Game of the Day 3/27/2016: Android Assault
Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm for Sega CD is a horizontally scrolling shooter in the vein of Gate of Thunder or Thunderforce IV. In it, you control a ship that can transform into the mighty super robot, the Bari-Arm, and you must blow the shit out of everything coming your way. It may not be a gameplay revolution, but it hits in all the right places, yet has much less notoriety than, say, Keio Flying Squadron, Lords of Thunder, or Robo Aleste.
The first thing to check out in any shooter is powerups, and Android Assault features a handful of situationally useful weapons. You have the Thunder Cracker, which is basically your vulcan, a laser, homing missiles, and tough to use satellite bombs, which kinda suck unless you really freaking practice with them. Personally, I just stick with the vulcan and never look back, but the variety allows for different play styles. You change weapons by picking up colored orbs, and you can't change on the fly, so it's important to pick up only what you want. POW icons power you up, and maxing out will transform you into the Bari-Arm, which allows you to absorb an extra hit while looking kinda like the mighty Getter 1...
The most unique piece comes in the form of a charge attack, which you perform not by holding the fire button, but rather by laying off of it as if you're playing Legendary Axe or Secret of Mana. I like this, as it allows you to hold down for rapid fire while really positioning yourself and focusing entirely on movement while not pressing buttons. It's subtle, but a nice change from R-Type's hold and release. Also, another cool feature is that pressing the A button allows you to manually change your speed, which I prefer, as it can be tough to identify that movement sweet spot in some shooters.
The graphics and soundtrack are both outstanding. The sprites are big and detailed, the backgrounds use a lot of cool scrolling, and the music is loaded with rock guitar that reminds me a little of Gate of Thunder's awesome tracks. Everything here is great, from the big bosses to the sprawling stages with a lot of verticality.
It's getting expensive, but Android Assault is far removed from Keio or Snatcher in how collectors talk about it, so it may still be possible to stumble across a deal in the right circumstances. If you have it or pick it up, you'll find a high quality shooter that looks almost like a good Saturn game, sounds great, and handles like it should. I'm not saying I'd go drop $100 on it to play it tomorrow, but I've never regretted the $15 I spent on it years ago, and I don't think I'dve minded paying a bit more after finding out how much I liked it.
Played it?
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Originally Posted by Emperor Megas
