Well, after rumaging through Den Den Town, I finally bit the bullet and
aquired a mint and complete copy of this infamous game. I'm sure its been
done before, but here's my thoughts after about 3 days of non-stop playing.
As far as shooters go, Sapphire is quite good, its certainly not the best shooter
on the PC-Engine. However it is a lot of fun to play. The levels are all nicely
varied, with some really nifty ideas. I love the level inside the pyramid with the fake
flashlight effects and the maze like scrolling. In fact I love all the levels, the developers
really went all out in regards to style. I've heard many people say Sapphire is too easy
and I'd have to disagree. Yes if you put the game on easy and crank up the continues it is
a joke. But I can't get close to 1 crediting it on Normal yet, and Hard should give any shooter
vet a nice challenge.
As expected, graphically the game is a wonderous treat to behold. Sapphire uses just about
every sprite trick in the book, then spices it up with some great animations, scalling, and
morphing effects all made possible by the beastly RAM boost of the Arcade Card. Yes the
game "cheats" with pre-rendered polygons, but they look good so who cares?
The music, oh how I love the music! It's all done by T's and the music is simply perfect. Every
track fits the levels' themes. Compared to other T's Music games it manages to holds its own.
Just hearing the title screen's music is enough to get me to play it again, and the standard boss
track just makes me want to kick some ass. No problems here.
So what it comes down to is that Sapphire is a great shooter. Sure, its not the best game out
there, but what Sapphire has is pure heart and soul. Every thing about the game is oozing with
polish, glitter, atmosphere, and pure style. I don't think the developers were really trying to make
"the best shooter," I think they just wanted to create a game thats easy to love. I'd say they
certainly succeded as I already love this game to the core. It just has that spirit the makes me
keep comming back. This is something I'll always be able to pull out when I just want to have fun.
Hell the game doesn't even save your scores, cause its just not the focus here.
So is it worth the price tag? Well thats not something I can answer for you. It comes down to what
you want in a game. Some people will probably never feel "the pull" of this game like I do, but if you
don't base your expectations on the entrance fee, this game is a treat. Its simply a roller-coaster
ride of shooter bliss and pure old-school fun. I chose to forget the price and just accept Sapphire for
what it is, a very enjoyable shooter and nothing more.
Topic: My impressions with Sapphire (Read 906 times)
