Scrolling shooters back in the day were a dime a dozen. This was a very popular genre in the eight and sixteen bit generations, and with the overflow of releases many were far too similar. Highlighted differences usually involved power-up systems as well as graphics. It was all too common to pilot a ship through space blasting foes away with laser shots, but I’ve really come to appreciate the different approaches some developers took. Cloud Master is a prime example of this. Originally released for arcades the only version on home console that we actually saw in North America (at least until a Wii remake decades later) was on the Sega Master System, and today that’s the topic of review. This was a nonsensical shooter with some unique themes, but in my opinion there are several aspects that hold it back from attaining classic status.
In this whimsical world inspired by ancient China you play as a young warrior who wishes to obtain the title of Cloud Master. To do so he must tackle five different stages full of enemies with a boss character waiting at the end of each. There’s very little dialogue after you start; you’re given a few words of encouragement after beating each boss but that’s about it. Cloud Master plays like a standard horizontal scrolling shooter. The screen moves automatically as you guide your character in all directions dodging enemy fire and lining your foes up for a well placed shot. You begin with just a simple straightforward ball shaped projectile, but this can be upgraded with power-ups frequently dropped by incoming monsters. This increases both the firing rate and shot type allowing for faster attacks as well as a better spread. What’s unique is that your character also has a secondary projectile, but this is unlocked by defeating mid-bosses and entering the special doors left behind in the wake of their destruction. You’re given the option of one of four of these weapons, and the options frequently change between each door. These shots include multi-directional bursts of fire, swirling energy blasts, bombs, and more. Many of these are actually fairly unique.
Unfortunately the whole experience is a little repetitive. I understand that this usually goes hand in hand with scrolling shooters, but it’s particularly bad in this case. The game does little in the way of switching up enemy patterns, and for the most part their formations as well as attacks remain pretty constant. There’s very little variety between the different stages; usually more foes and environmental hazards are simply thrown your way instead of any serious change ups. The boss characters are very similar as well. These are quite large and impressive considering the hardware rendering them, but they feature very little animation and attack only using projectiles. These encounters are far too similar to one another in my opinion, but on the plus side they offer a decent challenge. Speaking of which you can only take one enemy attack per life in this game. You also lose all of your power-up levels upon revival. Usually this is the kiss of death in a title like this making some areas downright impossible should you restart, but Cloud Master alleviates this by offering checkpoints and a plethora of power-ups. I rarely felt under-powered after restarting, and that’s definitely a good thing. It’s rewarding in this case to regain your firepower.
What’s most unique about Cloud Master is how truly bizarre and memorable the whole experience is. For starters, you play as a kid riding atop a cloud shooting energy balls at enemies. The most weird part of this game however are the enemy designs. You’ll fight flying cat heads, birds with human faces, bowls of what I can only assume is ramen, floating cards, pigs, turtles and more. It’s truly unique, and reminds me heavily of Parodius. Some of your secondary weapons are also quirky. This includes a four directional diagonal human shaped projectile, or the bombs that bounce off of the ground before blowing up any foes that are hit by the spread. The Asian inspired backgrounds include temples, and abstract rolling hills drawn in a very unique manner. This is most definitely a game straight out of Japan, and the art style is the sole aspect of this title that I found memorable. Cloud Master is sure to get a laugh from any of those who play it.
On a technical level Cloud Master is pretty standard fare by Master System standards. It features several on-screen enemies at once, a vibrant colorful palette, and fairly detailed character models. It’s the art style that really pushes the graphics ahead. The developers purposely limited the use of color to accentuate the characters and other elements. The opening stage, for example, features mostly gray clouds with the occasional green roof building. Other areas lack colors, but this almost makes these scenes look like paintings. My favorite aspect of the art style is the fact that most of the background elements feature prominent black outlines. It’s a little surreal, but it makes most of these scenes look like a work of art. The soundtrack doesn’t fare quite as well. The composer had some obvious issues with the spectrum of bleeps and blips, and thus everything sounds a little rattling and out of order. It isn’t a big issue because the Asian motif is still evident, but this isn’t a soundtrack I would listen to outside of the game to be honest.
I had big hopes for this title considering it is held in high esteem by the Master System crowd, but I have to chalk this one up to nostalgia. The weird enemies and artistic graphics are memorable, but the gameplay is highly repetitive and unoriginal. There are some unique aspects, such as the ability to choose your secondary weapon (and many of these attack patterns are well designed) but all in all Cloud Master is too repetitive. This is one of the more boring shooters released in the 8-bit era in my opinion.
