Aero Blasters
System: TG-16
Release Date: January 1991
Developer: Kaneko
Publisher: Sharp Image Electronics
Genre: Shoot ‘em Up
Save the Earth from a tremendous crisis in Aero Blasters! The Mega Load Masters have staged a sudden attack in an attempt to wipe out organic life on the planet. This MLM has found a way to fortify themselves with inorganic mechanisms. Piloting a super machine with the power to transcend reality and destroy space, it’s up to you to liberate Earth from terror.
We’ve got a side scrolling shoot ‘em up here. It’s pretty standard in that you shoot a forward gun, earn powerups, and get shot a lot. The powerups spray out of weapon transport pods in an arc, which is difficult to get to when you want. You can pick up a number of secondary weapons, which I wasn’t able to get a good handle on because I wasn’t good at getting the one I wanted before the end. I spent some time with the six way shot, which helped take enemies out. The Rear Gun, which shot diagonally from the rear. The Side Swiper, which act as options on the top and bottom of the ship.
There is a ton of BS present in this game and you will have to memorize each level if you want a shot at winning. Even then, some enemies are just unfair and will have you tearing your hair out. Some levels have your ship having extra momentum in movement, which is difficult to get used to. If you see a B icon, you’d best grab that thing because you’ll need it to navigate the level. Without it, touching the walls is instant death.
Holding Button I will fill your Blaster Meter, which flashes each enemy on screen with damage. You are unable to spam this attack because there is a slight cool down. Powering up your main weapon gives you extra streams of bullets and then extra powerful bullets, but they don’t feel very helpful. A lot of enemies just take swarms of shots to kill. You get bosses at the end of each level and they have mostly learnable patterns. I had to lean on time travel to get to the end of this one. Nothing new really gets introduced through the game except more BS.
Graphics: 2.5
The graphics are pretty good, but there is little time to appreciate them as you play.
Sound: 3.0
Music is actually pretty great. Props.
Gameplay: 1.5
Weapons are weak, secondary weapons aren’t that helpful, and the Blaster Attack is less useful than you’d think.
Difficulty: 0.5
If you tell me you can beat this thing cleanly, I will call you a liar unless you have hundreds of hours in.
Fun Factor: 1.0
This is way more frustrating than fun, but some of you are sadists like that, so may find great enjoyment.
Overall Rating: 1.7
Aero Blasters earns a C-. If you want an ultra difficult side scrolling shoot ‘em up, this is your guy. Otherwise, you’ll want to stay away.