Game of the Day 2/14/2016: Time Slip
Time Slip for the SNES is a game I've not seen in most of my friends' collections, and they usually don't want to try it after looking at its sticker art and title screen. However, I've found that by sticking with it and giving it an earnest chance, it's one of the better run 'n guns available on the system. So first, the bad...
Most people are immediately put off by the cover, title screen, and cinemas, which are all very much in the European style. The color palette in these is dark and the portraits less detailed than the Japanese style, with more simplistic, almost '90s cartoon flavor about them. The in-game graphics are similarly Euro-style, with less shading and detail, although the larger bosses do look pretty great. It doesn't take advantage of any of the SNES' big tricks like Mode 7 or scaling, and the music is nothing to write home about. Couple that with a high difficulty and no continues, and this probably sounds like garbage. But, seriously, wait!
I can't explain away the cutscene style choices. They're so European because the game was actually developed in Europe, so it's just gonna have some of those design sensibilities. However, the play control is excellent. You move at a very reasonable pace in relation to the enemies, hazards, and platforming expectations, so it feels pretty good right off the bat from a control standpoint. You can upgrade your firepower by picking up bullet icons, which will at level 4 turn into a nice spread weapon. You automatically have rapid fire, and enemies are not bullet sponges-you can dispatch regular enemies quite easily, and bosses are rather reasonable as well. You also can pick up limited use sub-weapons that generally set off a damaging explosion at short range, which you can cycle through with the shoulder buttons.
The big thing that makes a huge difference, though, is that the Y button lets you fire while moving, whereas A causes you to plant you feet and fire. If you didn't have the manual, you might mistake them as the same function, not realizing what a difference the A button makes, especially in the horizontal shooter levels where you fly on a hover bike, and A locks your turret in a direction allowing you to move and fire independently.
There are only five levels of modest length, so although the no continue thing is rough, the game is still pretty doable, and when you get hit, it's usually your fault (save the falling fireballs in stage 2. Screw those things). If you stick with it, Time Slip becomes a fun challenge, and stabilizing time with Dr. Victor Gilgamesh to stop the Tiamatians from taking over is a load of fun. It's no Contra III, but if Contra and Turrican had a baby that was raised well by the BitMap Brothers, this is probably what you'd get, and it's pretty damn fun.
Played it? Hated its difficulty? Liked its boss fights?
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