NES Club [3/04/04] - Isolated Warrior

[Darth Sensei]

This week's game was chosen by Zubiac666. Next week's game will be chosen by EnemyZero. Please PM me by Wednesday with your game so we can post screenshots and the rom. Also, include your challenge if you want to include one.

Isolated Warrior

http://www.bagofjews.com/~dre/NES/images/iso1.gif http://www.bagofjews.com/~dre/NES/images/iso2.gif


Download the Rom: http://www.bagofjews.com/~dre/NES/rom/isolwarr.zip Thanks Bratwurst

Please keep all comments about this game inside this thread and include the following:

Opinion: What did you like and dislike? Was it as good as you remembered? How does the game compare to arcade or other system if applicable?
Platform: Was it played on NES, emulated on PC, GBA, etc?
Progress: How far did you get in the game?
Challenge: If applicable, did you complete the challenge? Remember that those using emulators should not use built in features to make the challenges easier.

The Club Member list is below:
Cuewarrior
Oobgarm
Zubiac666
EnemyZero
Bratwurst
Icarwngs55
Gamemaster_ca_2003
Jive3D
Dr.Morbis
Nesman85
Ze_ro
Gideon
Portnoyd
Postermen
Kaine23
Goodwill Hunter
Damon Plus
Balloon Fight
Scooterb23
Sotenga
TRM
Alex Kidd
Spoon
Atariboy
Classicgamesdepot
adaml
TheRedEye
Goblin
slip81
Hamsnibit
AdamG
Qixmaster
DDCecil
ArnoldRimmer83
Brisco
whoisKeel
MarioAllStar2600
Quintracker
SniperCCJVQ
Needle
Sph1nx
swlovinist
ddockery
chrisballer
downfall
vintagegamecrazy
gamergary
jgenotte
supahzonik
8-bit Master
leonk
Captain Yashiro
jerkov
Sofa King Gud
Captain Nintendo

[jerkov]

Hmmm.....this is actually a game that I don't own, but there seems to be some sort of problem with the ROM link. I'll give it a shot once I can find the ROM.

EDIT - Nevermind, right after I posted this the link was good.....

[8-Bit Master]

Opinion: Isolated Warrior is a pretty good isometric SHMUP for the NES. I have a complete copy of this game in my collection, so I didn't use an emulator. One major problem with the game is the constant flickering. When too many enemies appear on screen at once (which happens quite often) the game will flicker and slow down. This could obviously be fixed using an emulator though. The graphics themselves look impressive, and your character's sprite is well detailed. The game does tend to get a little repetitive, but it is a shooter after all. I'd give the game an overall rating of 7.75 out of 10.

Platform: As stated above, I used the actual system (toaster).

Progress: It took me two tries to finish it, although I had played it before and beat it. The first time I died on the game's final boss, which is a pretty tough fight and is easily the hardest boss in the game. Some of the other bosses (especially the early ones) are pushovers. Shooter fans won't have much of a problem finishing this one within a day or so.

Challenge: I must have missed this. :o What was the challenge? To finish it or achieve a certain score?

[Bratwurst]

Opinion: Wow, talk about something I haven't played before. This why I joined the NES club! At first I didn't recognize it but then the stage intro screen had me recall the graphic as something I had spotted years ago in a Nintendo Power preview. ...And that was it. Not a thought more to it.

Having said that I've played for an hour or so and conclude it's a good effort, but some serious issues that prevent me from wanting to add it to my physical cart collection. The perspective takes a little getting used to but falling into pits is way too easy, especially near the top of the screen because there's a point you cannot progress any further and start sliding to the side. That you die when you fall in those pits pisses me off! They could have just knocked some health or something. Anyhoo.

The graphical style and use of colors remind me of games released under Taxan, thick, abstract shapes defined by sharp contrasts of bright colors rather than similar hues and black outlines. It works well because everything stands out, which translates into a fair fight for a shmup.

The weapon options kind of SUCK. You can alternate between a straight laser and a spread gun with the select button but the latter is worthless. I find it quicker to clear the screen with the narrow laser shot which is much more powerful when charged up.

The challenge is great overall though, lots of different enemies on screen at once and they all have their varied behaviors. Look out for those purple Rygar guys.

Platform: FCE Ultra emulation. Is this cart particularly rare, incidentally? I have never seen it in the wild.

Progress: Level 7 but I cheated like a mug with the savestates.

Challenge: Yes, it's there.

[Ze_ro]

Huh... I've seen this game countless times in my magazines, and every time I saw it, I thought for sure it was an Ikari Warriors rip... I always meant to give it a try, since it looked good, but never got around to doing it until now. I had no idea it scrolled on it's own.

