Nerdicus NES Review #106 : Burai Fighter

Title : Burai Fighter

Publisher : Taxan / Taito

Genre : Side Scroller Shoot 'em Up

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1990

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $5-$10

Honestly, this was the first time I had ever laid eyes on this game. I'm not even sure how I missed out on it. As a kid I would have been drawn in just by the cover art. Seriously, a flying space suit man that looks like the Shredder.......tell me he doesn't look like the Shredder.....facing off against Shenron from Dragon Ball Z!? 

Uhhhhh, yeaaaaaaah?????

Surprise, surprise, this is another side-scrolling shooter. I need to keep a running list of how many there actually are for these retro systems, and if I had to make a legitimate guess it has to be somewhere in the 200-300 range. Looking at the box though, it seems to offer some added perks. Password Feature? No thank you. Those are always garbage. Three levels of difficulty? Okay, I'll take that. Shooters tend to be a tad too easy at the easier settings. Wait...MULTIPLE ENDINGS?!

Hmm...you've got my interest now Burai Fighter....

Here we go...Burrito Fighter. I've seriously been calling it that since I started reviewing it, and I'm thinking the game would have been even more awesome if you were fighting killer burritos. Anyway, you play the role of a space fighter tasked with destroy an army of mutant, rogue Burai. What are Burai? Not sure,but I still call 'em burritos. So throw on your proton jetpack and charge your laser cannons, because it's about to get real.

You're not in a spaceship in this game, much like other side-scrolling shooters. Instead you are just flying around as a normal guy in a space suit with a blaster cannon. Sort of reminds me of Abadox. One thing that really stands out is that you can actually shoot and manuever in every direction possible. I'm talking all 8. That's right! Finally a shooter that takes advantage of the fact that there 8 possible directions to fire in!

As usual, you'll be destroying anything and everything on the screen, all while picking up as many power ups as possible. And let me tell you, you're going to need them.

There is a lot being thrown at you in this game. I mean a lot. I have never seen so many enemies in a shooter before, but your weapon also seems to fire a hell of a lot more depending on the upgrade you have. You'll constantly find yourself spamming on the fire button, or else you'll become overwhelmed with enemy fire. Not to mention your hands will hurt from quickly dodging incoming enemies and maneuvering your floating space man around obstacles. At least you don't blow up when you hit a wall unlike other shooters.

Boss battles are just as difficult as the rest of the game, and you really don't have much room to maneuver in these fights. Your character is pretty big, and you seem to just be in the way all the the time. The key is just go in, guns blazing and fly around the screen like a mad man. Hopefully you'll dodge everything.

For a side-scrolling shoot 'em up, it's pretty good. Controls are easy, and the game does offer a slew of difficulty levels including a few unlockable ones. Not like you'll need it, unless you enjoy torturing yourself. The game is already hard as hell without suffering through harder difficulty levels.

In terms of gameplay, it's alright. It's no different from some of the other ones out there but it's definitely not as BAD as some of them. Controls are simple to master, and it's pretty addicting, however visually it's just not pleasing to the eye. Everything is recycled in this game, and the enemies and backdrops are just not top notch for 1990. If this game had the visually prowess of let's say Abadox, you may have had a winner. But, it ultimately falls short.

Definitely not a bad game, and one worth of a play through, but still just another shooter in my eyes. It definitely earns some bonus points though for implementing the 8-directional shooting aspect. THANK YOU!! Geez, took long enough for someone to do it right.

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Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!