"Very challenging and addicting"

Star Soldier can be tossed aside quickly as a Galaga clone but if you have the patience you'll see that it's much more.

The Story:
Save the world with your little ship. Yes, it's that basic. All you have to do to win is shoot as many of the bad guys that try to kill you and destroy the Star Brains that you face at the end of each level. Every fourth level you face a large Star Brain as oppose to the regular one.

Gameplay:
You control a little ship that can roam around the screen blasting the waves of enemies that come in your way. There are a wide variety of enemies from X like ships to huge battleships that take up 90% of the screen (the large Star Brains). Some enemies are slow like the baby rattle shaped ship while the meteors run at you kamikaze-like. The enemies will show you no mercy. Just like other shooting games, all it takes is one bullet or crashing into another ship to end the game. However, if you collect three power-ups your ship will go into hyper mode and you'll fire in five different directions. Plus, if you get hit by a bullet you won't die but only be able to shoot in front and behind you. The levels are very long so you will die easily and if you cannot beat the boss fast enough you'll have to play the level over again. Since this game is extremely addicting but also very hard, I give the gameplay an 8/10.

Controls:
There's nothing wrong with the controls. The ship responds correctly to the D-pad and A and B both shoot. If you have a NES Advance or a NES Max then you can use the turbo buttons for rapid fire. The NES Advance will give you an arcade-like experience but you can still have fun playing with the original controller. Since the controls are perfect for a shooting game, I give it a 10/10.

Graphics:
It looks like outer space and the ships all look unique. Since it is NES I'll give the graphics an 8/10.

Sound:
It's NES so the music is annoying but it also has that retro feel. 7/10

Replay Value:
Gamers who are easily frustrated will give up quickly but like Contra if you memorize where the enemies are you can make it through this game. I would say the difficulty is HARD but older gamers like me will continue to play it. 9/10

Overall:
I really enjoyed playing this game but others may find this game too difficult and turn away fast. If love games that are simple or if you love retro games then Star Soldier will not disappoint you.

Final Score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/13/03