Nerdicus NES Review #151: Cybernoid

Title : Cybernoid

Publisher : Acclaim Entertainment

Developer : Raffaele Cecco

Genre : Shoot 'Em UP

Players : 1 Player

Release Date : 1989

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $2-$4

Cybernoid is all about booty...space booty. And I'm not talking about some sexy aliens. I'm talking about LOOT. Remind me to look up why loot is called booty. I remember when I first saw this game, I didn't even know what the title was. The font was so bizarre for the first three letters, CYB, that as a kid I would just call it noid. Even when I got a copy of this game when I started collecting again it took me a few minutes to figure out where it went in my shelf.

Pretty sad, huh?

It originally came out for the ZX Spectrum, which is something I'm not familiar with AT ALL. The NES version of it is just another port, but probably the better port. The one for the Atari that I saw was pretty awful. Not to say this was anything revolutionary, but it still looked a lot better.

Let's look at the back of the box though shall we? What are standard and state of the art sound effects? And should I actually look forward to that? Hmm, let's see. Shoot em up, collect em up, maze play! They make it sound so exciting!

So a bunch of pirates have stolen your booty (sorry, had to say it again) and the CYBERNOID FIGHTER SHIP has been dispatched to recover it! But you don't have all day. Nope, this is another timed game. Joy, you know how I love these. And these pirates are going to give up their haul without a fight.

Cybernoid isn't like other shoot 'em ups. It plays a bit like one of those overhead scrollers, but now with flip screens. The best way to describe it, is that each level is like one giant map, but you can only see one portion at a time, until you get to the edge of the screen, where you move over to the next section. Sort of like Zelda, where you move from tile to tile.

The best part is, you don't know what's going to be on the next screen. Could be a bunch of enemies, could be none. Or it could be a whole bunch of turrets waiting to blast you off the screen. It's a surprise every time! Until you play the game that is, then you pretty much just remember the routes to take.

It'll come as no surprise that a huge part of this game is all about collecting power ups and slaughtering your enemies. You'll see your typical power ups like longer range guns, more powerful guns, and of course, armor and gun upgrades. Very violent stuff. Gotta love it. Personal favorite has to be the rear-firing giant flame spike balls. Talk about a rough, destructive combo!

Compared to other shooters, this game is incredibly easy and unforgiving. Sure you die in one hit, but you seem to get additional lives at every turn. I mean, you do kind of need them because enemies are completely unfair and overwhelming, but still, you don't have to give us 20 lives by the fourth screen!

There's also some sort of "mock gravity" in this game. Your ship always sinks to the bottom for some reason, so you'll pretty much have to hold on the UP directional pad just to stay afloat. Maybe it's water...maybe this isn't space. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE ANYMORE!

Cybernoid is nothing spectacular. It's fun, but it's also tiresome. I never feel like I'm progressing anywhere, but there is satisfaction to be had when you're blowing up a constant swarm of space pirates.

Unfortunately, I may be at a time during my reviews where I'm getting bored of the same old game. I'll give the game some credit though, for a port it certainly does the job of being as good if not better than the original (which I had the luxury of trying on an emulator..not legit I know, but I wanted to give it a whirl).

I was disappointed though - there's no ADVANCED sound here....

Still, this game wins for having one of the weirdest box art fonts ever. Congrats! Stickers for everyone!

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!