(10/31/2015 - 11/6/2015) Game of the Week: Blazing Lazers

[SamIAm]

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October 31 - November 6 : Blazing Lazers
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(chosen by escarioth)

No proper blurb just yet, but this game hardly needs an introduction anyway. It's one of the most important shooters on the system, and a significant milestone in shooter history.

It's mentioned briefly in this shooter documentary:

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GOTW Schedule:
1. 8/22/2015 - 8/28/2015: Override (lukester)
2. 8/29/2015 - 9/4/2015: Rondo of Blood (o.pwuaioc)
3. 9/5/2015 - 9/11/2015: Street Fighter 2 (Nec.Game.head)
4. 9/12/2015 - 9/18/2015: Bloody Wolf (Gentlegamer)
5. 9/19/2015 - 9/25/2015: Kabuki Itoryodan (Sadler)
6. 9/26/2015 - 10/2/2015: R-Type (crazydean)
7. 10/3/2015 - 10/9/2015: Fray CD: Xak Gaiden (Nulltard)
8. 10/10/2015 - 10/16/2015: Wizardry 3&4 (BigusSchmuck)
9. 10/17/2015 - 10/23/2015: Lords of Thunder (SamIAm)
10. 10/24/2015 - 10/30/2015: TV Sports Hockey (gredler)
11. 10/31/2015 - 11/6/2015: Blazing Lazers (escarioth)
12. 11/7/2015 - 11/13/2015: Genpei Toumaden (VenomMacbeth)
13. 11/14/2015 - 11/20/2015: Hyper Wars (JoshTurboTrollX-16)
14. 11/21/2015 - 11/27/2015: Drop Off (turboswimbz)
15. 11/28/2015 - 12/4/2015: World Court Tennis (grolt)
16. 12/5/2015 - 12/11/2015: Atlantean (jtucci331)
17. 12/12/2015 - 12/18/2015: SideArms (Punch)
18. 12/19/2015 - 12/25/2015: Galaxy Dekka Gayvan (tknjin)
19. 12/26/2015 - 12/31/2015: Asuka 120% Burning Fest Maxima (Sarumaru)
20. OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS!!

Rules:
-All members are allowed one submission. When there are no further submissions, we will have a reset and everyone will be able to submit another game.
-Each game may only be submitted once.
-If you wish to retract your submission, please do so at least two weeks before your game is due. Your next submission will go to the back of the cue.
-Please don't submit games that have a high language barrier or will take too long to complete (particularly RPGs).

[Gredler]

Been waiting for this game, cant' wait to sit down and try and wrek it After beating OverRide and Lords of Thunder, I think I might finally be able to conquer this one. Looking forward to hearing opinions and tips everyone!

[fsa]

Mad props to this game, aside from R-type, this is one game I have spend countless hour playing and enjoy every minute of it. If you have a any NEC system and don't have this game, boy are you missing out on one of the best SHMUP of all time (I know there are others that will say different but to me this game has all  the formula but doesn't turn you off like some of the other bullet hell).

[o.pwuaioc]

I can't play tonight, but I'll have this on quite a bit tomorrow!

[martinine]

Love love love this game! This time last year, I stumbled across a review for Blazing Lazers on YouTube, and I thought: I wonder if my TG16 still works? I made a trip to the basement, and fired up Keith Courage. It worked just like 1990. I quickly procured a copy of Blazing Lazers(somehow pretty cheaply on terrible eBay). I played it everyday for months. This game rekindled my love for TG16, PCE, and all things Hudson in general. I haven't looked back since. Thanks to this game for how awesome it is and the awesome world it helped me bring back to my life. Obey. It's always calling, even when you bury it in a box under house.

[MNKyDeth]

This is sadly one game I have never played. It's one I don't own. I have Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade and love those games. After watching some random people on youtube playing this game I think once I can budget it in I will jump on a copy for myself.

I have always heard good things over the years I just never put forth the cash to get it.

[seieienbu]

This was the first Turbo game I ever played.  At a Dillard's department store they had a console set up with Blazing Lazers in the electronics department.  I've loved this game ever since; it sold me on wanting a TG16 over a Genesis (with Altered Beasts on the next TV over).  I picked it up shortly after getting my system; I believe it was the third Turbo game I got after Kieth Courage and R Type. 

