Developer: Nova Publisher: Namco Released: 11/90 Genre: Rail Shooter
Space Harrier made a big splash in the arcade with its fancy scaling graphics and riveting gameplay. Yet it did not spawn as many imitators as you would expect, at least in the US. In Japan there were countless titles that were, *ahem*, inspired by Sega’s classic across all platforms. Sadly they mostly skipped the US. One of the better games among that ilk is Namco’s Burning Force, an awesome game that takes its cues from Space Harrier while putting its own spin on it. The Genesis port is generally excellent and well worth seeking out.
Burning Force stars Hiromi, a cadet in the Earth University attempting to earn her Space Fighter license. Her trials play out over the course of six days and many areas before the final test. As much as I like the game you cannot deny that its story is a little too close to Space Harrier. Burning Force originally released in the arcade and despite the disparity in hardware Namco have done a great job bringing it home. This is a great hidden gem that shooters fans should not pass up.
While it may seem similar to Sega’s game Burning Force has its differences. The entire game takes place over six days. Each day has three areas; two normal stages, a boss level and a bonus round to rack up points and hopefully extra lives. Movement is ground based, making it tougher to dodge enemies and obstacles. The third round of each day is a boss stage that puts you behind the controls of a jet plane and allows free flight. This is when the game resembles Space Harrier the most but I digress.
Although you can only move left and right it isn’t as restrictive as it sounds. The game is designed around this and it works out pretty well. You can slow down or speed up, which helps with dodging enemy fire or enemies that appear from behind. Enemy patterns are formulaic enough that you can predict where they will spawn and move. But despite that Burning Force is not entirely predictable. Rockets, gusts of flame and other random obstacles will test your ability to pilot the jet bike and keeps the game fresh.
The weapons are both interesting and a little disappointing. There are three primary weapons; the laser, wide beam, and cross laser. Each has its quirks. The wide beam has a nice spread but is weak. The cross laser is the strongest. The laser is strong but makes it difficult to line up shots. These are joined by two kinds of missiles, homing and max. Homing missiles need no explanation. Max missiles detonate on landing and spreads out, good for standard enemies but ineffective against bosses. This is a decent selection however you get two chances at most to pick up a new weapon per level. Considering their scarcity I expected more from them. The only other item in the game is green orbs. Collecting five orbs grants temporary invincibility. These are found by destroying the environment, not an easy task considering the odds against you.
Burning Force puts up a fight in spite of the advantages the Genesis version has over the arcade. You have a three hit life bar and the pace is slower. Enemy waves are less dense and better spaced. In fact there are brief pauses with nothing going on at all. The game can still kick your ass in spite of this. Around day four there is a big difficulty spike. The previous peaks and valleys in terms of action go away as it is almost non-stop at that. The end level minibosses of each day stage to become worse than the boss of each day if you can believe it! The fact that you cannot restore health after taking a hit becomes more and more of a detriment the further you progress. Having said all that Burning Force never feels as cheap as Space Harrier II and its lightning pace.
Namco have done a much better job porting Burning Force to the Genesis than Sega did with Galaxy Force 2. The most important point, the scrolling play field, is near identical. The scaling enemies, not so much. The scaling is choppy; not so bad that it is distracting but noticeable. The biggest hit comes in the backgrounds. The environments have been simplified which sucks; Burning Force looked excellent in the arcade. Not only that, the same backdrop is used for the entire day rather than changing for each stage. Overall however this was one of the best looking games on the system at the time of its release.
In Closing
Burning Force is a great game and arcade port overall. Its fast paced gameplay and varied graphics keep it entertaining for the brief time it lasts. While short for $5 or less you honestly can’t go wrong adding this to your Sega library.
