Game of the Day 3/6/2016: Battle Squadron

[celerystalker]

Back from the days when it seemed like EA stood for "everything Amiga," Battle Squadron is a port of a well-regarded Amiga shooter. While it initially feels pretty standard, the game does a lot of things differently from other vertical shooters of the time, and really ends up being pretty unique... but it's a tough little bastard.

So, if you just start the game up and start playing, it doesn't seem all that special, and maybe enemies should die about one hit sooner, but it's not game breaking. What seems odd eventually, though, is when you reach a massive hole marked "enter here," but the screen also keeps scrolling. It quickly becomes apparent that the planet surface is a vertically scrolling overworld, and it loops infinitely. At your pleasure, you can enter these holes as they pop up, and they will take you to one of three subterranian bases full of alien monsters. These are brutal gauntlets full of enemies that can really take punishment, minibosses, and each culminates in a final boss fight, after which you are returned to the surface. Clear all three bases in order to face the final boss creature and win.

There are four different weapon types, each of which can be powered up several times, and they are very different in use. Also, you do get a stock of bombs to use, and more can be found from cargo ships or by killing specific enemy formations. These are critical, as they can really bail you out in a tight spot. Still, even at only a handful of stages and a pretty nice arsenal, it's still super hard...

This is where the options screen becomes more relevant than in any other shooter I've played. Sure, you can tweak your lives and continues, but the really big thing is that you can adjust the max number of enemy shots on screen at once and their speed! The default gives you no continues, three lives, and the maximum number of bullets at medium speed. If this sounds tough, well, it freaking is. Give yourself some lives and continues. Knock the number of bullets down, and slow them a bit while you're at it. All of the sudden, this ruthless sumbitch at least gives you a fighting chance!

If you do choose to stick with Battle Squadron in spite of the fact that it wants your lunch money, you'll find good control, nice graphics, and an okay soundtrack that most folks swear is a million times better on the Amiga. Yes, it's nasty tough, but playing around with the options so you can stay alive long enough to power up your weapons and grab some bombs turns it into a really nifty game with a unique european feel. Plus, it supports 2 player simultaneous play, which can really help cut back the chaos.

Played it?

[sancoa]

Well, I like shmups, and Battle Squadron is another game I own. It's pretty good if you stick with it. Most of the Genesis owners on this site have probably tried the bigger name shmups (or at this point, maybe won't pay the prices they go for), so it's good that you're covering games that might have been overlooked.

I had this for the Amiga way back when and I remember people being impressed with the Predator-style cloaked ships.

[celerystalker]

Yeah, Battle Squadron's not as great as a MUSHA or Phelios, but it is different and fun... honestly, one of the main reasons I wanted to talk about it is because most of my friends didn't know it was a shooter. They saw an EA published Genesis cart with the name Battle Squadron and assumed it was another strategy game, as EA published so many Amiga strategy ports.

[Dire 51]

A friend of mine used to own this one. Not bad at all, but I'll take any of the great shooters on the Genesis over this any day.