I’m always on the hunt for a good shooter, and obscure Japanese platforms from the 80s/90s are the perfect place to find something really unique. This led me to Undeadline. It’s a game I never heard of, but recently stumbled upon. It also helped pique my interest that this MSX shooter is horror themed. That gave it bonus points for me. I sat down and played through this rarely mentioned game the other day. It’s well worth playing for fans of the genre, even if it is hard as nails. Let’s take a look, here’s Undeadline for the MSX!
Because of the language barrier I can’t really tell you what’s going on in this game. There are three warriors each divided into a different class. It’s pretty typical in this regard with the options being the fighter, wizard, and ninja. This is where the RPG elements come into play. Each character has their own stats which include strength, magic, agility etc. Additionally, they have some unique weapons between them. Personally, I prefer playing as the fighter or ninja because the wizard is kind of underpowered and can’t take hits very well. That’s significant because you’ll be taking lots of damage in this game. Undeadline is a very unforgiving title that will test your reflexes.
Undeadline is an overhead shooter. Instead of piloting a ship you instead control one of the three aforementioned characters on-foot. They move forward (which would be up because of the screen orientation) at a constant rate as enemies approach from off-screen. Your attacks are projectiles but their strength and trajectory are different. You have your standard straight shots, but there’s also an axe which moves at an angle, boomerangs which return to your character, the knife which is weak but fires rapidly, swords that shoot multiple shots at various angles, and more. Power-ups are stored in chests which are opened by hitting them repeatedly, and if you collect the same icon as the item you have it will power-up your current weapon.
There are a few elements of the game that immediatley set it apart from the pack. For starters, many of the enemies don’t follow specific attack patterns. They come in from off-screen at the same place, but will give chase to your character. Some weapons can be fired behind or off to the side, but others cannot. This will affect your strategy behind which one you choose to use. It might sound like a rather small aspect of the game but it’s very unique. This is especially true for shooters of this era. The first time I noticed it I knew I would need to play Undeadline differently. Each of the characters also has a shield they can put up, but it only protects them from projectiles approaching from the front. This is a shooter where you have to pay attention to multiple gameplay layers.
This is also one of the few shooters I’ve played where being on-foot directly affects how you play. There’s the typical terrain you have to navigate around, but some areas feature literal walkways. These are very narrow and make it impossible to dodge projectiles and other foes. You have to pay attention to what’s coming ahead and then take the path of least resistance. That is, if you want to survive. Normally in a shooter if you get stuck on an element in the environment you’re automatically dead. That’s not the case in Undeadline. This is the one aspect of the game that’s forgiving. When the screen scrolls and you’re stuck you simply take damage but move forward until you reach the play area again. It’s at this point that you can move again.
I also really like the method of progression in this game. It’s set up a bit like Mega Man in that you can choose the order of stages in which to play. At the end you gain experience points and can level up specific stats of your character. Some of the beginning stages are easier than others, and in this respect Undeadline lends itself well to multiple plays. Some levels, such as the Cementery, are beneficial to tackle after you’ve gained some experience points and upgraded your character. When you’re finished with all three you can then tackle the fortress area which is a significant ramp up in terms of difficulty.
Speaking of which this is a very difficult game. Weapons, without being upgraded, take a lot of hits to destroy foes. Much moreso than in your typical shooter. Some of the items (like the axe) are more useful in this regard, but others like the knife are shot at a much faster rate. The sword shoots multiple projectiles but it’s the weakest of the bunch. You really have to choose how to play the game in the beginning to upgrade or else you’ll get stuck early on. Thankfully you’re given a generous life bar, but that doesn’t mean much when the enemies take so many hits to defeat. The boss encounters are truly next level in this regard. They’re basically damage sponges.
Undeadline is a very pretty game. There’s a lot going on in every screen, and the scenery has a lot of variety. I really like the horror theme and feel that the artists here did a great job of realizing the motif. The enemies harken to a lot of old horror tropes such as frankenstein’s monster and zombies. Everything is well designed and has a lot of detail despite the limited hardware. The only problem I noticed is that the framerate takes a serious hit when there’s a lot going on. This is actually pretty helpful, but it can create a stark contrast. The soundtrack is equally good and also manages to play on the horror theme quite well. The midi tracks are among the best on the platform. Undeadline is a real treat in terms of aesthetics.
