Image Fight

~ IMAGE FIGHT ~

Irem

HuCard

1990

This is one PCE shooter that had flown under my radar for a long time. What I ended up getting with Image Fight regarding action style was actually quite a bit different from what I'd expected. I'd read the comparisons to R-Type, so I was expecting something relatively slow and methodical. But it really isn't like that at all.

It's quite fast-paced--not Spriggan-fast but far beyond the sort of plodding I'd expect from a shooter often classified with R-Type. For the first four stages, it doesn't feel much different from a Star Soldier game but with nifty red pods to control (more on these in a moment). The "organic" fifth stage does remind me of R-Type with its large snake-type creatures, but throughout the early and middle stretches, reflexes take priority over memorization. It isn't until the last three boards that knowing the level layouts and strategizing for enemy patterns and vulnerabilities really become key. Even then, progress plays out more like in the excellent Sinistron, where you hammer away at segment after segment as you gradually make it further and become more comfortable, than in R-Type, where a little memorization allows you to charge through the first six levels as if there's no opposing army at all.

The red pods I alluded to earlier are Image Fight's hook. You can grab standard blue options that simply flank your ship and shoot straight ahead, but the red guys are much more interesting. You control their bullet streams by flying in the direction contrary to where you want them to fire. There are similar armaments in a number of other shooters, but rarely are they as integral a component as the red pods are here. You must not only master the direction-based firing but also consider ways to utilize the pods defensively.

Indeed, most of the later boss fights are all about ship positioning and pod placement. The low-level guys are no slouches either, however. The whole cunning boss crew can really make you panic with their attacks, and of course, panicking is the worst thing to do. The leader in Stage 3 shoots long, shot-blocking lasers that crisscross the screen; if you decide to run around like a chicken with its head cut off, you won't stand a chance.

Oddly enough, your final opponent can be destroyed incredibly easily if you simply figure out which weapon to bring to the fight.

The bosses, along with the regular enemies, look quite good in my book, but the level graphics are ho-hum at best. It's not that anything's particularly ugly about 'em; but there's nothing really eye catching about any of the environments, from the forest to the bases to plain old outer space.

The music is nice, though, particularly the surprisingly softer numbers; and there's a cool Ninja-Spirit-style sound test mode.

One more thing I must mention is the penalty zone, an extremely difficult area that serves as your punishment if you fail to wreck enough shit during the regular levels. I'd never been there until I swallowed my pride and missed shots intentionally so that my hit percentages would plunge below the border, so it's a fate you shouldn't have to work very hard to avoid. If you're wondering if it'll be worth taking pains to visit the zone just for the experience, well, I sure as hell don't think so, and there's practically no reward for overcoming the extreme difficulty and making it out of there alive.