This is actually my second-favorite chip game, and it's amazing that things turned out this way. I was only like twelve when I first played it, and it CRUSHED me, over and over and over again. I mean, I got through the first three stages just fine, but then the fourth-stage asteroid field was absolute MURDER. Yet I still loved the game, and I kept trying... and dying... and trying... and dying.
I'd return to it every now and again, but it wasn't until years later that I was good enough to beat that stage. And once I did beat it, I kept on playing until I cleared the whole damn thing. To this day, I consider it the gaming accomplishment I'm most proud of.
Fast-forward to today. I don't struggle with those asteroids as much as I used to, but the final stretch is still hard as hell. In fact, I consider this game more difficult than the infamous Rayxanber II. Sinistron starts off easier but gets completely insane later on. And we're not just talking R-Type-esque difficulty; you can't merely memorize things and proceed. You certainly have memorizing to do, but your reflexes are what will ultimately save you. There are lots of enemies shooting lots of fast projectiles, and if you aren't playing at the top of your game, you will be nailed--even if you know the layouts of the levels like the back of your hand. And right before the last fight, you have to beat the bosses from the first two stages again--but they're about a BILLION times harder the second time around. Figuring out how to annihilate them for good requires perseverance and thought, but it's so much fun.
It's all fun, in fact.
The warm-up base in Stage 1.
The flashing gas storm in Stage 2.
The creepy bug lair in Stage 3.
The infamous asteroids in Stage 4.
The devious maze in Stage 5.
And the organic warzone of the final stage.
Yeah, I gush over this game, but I recommend it only if you're willing to put in some practice and won't be put off by repeated deaths. It is HARD. You've been warned. And when you get through it--if you get through it--try Violent Soldier, which differs from its US counterpart in more than just name.
You know these fellas: the first-stage mini-bosses who float around in circles synchronistically and never, ever pose any sort of threat to your ship in Sinistron. Their approach is different (not quite as simplistic) in Violent Soldier. Not that they're at all hard here, but you've gotta wonder why they were rendered so helpless, even useless, in Sinistron. This appears to be an instance of unnecessary "dumbing down."
The fourth-stage asteroid field is much, MUCH different from what we get in Sinistron. Many of the asteroid formations here will be unfamiliar even to Sinistron veterans. In fact, the entire second half of the stage is completely different. And, at first, VS's field seems a lot harder: there are spots where asteroids come at you from every which way and instances where you'll run up against veritable walls of rock that span the screen. But after I came up with a plan, which didn't take long, I didn't have much trouble here. In fact, while Sinistron's field doesn't require as much thoughtful planning, it does seem to demand more in the way of reflexes. Here, I was able to deal with the parts where asteroids come from all over simply by knowing which rock to blast and where to have my ship positioned a second later. Heck, just remembering that the big blue "charger" rocks won't hurl themselves at you if you don't bother them makes a few spots quite easy to deal with after they initially seem daunting. Also, in Sinistron, when I die past the checkpoint, I find myself with little recourse but to continue from the first point to reacquire the all-important blue energy weapon. You don't need to do that here, as VS hands you a power-up pod containing said energy weapon following the checkpoint, and another gun works just fine anyway.
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