I’ve been working a lot lately, so my gaming time has been severely reduced. That should’ve probably led me to choose some relaxing games for my serious play sessions, but I don’t think my next challenges fit that mold at all.

From the remains of Söldner-X and Zero Gunner 2 I moved on to completely different affairs, notably Dragon Spirit and Solar Jetman. Dragon Spirit is being played on the PS2, picked from the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary compilation. This seems to be an emulation of the original game, and for those out there already questioning if it is TATEable… No. No TATE, and I have absolutely no problem with YOKO. With this game I finally started using my brand-new turbo controller because I deeply hate shmups that don’t have an autofire option (unless there’s an inherent charge mechanic to the gameplay).

Autofire in Dragon Spirit is a tricky thing though. Case in question: blue power-ups in this game give the dragon up to two extra heads. Since each head is capable of shooting a single firing stream, be it regular fire our ground fire (just like in Xevious), anyone would assume that using a turbo controller and keeping both buttons pressed when the dragon has at least two heads is the perfect way to weave through the game. However, this is not exactly true. As I evolve through the many stages it gets more and more evident that it’s much better to use each attack separately when you have extra heads. It’s an odd statement, but it seems the game design guides the player into adopting this attitude, which also cuts a slack for those who decide to play the game with no autofire.

To compensate for the absence of any continue feature, you can at least select any stage to play when you hit the start button. That’s why my current Dragon Spirit sessions consist of: (1) a full credit starting in the first stage ; (2) several training credits starting in the stage I died last during my first credit; (3) another full credit aiming at surviving longer with what I learned from training. So far I can consistently reach stage 5, that one with the moving spike walls.

Ah, Solar Jetman on the NES… I’ve been wanting to play this for a long time. I have a soft spot for gravity arena shooters, and since this one seems to be the father of them all (Gravitar is too confined), it’s natural that I start to really know the genre by trying it. I was perfectly aware this was going to be a massive, huge undertaking, so I prepared myself by printing out the excellent strategywiki material for some proper guidance. I did intend to use the warps to beat the game faster, but I can’t help but keep playing the regular stages to see what’s next. And having spent two whole afternoons with it, I now believe I’ll need many more to get to the ending. For those who still wonder how hard this game is, bear in mind it was developed by the same company who delivered Battletoads – you know, that easy beat’em up everybody didn’t even sweat to beat back in the glory days of the NES.

Ah, I know I should’ve chosen more stuf in the likes of Cotton Original…