Blade Buster Review – An Incredible Indie Caravan Shmup for the NES!

Blade Buster is a classic homebrew NES shmup that takes much of its inspiration from the great Turbo Grafx 16 shoot ’em up Super Star Soldier. On a straightforward level, Blade Buster is a caravan, or high score challenge shooter that you can play in two or five minute bursts. Upon start up, it begins with an outstanding soundtrack and an immediate sense of speed with a large number of sprites on screen.

This technical excellence is a true highlight of the game. There’s almost always objects on the screen, with enemies and bullets flying around, and something to destroy all over the place. These include destructible structures that release crystals for points, or spinning capsules that increase your gun’s power level. The power up system isn’t just for being stronger though, as you earn more firepower, you are also increasing your ship’s armor so you aren’t destroyed in one hit as well. This is appreciated, as is the fact that after you die, you continue right where you left off.

Because of its high speed and forgiving damage systems, Blade Buster is often exciting to play and made me want to fly through it “just one more time” over and over again. Seeing how fast one can defeat the first boss in two-minute mode is a lot of fun, while also marveling at the game’s ability to handle so many sprites on screen is impressive.

Beyond the great graphics, another key aspect of the title is that it lifts many aspects of Super Star Soldier and demakes them into a NES game. For example, the high-quality soundtrack is taken from the first level of Super Star Soldier. Moreover, the stage layout, weapons, and enemy wave patterns often mirror that game’s caravan stage as well. Consequently, If you’re looking for a largely new experience in a shmup, Blade Buster won’t really give that to you.

Yet, its technical prowess is undeniable and it is an excellent way to get into the genre, especially if you enjoy 8-bit titles. Even though the game takes much from Super Star Soldier, it’s still highly enjoyable in its own right, and easily earns a very positive rating from me. It is a very important indie release that came out over a decade ago.

Some of the places where it can be downloaded include ROMhacking.net, and its original Japanese website. For the latter, click on the “BLADE BUSTER Download” text to get the game.

Title: Blade Buster (Japanese Website)
Genre: Vertically Scrolling Shmup
Year Released: 2010
Developer: High Level Challenge!
Played On: Retroarch on PC
Price Paid: Free

Remember, we can have different opinions about the games we play. If you like something more (or less) than I do, both of our perspectives are valid.