Some years later I lent my copy to a friend and lost contact, and I thought I lost the game.  Some time after that I bought a new copy here on the forums only to find that I had a copy of of Blazing Lazers in my collection.  Now I'm sitting on two copies and I'm not sure if one is the one I had as a child or if I just forgot buying a second copy at some point.  Either way, one copy lives at my girlfriend's place now so I found a use for owning it twice over, I suppose.

Blazing Lazers is one of my absolute favorite games ever.  The game is fast paced and has frantic gameplay.  The weapons (in particular Shield Thunder) have some really neat graphical affects and the multitude of guys on screen at once can become overwhelming.  The game begins easily enough and ramps up to a good difficulty level rather quickly.  Anyway, I'm going to give it a run through tonight.  Hurray for Sunday!

[Alt-Nintega]

top 10 shooter for any system ever made!

[Dicer]

top 10 shooter for any system ever made!

Co-signed, maybe even top 5 honestly...

[martinine]

top 10 shooter for any system ever made!

Co-signed, maybe even top 5 honestly...

I agree

[crazydean]

So what's the general strategy here? I haven't played much of it yet, so I'm not sure what is best. What is the effect of the purple ball? It seems to be a bit random.

[Dicer]

So what's the general strategy here? I haven't played much of it yet, so I'm not sure what is best. What is the effect of the purple ball? It seems to be a bit random.

Collect enough and your weapon powers up...
Page 4
https://www.tg-16.com/contributors/bernie/Blazing_Lazers/Blazing_Lazers.pdf

Best weapon IMHO is III "Field Thunder"

[o.pwuaioc]

I'm partial to II F, but it depends on the level.

[PukeSter]

Field thunder is cool, but there are certain stages where you'll need a lot of protection, especially on Stage 3, 5 and 9.

My strategy is II (Wave) Shield, and then III (Thunder) Shield on the bubble stage.

[Phase]

Field thunder is cool, but there are certain stages where you'll need a lot of protection, especially on Stage 3, 5 and 9.

My strategy is II (Wave) Shield, and then III (Thunder) Shield on the bubble stage.

Yeah I agree if you didn't make it into stage 8, the bubble level with something maxed out your best bet is III and shield. This is right after that pesky tank boss who is hard to keep your weapons on because he keeps hitting you with his spread shot and its hard to dodge when you have a maxed out weapon because your side shields make your hit box so big.

This game has gotten the most play on the system for me. the difficulty modes help keep it challenging.
I made it through the default mode (normal dog lol) without losing a life for the first time recently. /brags

All the weapons are great in this game
IV is a lot of fun when you use it as a weapon, and maxed out with F or the 8way it ownz
My other fave is III level 3 and 4 once you get level 5 and 6 its worthless imo unless you get an F for the homing beam
weapon 1 and missiles obviously owns because 8 missiles

Pro tip you didn't realize
when using weapon 1 turn the turbo on max and get close to enemies this will increase your fire rate
try it with multibodies and see the turbo power!

[grolt]

Great pick, looking forward to really digging deep and finishing this one. In the meantime, has anyone watched the movie Gunhed on which the game is based? Just wondering if the movie is worth watching and how close it is to the movie (level design and if the bosses or other enemies factor into the film).

[780racer]

Gunhed the game and Gunhed the movie are related by name only, iirc.

That is correct.


I do love this game to death. I have been waiting on moving all of my stuff in the living room to make the misses happy, and had to order some cables before I could start playing my Turbo again.

I am more than a little excited to get home and fire up this game, because I literally can play this game for hours and other than swearing at it, enjoy every minute of it. I also normally show non-turbo guys this game if they like shumps because it is such a good one for the TG16 library.

[grolt]

Gunhed the game and Gunhed the movie are related by name only, iirc.

I thought I read that the PCE version had some cut scenes and such that tied into the film?

Either way, it's just cool to me that such a kickass game is actually an obscure movie tie-in.


