Star Blade (Arcade, MCD) (1991)
Star Blade Alpha (PS)
Developer: Namco

Review by Faididi and Co.

All those quick turns don't really help

Story: Average

Alien invaders seek to destroy humanity's home planet with a gigantic battle station called the Red Eye, which suspiciously resembles the Death Star from Star Wars. To save our world, the hero must pilot the Geosword starfighter into the Red Eye and destroy its core, along with any enemies getting in the way.

Gameplay: Average

Namco's Star Blade is a rail shooter that is clearly inspired by the climactic space battle scenes in the Star Wars movie series. As the Geosword automatically flies toward the core of the Red Eye, the hero must use his rapid-fire laser blasters to destroy the bad guys and any incoming missiles. If the Geosword runs out of shields, it's Game Over, but the hero can always continue right from where he gets wasted.

Although Star Wars has its own earlier arcade game adaptation developed by LucasArts and Atari, Star Blade simply delivers a more immersive experience. The whole game is played through two lengthy yet mostly seamless stages, and the bad guys come in a colorful variety of fighters and gun emplacements. Unfortunately, Star Blade is also very difficult. There is no way to stop every threat in time, and zero power-ups exist to restore shields or provide extra firepower. Having fast reflexes helps, but that doesn't feel as important as being able to pay one's way through the game.

Controls: Excellent

The controls are responsive and comfortable to grip. Aiming with the targeting reticle and firing are all easy to do.

Graphics: Excellent

If Xevious has redefined graphics with its lush bitmap imagery, then Star Blade does so with its cutting-edge polygon-based 3D visuals. The characters and the environment are rendered with a fluid vividness never seen before, and the swarms of ships, projectiles, and exploding wreckage that pack the screen easily leaves one feeling in the thick of a space battle epic.

Audio: Above Average

The audio side of things doesn't disappoint, either. Although the few vocal effects that make up the radio chatter grow repetitive ("MAKING A QUICK TURN! MAKING A QUICK TURN!"), the gunfire, the explosions, and the engine sounds keep everything noisy in a good way. There isn't a lot of music, but the slow, somber main theme easily completes the heroic atmosphere of the mission.

Overall: Above Average

Except for its steep difficulty, Star Blade is pretty much what a Star Wars-inspired rail shooter should be. Those looking for a highly cinematic thrill should find much to like in its impressive polygon graphics, if not its quarter-draining level of challenge.

OST: Average

Published by Victor Musical Industries, the Game Sound Express 6: Star Blade and Galaxian^3: Project Dragoon soundtrack combines the music of the two rail shooters in a single package, and it also includes a pair of bonus tracks.

Unfortunately, the in-game vocal effects are interspersed throughout several of the Star Blade tracks, so the music there can't be enjoyed in its pure form. (This is similar to the sound effect problem found in the Game Sound Express 2: Burning Force soundtrack.)

On the bright side, the two bonus tracks should please hardcore fans of Namco's Galaxian universe. The first is a collection of the radio chatter heard in Project Dragoon, while the second is a humorous drama track that reveals the more dysfunctional side of the UGSF.