Tokkyuu Shirei Solbrain VS Shatterhand

VS 

I was quite shocked when i bought Solbrain and found out that the game actually is the original Shatterhand made by Natsume. The difference between the games are actually quite big. The main character in Solbrain is a Robot/cyborg while in the NES version he is more or less a stereotypical muscle man like so many other games during that time. In Solbrain you collect "P" which is the games currency, meanwhile in Shatterhand it's "G". You can also power up your character on certain power stations all around the stages by standing on them and pressing the down button, but it's not free, you have to collect all the "points" or "money" to pay for it. The power up lets you deal twice as much damage with your fists and will disappear if you get hit a couple of times. There's also a healing station which works the same way except it heals you. During the game you will find the letter " " and " " and by combining them you can summon eight different robot companions who will help you during the stage. Each robots have their unique weapons and ups and downs so it's esencial to know what robot to use on which stage. There's even a special armor (or weapon in solbrain) if you successfully combine the same letters you used to summon you companion and still having him alive when that happens. The armor or weapon will give you a extremely handy weapon that deals a lot of damage and even makes you invulnerable, but the it's not infinite, there's a timer that slowly tics down starting on 15 and when it reaches 0 the suit disappears. If you get damaged you wont loose any life but time that's left on the armor. Here are some pictures that illustrates the differences a bit more.

Shatterhand character

Solbrain character

Acquiring the armor in Shatterhand

Acquiring the gun in Solbrain

The biggest difference in the game for me was that there is a whole level that has been totally replaced in Shatterhand. On the top right of the stage select there is a "Circus" stage in Solbrain, but in Shatterhand there's a submarine. The boss is replaced as well, in Solbrain there are 2 women who jump around and attacking you, i don't think Nintendo of America liked the thought of players beating women in video games.

Also, that stage had different music, but i feel like the Japanese circus music was way better than the submarine stage in Shatterhand.

The level select with the submarine  stage

And the level select with the circus stage

Overall this game is a must play, although it may be a bit challenging to some people, the soundtrack and the unique play style will keep the more dedicated players going.

Arashes out!

Quarth Review

I'we never liked puzzle games that much to be perfectly honest. I prefer games with a bit more action like Rockman, Gryzor, Akumajou Dracula and so on. But during my recent trips across the internet to but random Famicom games i came across this game which i have seen EVERY time i ordered games from that specific site and i thought to my self "Why don't i buy it, it looks cool and its dirt cheep (2$)". I didn't do any research on this and assumed it was a J-RPG game like so many other Famicom games out there. The picture on the site was blurry so i didn't see the blocks and everything ells on to top of the box. The only thing that i knew was that it's made by Konami and you just cant go wrong with them. To my surprise it was one of the most entertaining Puzzle/SMUP games i'we ever played. And the condition of the Box, Game and the Instruction book was in almost perfect condition, well worth the 2$.

To explain the game i think its easier to show the Instruction Book since it explains it pretty well.

The game auto scrolls vertically and you shoot square "bullets" to complete the shape.

I think its like a mix of reverse Tetris and the "2,4,6 and so on" stages of Salamander.

Quarth unfortunately only have 2 songs. One on the first half of a stage and then one with a bit more "Stress" to it on the second half of the stage when the game starts going a bit faster. 

Speaking of stages.

There's 10 stages in total and you can even chose between 2 ships ( The one on the cover with the 2 angel kids carrying a "Space Pod" shaped object, the second ship is a more or less a bigger Vice Viper looking ship). 

You can play the game on regular single player or Tag Play with another player or even play competitive against each other. There's even a "Change Play" option, but i have yet to try it out. 

I was really surprised how addicting this game was, since its not as slow pace as some Tetris games tends to be, this was more like a fast pace shooter where you need to use your brain a bit more than usual. I like this game a lot. This just goes to show that Konami games on the Famicom doesn't disappoint (Mostly).

Well, there isn't anything more to say abut Quarth so please enjoy these pictures!

This is it for this time.

Arashes Out!