When will publishers learn, eh’ They dilly-dally over releasing ‘hardcore’ Japanese titles for so long, that by the time they arrive on our shores, the very gamers they appeal to have long-since imported, ensuring poor PAL sales and putting us back to square one.
And so it is with Astro Boy: The Omega Factor. Foreign critics have been raving about the chubby child prodigy’s GBA outing for some time, and upon playing, it’s easy to see why. Beneath the cutesy characters lies a tightly focused, reflex-testing side-scroller, the likes of which we rarely see these days, with a good old-fashioned difficulty curve to boot.
It’s not all old-fashioned, though – far from it – because Astro Boy’s real achievement is the progression it makes within this most venerable of genres. The chief failings of many side-scrollers – monotony and shallow gameplay – are nonexistent here thanks to cheerfully spontaneous design and a complex combat system worthy of the Treasure name. Foes come in all shapes and – literally – sizes, due to some delightful scaling effects that see enemies shift between half the screen and a few pixels in size. The bosses in particular are startlingly original – the artificial sun, for example, is bound to leave a lasting impression.
Fortunately, Astro boasts a wide range of combat abilities including powerful EX attacks. These attacks – including an arm-mounted laser cannon and dual machine guns stored in Astro’s backside (!) – draw on EX power earned by landing regular punches and kicks, and are crucial to survival rather than mere token add-ons.
An upgrade system, the ‘Omega Factor’ of the title, allows you to customise Astro’s abilities with strength added by other’s souls although, on one or two occasions, a specific upgrade is required to progress, yet no hint is given. On the plus side, searching for hidden characters to gain more upgrades adds some extra replay incentive.
Graphically, and without meaning to sell Astro Boy short, it’s hard to remember many SNES games that looked this good – the backgrounds are intricately detailed, the animation flawless and 16-bit favourites like transparency, parallax and rotation appear in abundance. This visual feast comes at a price, though – slowdown. With many sprites on screen – which is most of the time – the action tends to stutter. It isn’t game-ruining by any means, and illustrates the game’s ambition but a little restraint may well have avoided this.
Add a typically-dramatic orchestral-electro soundtrack, solid sound effects and multiple endings and you have a very well-polished and well-rounded game. Only the steep difficulty curve may prove a deterrent: later levels especially can induce fits of blind GBA-throwing rage. For those with the grit to play it, Astro Boy: The Omega Factor makes a refreshing alternative to all those meandering wander-em-ups.
