boy and a girl (sorry, but I never did get their names) take off in their two falcon-esque fighters to stop the threat. From there, you fight through seven stages of overhead shooting madness - and if you choose, you can bring a friend along for the ride, as you have the option of playing Crisis Force as a two-player simultaneous game. ![]() The graphics are phenomenal. Crisis Force has often been called "the Axelay of the Famicom", and rightly so. Konami pulled out all the stops this time around... the graphics are at an almost 16-bit level, in terms of multiple-scrolling backgrounds and large sprites. The custom chips that I mentioned earlier made it possible to pull off this kind of feat. The first time I saw it in action, I was shocked... I'd never seen a Famicom game (or an NES game, for that matter) pull off those kinds of tricks. I was reminded of the first time I ever saw Gunstar Heroes (Sega Genesis)... I had never seen the Genesis pull off those kinds of effects before. Aside from the technological tricks that Crisis Force pulls off, the rest of the graphics are very well done... they're colorful, extremely well animated and the ship designs and enemy designs are very interesting and quite imaginative at times. The music is also very good... Konami usually scored every time in the music department when it came to their 8-bit games, and this time is no exception.
Crisis Force is an outstanding shooter, ranking up there with
such great overhead NES shooters like Zanac, Gun*Nac, Star
Soldier, and the incredible Recca (graphically it puts all of
them to shame, but gameplay-wise it's comparable to those four). If you
enjoy a good overhead SHMUP and you have the ability to play Famicom
games, then I wholeheartedly recommend tracking a copy of Crisis Force
down.
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