A fantastic remake of a classic gem from the days of the NES. The original could be considered one of the early Metroidvania titles before the term was ever even coined after Symphony of the Night. Much like Metroid, this is a game about exploration and powerups. Explore, and hit a roadblock, go back and find a powerup, go back to roadblock and use powerup to get beyond it. Rinse and repeat. Powerups can range from double jumps to flight, to weapons that can destroy objects blocking paths, and more. What makes Blaster Master Zero and the other games in this series unique is how you tackle objectives. You roll around in a vehicle with a cannon attached to it, and that is your main mode for traversing the massive and tangled platforming areas, but you can actually exit your vehicle and walk around. When you exit your vehicle you can enter certain areas that turn into top down shooter areas for you to explore on foot. It gives you 2 different perspectives and ways to explore as well as 2 different styles of action gameplay: A side scrolling platforming shooter, and an overhead shooter to boot.

My only main gripe with the game is that they toned down the difficulty immensely. The original was hard, but it was not brutally hard. It had your average NES era difficulty. This one seems much easier. And it's not just my age speaking. I have played the original recently, and it is definitely harder. Part of that could be artificial difficulty, the other could just be due to limitations of the NES in terms of controls and other things. Granted, while this is easier, it is in no way less fun. Some of the things they have added have made for a more enjoyable experience, such as new powerups, better graphics and more. It's still the same style of gameplay, so if you liked the original, this one is a must.

A fantastic remake of a classic gem from the days of the NES. The original could be considered one of the early Metroidvania titles before the term was ever even coined after Symphony of the Night. Much like Metroid, this is a game about exploration and powerups. Explore, and hit a roadblock, go back and find a powerup, go back to roadblock and use powerup to get beyond it. Rinse and repeat. Powerups can range from double jumps to flight, to weapons that can destroy objects blocking paths, and more. What makes Blaster Master Zero and the other games in this series unique is how you tackle objectives. You roll around in a vehicle with a cannon attached to it, and that is your main mode for traversing the massive and tangled platforming areas, but you can actually exit your vehicle and walk around. When you exit your vehicle you can enter certain areas that turn into top down shooter areas for you to explore on foot. It gives you 2 different perspectives and ways to explore as well as 2 different styles of action gameplay: A side scrolling platforming shooter, and an overhead shooter to boot. My only main gripe with the game is that they toned down the difficulty immensely. The original was hard, but it was not brutally hard. It had your average NES era difficulty. This one seems much easier. And it's not just my age speaking. I have played the original recently, and it is definitely harder. Part of that could be artificial difficulty, the other could just be due to limitations of the NES in terms of controls and other things. Granted, while this is easier, it is in no way less fun. Some of the things they have added have made for a more enjoyable experience, such as new powerups, better graphics and more. It's still the same style of gameplay, so if you liked the original, this one is a must.