It's a fun game, but can someone explain the powerup system to me? The W's seem to alter the angle on your shots, but what do the L's and small capsules do? I can never tell what I'm doing, and I get stuck with that 45 degree double shot that ends up being rather useless and hard to aim.

--Zero

[Bratwurst]

You can switch your guns by pressing the select button. L improves the laser shot, while the smaller capsules build up your stock of bombs. When you jump in the air you hit some button combination (down and fire, I think) and you let loose with a ring of grenades.

[whoisKeel]

first glance, wow, the graphics are pretty sweet for nes. but for me, that's about all this game has going for it. i guess i'm just not a fan of the 45 degree angle shooter type games...

granted, i didn't play much...i walked into some bubbles that looked like background and died, and that was it for me. :roll:

[Darth Sensei]

Opinion: I've only played a few hours so far, but I plan to continue. The graphics are fairly good for NES. I was confused as others apparently were with the weapon choice aspect. The wide angle shot is worthless IMHO and I couldn't figure out (before) how to change it back to lasers.

I kept feeling like I was playing Zaxxon because of the 45 degree angle.

My biggest problem is the game just feels slow. I like Shmups as much as the next person, but it feels too restrictive and slow. Falling into pits suck as you quite often can't tell that it's a trouble spot to begin with.

Platform: So far just my GBA SP with flashcart.

Progress: Level 3, but intend to play more.

Challenge: The game is challenging, but Zubiac didn't propose a special challenge for this week.

D

**** Edit- Captain Nintendo added. Welcome CN. :D

[AB Positive]

Platform - FCEUltra

Opinion - Neat idea, not necessarily well done. It's Zaxxon meets contra. I have a hard time with the depth perception knowing which enemies are in the air, on the ground, where to aim... etc. Frustrating but this idea has some promise.


Progress - 1st level made my head ache.


Challenge - n/a


-AG

[Sotenga]

In all my years of gaming, NEVER have I seen a combination of Zaxxon and Outzone! What an unorthodox title this is. Its graphical style reminds me of Base Wars for some reason. Anyway, my general opinion for all types of shmups are pretty much the same, and that opinion is, on a scale of one to awesome, it's super-great. The hit detection is a bit off sometimes... I couldn't tell if I was firing at the first boss' weak point, and he took me ages to slaughter. But it's a decent title nonetheless. I only have it in ROM form for now, I only beat level 1 so far, and the challenge of the game is moderately difficult, but I imagine it increases as you go further into the game. Hey, how many levels do you have to get through anyway? My guess is seven... anyone know?

Anyhoo, I'm giving it 3 1/2 Boots to the Head out of 5. Yes, I've decided on an official score rating. :D

[MarioAllStar2600]

Opinion: I have never played this game before. I wish the guys came at you a little slower, so you werent ALWAYS shooting. Over lots of fun, nice difficulty to.

Platform: I emulated this game on ROCKNES

Progress: Not very far, but I am still playing.

Challenge: N/A

[MarioAllStar2600]

Did anyone notice the name of that site? Bag of Jews!

[Bratwurst]

The jews go in the bag.

Unfortunately my free ride is over, I shall scurry to find another suitable host in the coming week.

[8-Bit Master]

Hey, how many levels do you have to get through anyway? My guess is seven... anyone know?

I'm pretty sure there was six levels. They all look primarily the same, except for different background colors and such. They are pretty well detailed, just not very distinctive. Am I the only one thats actually cared to finish this game yet? Am I the only one that actually owns this game? O_O

[ArnoldRimmer83]

The isometric perspective takes getting used to, but after some practice, this is a fairly solid shooter. Only two gripes I have with this are that you take a lot of damage whenever you get hit by anything and health power ups don't pop up often. I also found the level where you ride the motorcycle to be annoying cause for some reason the jumping controls don't feel very responsive in that level. Also there are 7 levels, but you have to get through the first 6 levels without using any continues to get to the 7th one. A lot of the later levels are nearly impossible when you're not powered up anyways.

This game was designed by the same developers who made Burai Fighter, which was an even more difficult shooter.

[Balloon Fight]

Platform: Emulated via FCEUltra.

Opinion: This game is pretty damn hard because the guys come at you a zillion mph. I really dont care for the perspective that much either, because it is a little hard to aim. A neat idea, but it could have been executed a little better.

Progress: Heh, almost beat the first level.

[8-Bit Master]

I also found the level where you ride the motorcycle to be annoying cause for some reason the jumping controls don't feel very responsive in that level. Also there are 7 levels, but you have to get through the first 6 levels without using any continues to get to the 7th one. A lot of the later levels are nearly impossible when you're not powered up anyways.

Wow, I didn't know anything about a 7th level. I don't think I'd be able to make it to the end without dying a continue. That motorcycle level is a pain, plus I always seem to fall in a pit or two. :angry:


This game was designed by the same developers who made Burai Fighter, which was an even more difficult shooter.

