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The general "Starblade" thread

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:17 pm
by Austin
Back in the '90s I had this game. I maybe played it for ten minutes, thought it was shallow, didn't see the charm in it, and got rid of it.

After busting out the FZ-10 last night, I decided to load up the import copy I bought several months back (it was cheap, what can I say?).

Well, I have to say, I am enjoying it a lot more than I did way-back-when. With that, since I couldn't find much general talk about it on this forum, I figured maybe I'd make a thread about it. I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks about it from a modern-day perspective.

Me personally, I think the visuals are very impressive. Yes, it's full-motion-video, and lots of games did this back then, but Starblade does something that no others do, something I didn't notice before--it layers polygonal objects on top of the video (as far as I can tell anyway). The way it's implemented, you can barely tell they are separate from the FMV itself. It's very convincing and even just from a technical standpoint, it really strikes me as an impressive feat.

I have to say, the game is nails-hard though. Has anyone managed to finish it? I noticed you only get a few continues, then it's game over. It seems like the game is heavily unbalanced in a lot of areas with almost too many enemies and turrets that can hit you at one time. It's one I'm going to have to practice for a while, I am sure.

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:12 pm
by Trev
Well, I'm a big fan! :) http://cdinteractive.co.uk/3do/forum/vi ... php?t=1323

I love the visuals in this game! And yes it is hard. I have finished it ... but not recently. (I don't know if my gaming skills are declining w/age or what, but I've noticed similar w/other games that I used to be able to beat :lol: )

I think they put too many enemies on purpose in order for you to have to pick and choose which targets are most important to destroy. A way to make the player prioritize, I guess it adds a small measure of strategy to an otherwise straight forward shooter.

A better shooter on the 3DO I've yet to find (although Burning Soldier and Pyramid Intruder are fairly close)

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 4:06 am
by sneth
Anything on rails struggles to hold my interest.
I have to admit the graphics were impressive for the time though.

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:46 am
by Austin
Trev wrote:Well, I'm a big fan! :) A better shooter on the 3DO I've yet to find (although Burning Soldier and Pyramid Intruder are fairly close)
I had Burning Soldier for a while. It was pretty fun, for sure. I still haven't gotten my hands on Pyramid Intruder though. Looking at some videos of it, it looks like a nice Novastorm-esque game (i.e., there's dodging involved).

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:29 am
by T2KFreeker
Starblade. Classic. I played the game way back when at the arcade. This is the reason there are so many enemies, by the way, the game was initially a quarter gobbler. I was so happy to see it released on the 3DO back in the day. Then I also saw the enhanced version and it floored me. I still think the game looks pretty spiffy these days too. Shows what the 3DO could do with FMV for sure. Awesome little shooter.

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 4:56 pm
by Trev
This is a 3DO classic that deserves to be talked about more!

One of the great things about Starblade imo, is that even though it is very short it has great replay value. I could play this one everyday!

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 7:44 pm
by NeoGeoNinja
TOP GAME TREV...
This is definitely one of the more impressive titles on the 3DO imo, plus I have a real weakness for Namco Arcade titles *cough*PS1* anyway.

Love rails shooters myself and I think, for a crosshair shooter, this is one of the best. Great gfx and really nails that nice arcade feel presentation.

Did this come out before or after Starfox, as I distinctly remember one of the bosses (the cylinder-esque encounter) being IDENTICAL.

Anyway, awesome awesome game. One of my faves on the system, for sure...

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 7:47 pm
by Trev
It first appeared in the arcades in 1991. Starfox was 93' I think.

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:55 pm
by T2KFreeker
Trev wrote:It first appeared in the arcades in 1991. Starfox was 93' I think.
I believe this is correct. Still love this game too. The enhanced version with the textured graphics still looks slick to this day!

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:08 pm
by klogg
I really like Starblade. It reminds me the movie "The Last Starfighter".

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:23 pm
by NeoGeoNinja
Trev wrote:It first appeared in the arcades in 1991. Starfox was 93' I think.
GOOD TO KNOW...

Cheers Trev! :)

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 7:10 am
by 3DOKid
klogg wrote:I really like Starblade. It reminds me the movie "The Last Starfighter".
Me too.

Here's the real thing mind you:

http://www.roguesynapse.com/games/last_starfighter.php

'BE' the Last Star Fighter. :) :)

I have the book and the Blueray too :)

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 5:03 pm
by pitsunami
T2KFreeker wrote:
Trev wrote:It first appeared in the arcades in 1991. Starfox was 93' I think.
I believe this is correct. Still love this game too. The enhanced version with the textured graphics still looks slick to this day!
I too love starblade with its enhanced version,
its really beautyful and i can fire it up anytime
for a hour of nice space battle!

There is a chance to have the arcade cab
at the end of the year if wife finally agrees
and if i find a lot of space to setup that monster!
Fingers crossed!! :)

Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 6:12 pm
by Trev
pitsunami wrote: There is a chance to have the arcade cab
at the end of the year if wife finally agrees
and if i find a lot of space to setup that monster!
Fingers crossed!! :)
Hope it works out for you. :)