I gave BL a go last night just to test it out and ended up pretty hooked.  Got to the last boss rush level and ran out of continues and decided to give it a go this morning.  A couple hours and runs later I finally beat it, and can't really say enough good about it.  This is my first foray into Hudson shooters, and like what Hudson did with the Bonk games, it managed to take a pretty played out genre and give its game character and polish that sets it apart.  Little things, like the 3D-ish ship animation when you move left or right, really help give the game depth to go along with the great parallax.  I love the variety in the game - so many different enemies, so many different attack patterns and of course all the different weapons.  Collecting the purple orbs for powering up is a nice touch to keep you always on the hunt even when you're relatively powered up.

I find often in shooters you max out early and then just rely on that same gun throughout and it can become a little stale.  In this, you're always given options to change weapons and then orbs to change their attack spread, and in the later levels there's some strategy as to what weapons to take.  I agree that II is the one to use for most of it, but III is essential for Area 8 and it's a stronger weapon at lower power so it comes in very handy during the last level when you're losing lives and just trying to hang on.  The additional power ups are cool but my only complaint is that the shield one is so essential the others don't really get much time, and there's nothing worse on the later levels than accidentally collecting an F or H powerup when you've got a full shield and a good weapon and then one hit and you're toast!

I liked the difficulty curve in this game - the first two levels are a breeze and then it gets a little harder but it's always pretty manageable until they throw everything at you at the end, and even then you can work through it with enough lives and bombs.  I actually found the 5th level to be one of the most challenging, honestly; it becomes pretty bullet hell-y at a few parts.  Other than the usual shmup trope of accidentally grabbing a shitty powerup to mess up your mojo, my only complaint is that the game can be very difficult in a few early spots in a level and then overly easy for most of the bosses.  If you die on Area 8 early, starting from scratch with nothing and racing to get that shield on the side of the level is one of the most difficult tasks in the game and pretty much essential if you want to survive long enough to get a weapon decent enough to take out all the bubbles.  Then, once you're powered with at least a second level III, 8 becomes a cakewalk.  Then in the last level, the bosses are all pretty easy, it's just all the other crap in between them that can lead you to turmoil.

Anyway, awesome game and I'm thankful for the GOTW for finally getting me to sit down and play my incredibly tanned HuCard of the game.  I only ever had a passing interest in shooters before I got into TG-16, but after this, Lords, Galaga, R-Type and, yep, Deep Blue, I'm officially a shootaholic.  Looking forward to trying out my copy Super Star Soldier next, and afraid at the prices I'll pay to obtain Soldier Blade in the near future.

[GoldenWheels]

Well I made it to level 9 for the first time last night, I assume it is the last level by the boss rush nature of it.

Unlike in past years, after dying in a few levels (level 5 always gave me issues, the bubble level gave me issues last night) I was actually able to power back up and make it through. I was damn proud of myself.

But once I died on level 9 and had to restart powerless.....man. Those 12 extra guys I had accumulated went fast. Eventually I just gave up without even continuing.

[elmer]

In the meantime, has anyone watched the movie Gunhed on which the game is based? Just wondering if the movie is worth watching and how close it is to the movie (level design and if the bosses or other enemies factor into the film).

I bought the movie on VHS many years ago, but didn't particularly like it.

In a moment of stupidity, I send it away to VHS-heaven a few years ago.

I think that I've still got the manga version somewhere, because it was much better.

IIRC, the PC Engine GunHed game really seems to have very little to do with the original movie.

[Phase]

The additional power ups are cool but my only complaint is that the shield one is so essential the others don't really get much time, and there's nothing worse on the later levels than accidentally collecting an F or H powerup when you've got a full shield and a good weapon and then one hit and you're toast!

I remember using the S a lot at first, once you get to a certain skill level with the game the S power up is the one you will kick yourself for accidentally collecting. Then when you try the last two difficulty modes the S power up becomes your best friend again. Its so dramatic.
Also you should be ably to take a side hit with you side shields before your toast.
Try beating the game again using different weapons, after you beat the game about five times it should start to seem easy.

[Gentlegamer]

I think I spam II and Shield as my favorite combo.

I'm really behind on the Game of the Week but I want to dig in and finally beat Blazing Lazers soon. 1CC, of course.

