it;'s like a hardcore version of megaman

Someone commenting on Power Blade for the NES.

It's not until you reach the 40s where Rotastic starts presenting some truly tough and frustrating levels. Scenarios within each level change the structure of the map as jewels are collected, blocks broken, and switches pressed. A typical example starts a level off very open and simple, only to turn into a nightmare as walls are moved in, cannons placed in the most irritable locations, and saws, rotating saws, are positioned right beside rows of jewels.

If the comparisons between Power Blade and Mega Man are hard to see, then Power Blazer makes them painfully obvious: you control a small, chubby fellow that dons a blue helmet, and unlike his remixed, muscled brother, this guy can only attack in two directions, left and right.

Beyond here, you'll take the Schwarzenegger-type avatar and pull him through a series of platform areas filled with cybernetic enemies with varying attack patterns, ranging from airborne robots to giant, bearded faces attached to walls that spit bubbles. Yes, such an enemy exists. And this is all done with the aid of a... boomerang?

Entertainment at its finest.

You're also bound to encounter up to a staggering... let me compose myself for a second... four enemies at once! That's, like, leagues more than the usual three from the predecessor!!

After 26 years of Gradius games and various spin-offs, this is what the long-running franchise has come to: a new series featuring school girls in revealing outfits, piloting equally skimpy ships as they fight Bacterians invading Earth, who, by the way, consist mainly of women in interesting outfits. Also of interest is the ability to move a little cursor on the character select screen; touch their heads and get a cute response... touch their chest and watch them jiggle.

It's great the controls feel so homey, giving players the chance to soak in the well-executed familiarity of Generations. If you've been playing a ton of Sonic games for the past 20 years, you'll sense the love with this product; it's fanservice overload. It works so seamlessly, too, thanks to Sonic Team's respect of the source materials, avoiding bastardization.

Instead, you control underage goth girls with magical powers, tasked with stopping a demonic invasion on the verge of All-Hallows-Eve, ignited by a man obsessed with creating a portal back to the real world. Ye... it's not as creepy as it sounds.

Then there's the payoff: an up close, incredibly detailed look at the destruction that never gets tiresome. Smoke engulfs metal, wings break off, and you'll sometimes actually see the pilot flail uncontrollably out their aircraft! I excitably let loose an explicit the first time I witnessed that.

There's even a Resident Evil 3-themed level, including zombies, a hulked-out Nemesis, and Jill Valentine, the latter which you can transform into and... yes, see in her undies.