Scramble Spirits

[anagrama]

Ding-ding! Week 7!
Seems to have rolled around quickly this time - I've barely had a chance to tackle Putt & Putter yet, but onwards we must roll.
It's transbot's choice this time, and I'm sure the whole forum is hoping it won't be his namesake Knock us out, sir!

In the meantime I'm off to fit in another bash on P&P...

[dezanuebe]

... the suspense is growing!!!

[transbot]

Patience, gentlemen.

I forgot we were a week early, but 7's my lucky number so that's cool. Anyway, I'm keeping up the GOTW tradition of being fashionably late.

Give us a moment or two...

[transbot]

There has been some talk about the Power Strike games recently, so I thought we should give a rare bit of love and attention to Strike's less glamourous relative, that button-bashingly addictive little SEGA classic:





[glow=yellow,9,999]Scramble Spirits[/glow]

[transbot]

1989 Sega - Vertical Scrolling Shoot-'Em-Up



Origins: 1988 Sega coin-op











Welcome to your future. It's the dawn of the 21st Century and mankind has

suffered global nuclear war. Out of the ashes has risen a world united in

global peace... and dedicated to preserving it at all costs! You are a

fighter pilot in a secret branch of the World Air Force known only as Group

One.



The troubles began when the newly rebuilt cities were attacked by an

unknown enemy. Their origin was from somewhere outside of Earth. Aliens!

Their weapons were powerful enough to turn cities into rubble. They had

more tanks, ships and planes than anyone could count. As they began their

conquering march across the world, a call went out for someone brave

enough... and smart enough to stop them. They called for you.



You are Group One's top pilot. You wear the Distinguished Air Cross for

bravery in aerial combat. Besides guts and determination, you have the most

advanced, high-performance air fighter ever created. You will launch from a

secret base on a series of missions against the enemy. If you so choose,

another air fighter of equal strength will be placed at your disposal for

the pilot of your choice. You can fly your missions alone or with a friend.

Successfully complete your missions and you will drive the alien invaders

from Earth's sail. Fail and they will take over the planet. Good luck on

your missions. Earth's fate depends on your skill!

[psychofox]

great choice transbot. Im not gonna have much of a chance to play it this week tho, im up in northampton for the next 2 weeks training for my new job. So i was thinking, im picking next week, does someone wanna switch with me? im thinking im gonna be very busy and dont want to let everyone down...

[RaccoonLad]

nice game! not too hard, but not too easy either. 2 players simulatanious is a nice touch too.

I beat this one a while back.

[Stan]

Good game, I'll have to put it in again to give a nice review. I remember finding it quite easy until like the last level or so.

[dezanuebe]

great choice, i dig this one. it reminds me of the long afternoons lost playing 1942 for the zx spectrum!!!

[anagrama]

Just had a crack, and I'll agree with those who said it's fairly easy - armed with my trusty Arcade Power Stick I got to the fifth round on my first go, and the sixth after a couple of attempts. I totally forgot about the special attack for most of it aswell.
It's a nice little game though, and I hope to see the end after a few more attempts...

[Retrobob]

Where's the review? How about a link to a ROM?

[transbot]

Alright, alright. I didn't hear you moaning about Stan not supplying any Rom links - jesus christ.


It looks like you can get one here:

emu-russia.km.ru/data/listroms_en.php?sid=sms&from=S

I don't use an emulator, so I presume they'll work fine with Bock's MEKA.

The cartridge should be cheap, but I don't know how common it is - and you've got five days to get hold of one.



First Impressions

It's an upward scrolling shooter set in the future (about three years ago) but curiously starring WWII-style bi-planes. The enemies are aliens who seem to have modelled most of their craft on human militaria circa 1942.
It's got a nice smooth movement to it, not too much flicker and hardly any slowing.


Graphics

The looks overall are simple, sharp and clear, with economical use of colour - which works well to keep it all rolling. You could say the graphics are a little cartoonish, but some enemy ships still look intimidating. The later bosses are big, hulking sprites which dominate the screen impressively (the background goes plain monochrome to accomodate it), and there are some nice-looking enemies and backgrounds in the levels.
The plane you fly has a heroic, Memphis Belle look to it. Scene-stealers are the cute little mini-planes which come to you aid, and that you often have to sacrifice to avoid copping a bullet yourself.


Sounds

The explosions have a satisfying 'crunch' to them, and there's nothing wrong with the rest of the effects.
The music is class - at times it's like a Japanese Beverly Hills Cop kinda thing. You'll be humming the end-of-level Boss music for days.


Gameplay

I love it. I was considering picking Mean Bean Machine, until I realised I couldn't get past the first round. This is the absolute opposite: it pretty much eases you into the final rounds, and doesn't frustrate you - if you fail, you know it's your own doing.
There is a lack of variety of weapons (ie. no variety), but your mini-planes can do a lovely little trick when you press both buttons - very useful later on, and you get to use it twice per mini-plane (with their little wings smoking).

None of you should have any problems with the first 4 rounds, but the final round and boss are fucking solid.
You get I think 4 lives and one continue to last you six rounds: I've just got to the fifth without losing a life, then I got mullered in the sixth. I haven't completed it yet, but I remember the ending.

The third boss is definitely the next trickiest, after the last - it blows snot bubbles that inflate as you fire at it, and then when you pop it you need to avoid the bits, as well as trying to evade these little homing bogies that are buzzing around you all the time.

Bosses 1, 2, and 4 are extremely easy to dispose of, and 5 isn't difficult. The greatest challenges are the ones you set yourself: try keeping your two mini-planes alive for as long as you can (I've done two whole levels and a boss) or getting 100% destruction rate in the bonus rounds (not very hard). Top scores for me were around 900000 at the start of level six - easily beatable.

I remember the simutaneous two-player being loads of fun, but I haven't played it like that for years so let me know what you think.



So, it's all there for yous - get onto it.

[Phil]

I think the MS has clouded your judgement 007! Come on peeps Scrambles Spirits was a pretty dire coin-op and this isn't any better. Unforgettable playabilty, graphics and dull dull sound. If I remember don't you get unlimited lives until level 4? Then all you've got is 3 measly lives, a bit unfair wouldn't you say? Even with a simultaneous 2 player option, it just doesn't offer anything new to the genre and they's also quite a bit of annoying sprite flicker. The bosses aren't particularly inspiring either.

Give it a miss, what's next week game gonna be? Submarine Attack or that lovely coin-op conversion of Time Soldiers.

Lovely grubby knickers.

Please let is be a decent game, like Streets Of Rage or Master Of Combat.

[transbot]

Who the fuck are you supposed to be then?

[Sim]

I've just completed it and found it quite tough,i also found it stupid how you can die infinitely up until level 4 then there's level 5 which is quite an easy level it's just a matter of surviving an onslaught on level 6.This ruined the game for me and made it seem a bit pointless,i like the gameplay itself although there isn't any power ups and level 2,4 & 6 are way too short.I think once completed it's not one to come back to, a set number of continues could have made this alot better.