Developer: JoyMasher Publisher: The Arcade Crew Release: 07/11/19 Genre: Action Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
If there is any one reason I love indie games it is because there are legions of talented developers who grew up on the classics and are creating new games inspired by them. If Capcom and Konami are content to simply re-release their old games instead of creating new ones in those series I guess someone else will. After the mediocre Contra: Rogue Corps I feared I would never play a run and gun action in that mold again. Blazing Chrome washes the stink of that game away and reminds me of why I love this genre so much.
Set in the year 21XX Blazing Chrome takes place in a world where a devastating war has left humanity on the brink of extinction. Robots rule the world but there is a group of resistance fighters pushing back. With the help of a reprogrammed robot resistance fighter Mavra plans a suicide mission to destroy their power plant and hopefully buy mankind more time.
Mechanically Blazing Chrome is a hybrid of Contra and Metal Slug. You can aim in every direction and lock your fire without moving which is helpful. For defense you can roll and with the right timing avoid most attacks. If enemies get in close you can melee attack them which is surprisingly powerful. The four weapons will be instantly familiar to fans of Konami’s games. The grenade launcher, laser cannon, and flamethrower look like they were ripped from Contra Hard Corps and like that game you can switch between them at will. In addition you can pick up one of three helper bots that boost attack power, grant a shield, or increase your speed and allow you to double jump. There are various mecha to pilot like Slugs as well. The game incorporates all the right beats from the classics to give it a solid foundation.
Variety makes Blazing Chrome great. Each of its missions offers something new. The first mission is an excellent introduction as it sells how dire the situation is. The ruined city is full of robots and mutants and has a cool segment where you pilot a mech while fighting alongside a helicopter. Mission three takes place in a desert with mutant insects on the way to an overrun weapons facility. Those who remember the awesome hover bike of Contra III will get a taste of that in this game too. Although it is not as epic as that game it is still pretty cool. I was not expecting the third person jet pack sequence of stage four. While it is simple and long it is still good. It ends on a strong note with its final levels testing everything you have learned with an epic boss rush that I legit enjoyed.
While I like Blazing Chrome overall I do think it sometimes skews a little too close to the title’s that inspired it. The level design and pacing is pretty good overall. But the themes, enemies and bosses would not look out of place in the Alien Wars. There are few to many call backs to that game. When it does strike out on its own so to speak it is better for it. Make no mistake this is a great title but it does lean a little hard on nostalgia.
Like the titles that inspired it Blazing Chrome is hard. Enemies attack in waves, they are oftentimes resilient and whatever weapons you pick up do not seem to last long as you will die frequently. At least at first. While it may seem impossible initially there is a method to the madness. Enemy placement is deliberate and despite the levels being long they are broken up in to multiple chunks. These serve as checkpoints and are frequent. Mastering the timing of the roll will save you many lives and can make the toughest boss battle trivial. As ridiculous as it sounds I found the journey to each boss harder than the actual encounters themselves. Their patterns are simple enough to recognize and at that point it comes down to execution. Trying each level on easy mode with its unlimited lives to memorize each level goes a long way.
Although I found Blazing Chrome manageable that is in spite of its flaws. The intricate environmental detail and explosions make the game look busy. Bullets blend in to the background and these cheap hits are where the majority of my deaths came from. It remains a problem up until the conclusion unfortunately. I almost wish there were a life bar like Contra: Hard Corps but that would probably make the game easy. The game could stand to pair back its enemy density and would be better for it. That being said I still find this one more accessible than some of the later Metal Slug games. It helps that this was not an arcade game originally so it avoids the cheap tactics of those games. Even if you are not an action veteran you will still have fun learning the particulars of this great game.
A number of options open up after you beat the game once to give it longevity. Two more characters are unlocked with radically different play styles that change your approach to the game. Both Raijin and Suhaila are melee characters and can air dash and double jump. In an action heavy game like this it sounds like a detriment. But it is an incredibly fun way to experience the game a second time. Boss Rush mode and mirror mode also become available. Mirror mode especially feels like a new game and is trippy; even after all these decades I am still use to games scrolling left to right, not the opposite. Hardcore difficulty also unlocks but I did not touch that one. That old school level of difficulty is not my speed anymore.
In Closing
Blazing Chrome is an excellent run and gun action game that will remind you why this genre is still so popular. The difficult is a little extreme but there are various options that help ease you into it. Usually games that flaunt their inspiration so unabashedly miss the mark. That is not the case here. If you are a fan of classic 2d action games you owe it to yourself to play this game.
