Millipede
System: NES
Release Date: October 1988
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: HAL America
Genre: Shoot ‘em Up
Ready for another arcade port to the NES? Whether you are or not, it’s Millipede! You’re a tiny ship armed with a magic arrow and you’re under attack from the denizens of an enchanted forest. Most specifically, the titular millipede. It snakes through the level from side to side, only changing vertical levels if it’s hits a wall or a mushroom in the stage.
You shoot the magic arrow by pressing either the A or B Buttons. The millipede moves very quickly, but you can’t just focus on destroying it, as other insects and arachnids are out to kill you. The spider will be your greatest enemy. It moves diagonally and then darts down to put you out of your misery.
Strewn throughout the level are DDT orbs. It’s not a Jake “The Snake” Roberts capsule, but instead insecticide. If you can hit one when the millipede is moving by, you can get a great big bonus for destroying all of its segments at once. Shooting the mushrooms to clear a path to the top of the screen and the DDT bombs is an important tactic.
Graphics: 1.0
Slightly downgraded arcade graphics to fit on an NES cartridge.
Sound: 0.5
The sound is not pleasant.
Gameplay: 1.5
The Millipede formula is just fine. It’s not great, but it’s playable.
Difficulty: 1.5
There seemed to be a slight discrepancy with hit boxes, but most of the difficulty comes from avoiding the damn spiders.
Fun Factor: 1.0
I wasn’t enjoying myself very much, but I didn’t hate it.
Overall Grade: 1.1
Millipede earns a D. This is the type of game you pop in, try to grab a high score, then bail.