[Enternal]

I played this for the better part of last week until my Castlevania III Halloween marathon. A lot more difficult than I was expecting.  It's also one of the cheaper Compile shooters. I found the case for this game back in 2010 at a Salvation Army in the music section.

[Gredler]

Level 9. How do you beat it?? I do alright to that point, a couple times I've gotten there without dieing. But that boss rush always hits the fan for me.

[escarioth]

Blazing lazers (gunhed) 

amoung the first games i played when my friend got his TG16 back then.
right after the first stage i was definetly hook on the game. Trying to finish it can also take
quite some time with its diverses 9 aeras. Even today i think the dificulty is good since it start off with relatively easy dificulty... but as you progress, the game gets much more harder.

some area boss might surprise you as well, I still remember my firend's little sisters screaming as they ran off the room when they saw that flying head boss on area 8. with eyes and brain popping out.

Boss fights are very good and fun to do. You always want to reach them to see what's coming at you. Last area is not so easy, since many boss are coming back for a second bite at you, so be prepared

you never played that game ? what are you waiting for anyone with a TG16 should have this game to go along with.

[Gredler]

But seriously, that level 9 though.

[PukeSter]

Level 9. How do you beat it?? I do alright to that point, a couple times I've gotten there without dieing. But that boss rush always hits the fan for me.

The Pickle Boss and the Tank are the hardest. The final boss is easy fortunately. Don't forget you have 3 bombs each time you respawn.

Do you have enough respawns? I get most of mine in the 1st level, and spend the rest of the game building up shields.

[Gredler]

Level 9. How do you beat it?? I do alright to that point, a couple times I've gotten there without dieing. But that boss rush always hits the fan for me.

The Pickle Boss and the Tank are the hardest. The final boss is easy fortunately. Don't forget you have 3 bombs each time you respawn.

Do you have enough respawns? I get most of mine in the 1st level, and spend the rest of the game building up shields.

Yeah that danm pickle had my number for a while, I got in the habit of attacking his swirly missles more than him, and baiting up him left, dodging right, then blasting up at him - and he is who I dump my bombs on - lol.

The tank is hard but the pattern is so predictable and dodge-able I feel like he is a test of patience more than anything.

My achilles heel is the wave of enemies after the tank. The slow dudes that fly down to the bottom corners of the screen, and other slightly faster guys fly down to the sides and then inward, as dudes accumulate at the center top and shoot devastating laser beams.  I think I always show up at that point with no shield and weak weapons, or I just plain suck, but once I get past the tank boss I can't get past the wave of enemies before the final boss.

I wont have time to try again anytime soon, other obligations coming up and I've already put more time into this than any other GoTW game (except for maybe TV Sports Hockey.) Blazing Lasers has defeated me, this day, but holy crap was it an enjoyable demise.

[grolt]

Level 9. How do you beat it?? I do alright to that point, a couple times I've gotten there without dieing. But that boss rush always hits the fan for me.

The Pickle Boss and the Tank are the hardest. The final boss is easy fortunately. Don't forget you have 3 bombs each time you respawn.

Do you have enough respawns? I get most of mine in the 1st level, and spend the rest of the game building up shields.

Yeah that danm pickle had my number for a while, I got in the habit of attacking his swirly missles more than him, and baiting up him left, dodging right, then blasting up at him - and he is who I dump my bombs on - lol.

The tank is hard but the pattern is so predictable and dodge-able I feel like he is a test of patience more than anything.

My achilles heel is the wave of enemies after the tank. The slow dudes that fly down to the bottom corners of the screen, and other slightly faster guys fly down to the sides and then inward, as dudes accumulate at the center top and shoot devastating laser beams.  I think I always show up at that point with no shield and weak weapons, or I just plain suck, but once I get past the tank boss I can't get past the wave of enemies before the final boss.

I wont have time to try again anytime soon, other obligations coming up and I've already put more time into this than any other GoTW game (except for maybe TV Sports Hockey.) Blazing Lasers has defeated me, this day, but holy crap was it an enjoyable demise.

Yeah, that wave of enemies was toughest for me as well.  I ended up losing two lives there, and I just tried to retreat to the top of the screen each time to bypass as many as I could, since in this game enemies usually only go downward rather than up.