Override - PC Engine

 

Override - PC Engine (1990)

Developed by Sting

Published by Data East

 

While developer Sting is probably best known for their excellent Dept. Heaven series consisting of titles like Riviera, Yggdra Union, and Knights in the Nightmare, back in 1990 they developed a shooter for the PC Engine titled Override. They also later went on to self publish the title on the Sharp X68000 home computer renamed Last Batallion.

The game consists of six stages which loop after the credits upon clearing the game. The player ship's main weapon can be upgraded by collecting the "P" icons littered generously throughout the stages. There are also several secondary weapons which can be picked up and subsequently powered up by collecting the corresponding weapon's icon multiple times. Your third and most effective (overpowered) weapon is your charge shot that charges automatically when you hold your fire for long enough. Once charged your ship will unleash a screen clearing onslaught when makes short work of regular enemies and bosses alike.While this weapon is very powerful, it's probably best to be careful with the timing of it throughout the busier sections of a stage.

Adding to the forgiving nature of the game the player can take three hits before losing a life on the next hit and extends are earned every 70,000 points allowing the player to build up many extends by the time they reach the last level. There are also a few "E" energy pickups that will restore one block of health to your ship should you take a hit or two throughout a stage.

I took this pic right after clearing the first loop.

My final score after reaching stage 2-4.

This title provides some good fun and does a good job of making the player feel like a badass even though it does lack in challenge. While I only cleared one loop of the game as of now, with a small amount of practice I'm confident that I could clear multiple loops given the generous extend system. When I return to this title in the future to attempt multiple loops I will update this post with the new score/screenshot.

Final Soldier - PC Engine

 

 

Final Soldier - PC Engine (1991)

Developed by Hudson Soft

Published by Hudson Soft

Released in 1991 by Hudson Soft, Final Soldier is the third and not so final entry in the Star Soldier series. The game consists of 7 main stages and two separate caravan scoring modes for tournament competition. The gameplay feels quite similar to it's predecessor Super Star Soldier as well as Compile's Gunhed/Blazing Lazers. Each stage contains 1 or more sub bosses as well as a main boss at the end of each stage. The exception to this rule is the final stage which has multiple appearances of the final boss throughout the level. While the early stages are lacking in overall challenge, the final two stages can prove pretty tricky the first few times around. The story involves the player fighting off an invading alien force that can travel through time as well as space.

 

 

There are 4 main weapon pick ups as well as a secondary missile pickup the player can use throughout the game. Each of these weapons can power up twice, also granting a shield of sorts with each power level. If you get hit your main weapon will power down a level. If your weapon is at the lowest power level when you get hit you will lose a life and all your power ups/options. In the later levels, recovering from such a loss can be quite difficult it certain situations leading a good run into a quick Game Over screen if you're not careful. In any credit after earning the maximum extends you have a limit of 6 lives before seeing the Game Over screen so a difficult recovery can end a run pretty quickly. Each of these pick ups can also be customized in the options menu before starting your run to have different shot patterns. Missiles can be customized to shoot either forward, backward, or homing. There are also "option" pick ups which generally act as options with the game limiting the player to carrying two at a time. These options can be detonated, sacrificing an option to clear the screen of enemies with is especially helpful in busier situations.

For my set up I focused on using the default Vulcan weapon and the homing missiles and this set up was the most effective I came up with for me. For my 1CC run I stuck to this set up for the whole run except when I accidentally picked up the Flame pickup toward the end of the 5th stage. I quickly switched back to Vulcan my first chance though.

 

This was another fun PC Engine STG to clear and was well worth checking out. While the overall challenge is easier then Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade, it still has some moderately challenging sections toward the end. I also really liked the soundtrack with some favorites being the 2nd stage's music as well as the final stage's music. Perhaps in the future I will spend some time with the caravan modes and see what kind of score I can get.

My final score of my 1CC run.