I realize that by now when it comes to early 3D video games I probably sound like a broken record, but I’ll say it again. The home consoles just couldn’t handle the intense sprite scaling and scrolling floor. It’s hard for me to imagine that so many gamers put up with this because most of these titles on the NES and Master System are just awful. There was the occasional hit like 3D World Runner that used software trickery, but by and large 8-bits just weren’t enough. Heck, even 16-bits in most cases wasn’t, but this was partially resolved for the Super Nintendo by mode 7. Today is all about the Genesis however, and titles like Space Harrier II and Outrun still suffered from choppy scaling. That’s why Namco are apparently wizards, because their shooter Burning Force doesn’t suffer from this issue despite no change in hardware. Smooth scaling does not a good game make, and today I’m going to take a look at this early release.
From the start Burning Force has a knock against it because there’s no real story. I kid, I kid; unless it’s an RPG the plot doesn’t really matter. All you need to know is that you’re playing as an anime girl named Hiromi, and you’ve got to pass tests to become an official pilot across six different days. Increments of this time span function as levels and each day consists of four different stages. During the first two you’re riding a futuristic hover bike that’s held by gravity to the ground, but on the third and fourth you’re piloting an aircraft that can move in all directions. There’s no change to your firepower, and the only real difference here is vertical mobility. Burning Force functions like a standard 3D shooter. The game scrolls you forward as you shoot at incoming enemies and either avoid or destroy incoming environmental obstacles. The separate modes of play keep things refreshing, and really sets Burning Force apart from the rest.
Let’s start with the bike levels. Hazards are a bigger deal here because for the most part they’re grounded but thankfully they’re destructible. Enemies rarely attack from out of reach elevations here which balances things out. My favorite aspect of these stages are the jumps you can ride off of. Normally these are placed so that you can reach high power-ups, but other times it’s more strategic in that they allow you to bypass otherwise tricky hazards. These sections are a lot of fun, but the real highlight is when your bike is converted into a space craft. The mechanics are identical in this situation with the same power-ups, shot types, and what have you, but the added movement is a nice change of pace. Unfortunately this mode is reserved for only two types of stages; those with a boss waiting at the end and bonus rounds. The first of these functions as a standard level but there’s a giant enemy waiting at the end. Thankfully the game indicates its weak points for you to take away the guesswork. In the bonus stages there are no enemies and you simply need to collect orbs with point value on them. Personally I don’t really like the latter of these because they exist only for the high scores. I would trade this for another full-scale stage in a heart beat.
There are other areas in which the game excels. In particular I’m fond of the power-ups. You’re given three different projectiles, and they all have their uses. As I mentioned earlier they’re primarily acquired on the bike by speeding over jumps, but I found their functionality really makes the game fun because they’re all useful. First off you have a spread shot that is less powerful but covers a wide horizontal range. Next up is the more powerful laser, but it’s just a single projectile that’s more difficult to aim. It’s a lot more useful against most of the bosses however. Then there’s the cross laser, which is the middle of the road in terms of pure power, and it’s two swirling projectiles so the range is also medium. I also really like how the player’s score is handled aside from a stage on each day being devoted entirely to racking up points. You’re given points for gathering energy balls (environmental hazards usually hide these) and also for the time that it takes to complete a stage. On the bottom of the screen you have a countdown, and you’re given points for how much of this remains at the end of each stage. If it runs out you don’t lose a life, rather, you simply doing get any bonus. You can make the bike Hiromi rides move faster by holding up which gets you to the end of the stage faster. Oddly enough this only affects incoming environmental hazards, and the enemies still approach at the same rate. I’m a high score hound, and I love the timer aspect.
And now we’re at the section of this review where I talk about the game’s graphics. As I mentioned earlier the sprites scale very smoothly, and I’m shocked Namco was able to achieve this feat on the Genesis when even Sega could not. With that out of the way, Burning Force is a beautiful game. It’s incredibly colorful (something else the Genesis is not known for) and even the floor scrolls smoothly. In each stage the time of day changes which is a really cool effect. In addition I really like the art style employed here. The anime characters are a bit generic, but the enemy designs are unique and memorable. The soundtrack on the other hand is a mixed bag. The Genesis had very limited sound capabilities, and while some tracks in this game feature really well done classic songs others have screeching notes and are a total earsore. Overall I would have to say that I like the soundtrack, but it’s not something I would listen to outside of the game.
Burning Force is the exception to the rule. Not only is it a 3D shooter on the Genesis that features smooth scrolling, but it’s one of the more colorful releases on the system. It defies what I previously thought was possible on the console which is one thing, but it’s a genuinely good game. Burning Force has been long lost in the annals of history, but in my opinion it’s a classic. It’s the best 3D shooter on the Genesis.
