Sinistron
System: TG-16
Release Date: January 1991
Developer: Alfa System
Publisher: IGS
Genre: Shoot ‘em Up
Save the Solar System from a massive mass in Sinistron! A giant biomorphic ship is threatening the planets. Did you see what they did to Pluto? That’s messed up! It’s up to a squadron of cybernaut fighters to find a way to destroy the machine, but an ion storm has left you alone to save everyone. Do you have what it takes?
It took me a bit of searching, but I finally found the manual hiding in a gallery in a Brazilian video games site. Thanks internet! We’ve got another side scrolling shoot ‘em up, and the gimmick here is your ship is equipped with ramming jaw. As you collect powerups, you can have the front of your ship closed, which allows the least amount of bullets to be shot at once, but absorbs attacks that hit you head on. You can also toggle the jaws half open and full open with Button I. The more open it is, the more bullets you shoot at once, but also the more vulnerable your core is.
There are three different weapon types you can upgrade to. I liked the missiles a lot, as they were heat seekers and I like the homing capabilities I get. The laser was pretty useful, too, as it shot through enemies to hit more targets than by default. The flame cannon seemed to do the most damage as it fired quickly, even when fully loaded. You can also charge up a hypersonic blast that circles the ship if you hold Button II for a moment. There are also options that sit above and below your ship, but they act more as shields, as they don’t shoot projectiles.
Levels are a gauntlet of difficult enemies and obstacles that will make you groan in frustration. Like many shoot ‘em ups of the time, you’ll be hitting the game over screen dozens of times before you hit a good run. Then you’ll hit some BS and vow never to play again, until later in the day. I feel like bosses were the easiest portion of the game because once you learned their tendencies, they became easy to exploit. The final boss was a piece of cake once I found the sweet spot.
Graphics: 2.0
Eh, graphics are alright. I can’t give them any more props than average in the genre.
Sound: 1.5
Music and sounds are trying, but they aren’t as good as I’d like.
Gameplay: 2.0
There’s enough variety in your powers to keep things interesting, but you’re going to get rocked a whole heck of a lot.
Difficulty: 1.0
Oh, I had to cheat my way through this one. There’s an incredible amount of BS as you go through the levels that even as you memorize them will get you.
Fun Factor: 1.5
I enjoyed it some, but I totally would have tapped early if not for time travel.
Overall Rating: 1.6
Sinistron earns a C-. Another run of the mill shoot ‘em up when it comes down to it. I feel like this is the genre of game the TurboGrafx got the most of. This just isn’t the best example.