Wasn't Isolated Warrior made by INTV while Burai Fighter was made by Taxan? I agree with you though, I have Burai Fighter too, and it is much harder than Isolated Warrior IMO. It (Burai Fighter) resembles Section Z an awful lot.

[scooterb23]

Interesting game. Never heard of it before today.

I'd agree that the enemies come too fast, and many times I thought I was hitting an enemy (especially the boss?? character I came across) but it wouldn't do anything.

It's not the kind of game I'd spend a lot of time playing.

2 calzones out of 5 for me...

[Ze_ro]

Ah, now that I know what I'm doing with all the powerups and bombs and such, the game is a lot more enjoyable... the collision detection could really use some work though. There are many times where it looks like I should be hitting an enemy, but I'm not... then they then fly right into me. Very frustrating.

I've only managed to get up to somewhere in the middle of level 2. When you die and lose all your powerups, you suddenly don't have enough firepower to really deal with the enemies anymore, since they come at you so fast. You can only get in one or two hits before they either fly off the screen, or kamikaze right into you.

--Zero

[captain nintendo]

Opinion:
D

**** Edit- Captain Nintendo added. Welcome CN. :D

Thanks, glad to be aboard :D

When I last checked the link it came up no good. I will try it again later :o

[jerkov]

Opinion: First off, my opinion is going to be skewed because I had to emulate it. Let me tell you, I definitely prefer my NES controller to my keyboard. One of these days I'll have to get a controller for my PC, but I really don't emulate much at all so I haven't really had the need to get one yet. That being said, I found Isolated Warrior to be an average shooter. I, too, was confused by the weapon system. It doesn't seem to be a particularly deep weapon system, either. Compared to my favorite NES shooters (Life Force, Gun-Nac, Guardian Legend, Gyruss, a few others), I find Isolated Warrior kind of lacking. I like the unique isometric perspective, but the gameplay is not very inspired. It also seems to be quite a difficult game, especially with me trying to use my keyboard. The combination of the difficulty and the general pain-in-the-assedness of controlling with the keyboard deterred me from getting very far in the game. I would have enjoyed the game more on my NES, but I doubt my overall opinion of the game would change much. Bottom line, here's what I would rate Isolated Warrior (with my belated ratings of the past two NES club games as points of reference):

Isolated Warrior: 5.5/10
Mega Man 2: 9/10
Code Name: Viper: 7/10

Like I said before, I find Isolated Warrior to be an "average" game. Code Name: Viper falls into the category of being a "good" game, while I'd say Mega Man 2 is an "excellent" game.

Platform: Emulated on NEStopia.

Progress: Got to the boss of the first level before getting fed up with the keyboard....so not terribly far.

Challenge: Don't remember seeing one.....doubt I'd be able to complete it anyway.

[Needle]

Hey folks, I hadn't realized this club had begun already! So this is my first contribution to the review pool. What an interesting game, I've never played this one before.

Platform: I don't own this game so I decided to emulate via FCEUltra. The emulation looks to be pretty solid, and I have a gamepad, so I wasn't forced to use the keyboard (thank god).

Opinion: Well I only played for about 20 minutes as it's late in the evening here, but I'll probably try again tomorrow. I don't want to repeat some of the things that have been brought up, but I do feel they are noteworthy concerns. The isometric view combined with varying "heights" of enemies makes targeting very difficult, especially when fighting against levitating enemies. The game reminds me more of King's Knight than it does a conventional shooter.

The weapons system confused me until I started fidgeting with the Select button. I'm in general agreement that the spread type weapon shoots far too slowly to be of any use. There were lots of other items I was collecting but I wasn't sure what many of them were - The L's and W's make sense now. There were B's which I presume are for bombs, and S's add walk speed. There's also a force field powerup. I don't recall collecting any medical powerups (but I must have collected a few somewhere). Seems like almost every enemy drops an item, and it made me very unconscious as to what I'm picking up. I generally found myself just grabbing everything.

Is it just me, or do the enemies look particularly uninspiring? I realize we're dealing with alien life forms, but most of them are colored green and don't resemble anything noteworthy.

Again, the isometric view is a nifty gimmick, and I like the way there are sometimes directional changes in the screen scroll. But the fact that I can't walk to the very top of the screen was detrimental to me several times, especially in stage 3, when I had to jump over damage tiles.

I'd say the game is pretty average - it gets points for taking a risk with isometric style but it does seem to fall short in gameplay. And the colors are gaudy, which is typical of a late-era NES game (is this late era?). From what I saw, the cinema scenes didn't make much sense - but I will reserve judgement on that until I get a bit further into the game.

Progress: I got to stage 3 before I exited in frustration. I plan to tackle it again tomorrow with fresh relfexes.