Terra Cresta
System: NES
Release Date: March 1990
Developer: Nihon Bussan
Publisher: Vic Tokai
Genre: Shoot ‘em Up
After reading the manual, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting from Terra Cresta. That was some piss poor translation and editing skill on display. My best guess is some aliens took over earth forcing humanity under the sea. It’s up to you to save humanity by killing the evil Mandora or Mandra over and over again.
This is your typical vertical scrolling shoot ‘em up. You control a small ship that can move all around the screen. To start, you can only shoot up, but by blowing up hangars, you can find four other pieces leading to a powered up ship. Bit 2 widens the range of your shot by being wide. Bit 3 adds a behind the ship shot. Bit 4 adds an extra strong bullet from the nose of the ship. Bit 5 gives a rear barrier that destroys enemies that fly into it. Combining all 5 bits creates the ultimate fighter and gives access to an invincible Fire Bird for 20 seconds.
Pressing the A Button with extra bits sends the fighters into formation. Depending on the number of bits you have, they have special shot powers. Two fighters creates a wide moon beam. Three fighters shoots beams ahead and diagonal. Four fighters shoot a spinning cyclone beam. Five fighters shoot in all directions. The five fighter setup can be designed into different formations from the title screen. Here you can move each individual fighter’s position and beam aim. This sounds cool, but I don’t really think it is. When you’re in formation, the bits are all invincible, but if the main ship is hit, it’s a lost life.
Enemies change where they spawn depending on where you are on screen when you trip their spawn. This can lead to easier or harder fire fights. If you’re powered up and hit, some of your bits will be destroyed, but you’ll have another chance to keep going. There are bosses at the end of stages, but it’s a constantly scrolling affair with no distinct breaks between levels. Once you beat the big boss, the scrolling continues, making this an infinite scrolling shoot ‘em up.
Graphics: 1.5
I died to the dreaded flicker monster more than once, but it looks good enough otherwise.
Sound: 1.5
The music is fine, but the shooting sound effects are incredibly annoying.
Gameplay: 2.5
Having the different bits grants power, but the ship is a bit slow.
Difficulty: 2.0
Extra lives are granted at 30,000 points and then every 50,000 after. You’ll die a lot because bullets can blend in with the ground.
Fun Factor: 1.5
This isn’t the most fun I’ve had in this genre, in fact, I was frustrated a lot.
Overall Grade: 1.8
Terra Cresta earns a C. Just an average shoot ‘em up, nothing special to see here.