Video Game Review #162: Blaster Master

Blaster Master

Nintendo Entertainment System

Nostalgia Factor:

This game and I go back a long time together. The year: 1989. The month: July. My brother and I both had our birthdays in the month of July. We had just gotten a Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas about seven months ago. We absolutely loved our Nintendo, but we didn't have very many games to play on it. As a result, my mom took us both to the store to pick out new games for our birthdays.

I had heard friends at school talking about a game called Castlevania, so I had already made up my mind that that was the game I was going to select. My brother initially argued with me because he wanted Castlevania, but then he backed off when he saw the game Blaster Master on display. Neither of us had ever heard of Blaster Master, but my brother suddenly shifted gears and decided to get this game rather than argue with me about Castlevania. I don't know what changed his mind. I think he just liked the name Blaster Master.

Anyway, we returned home and we each took turns playing our new games. Naturally, we ended up trying out each other's games at some point in the near future. I remember exploring the early stages of Blaster Master with my brother, and being absolutely awed at how the game progressed. This wasn't your typical 2D side-scroller. You didn't just move your character from the left side of the screen to the right. You explored. There were big open areas in front of you. You had to explore every inch of each stage, fight bosses, and gather the artifacts you needed in order to backtrack and unlock the next area of the game. People refer to these types of games as "Metroidvania" these days. Well, I played Blaster Master before I ever touched Metroid, and before Castlevania became known for its exploration rather than its straight up level based gameplay. I still, to this day, think of this type of game as "like Blaster Master" rather than "Metroidvania".

I was more into video games than my brother, so I ended up playing Blaster Master probably more than he ever did, even though it was technically his game. I got pretty good at it, but I was never able to beat it. Not only was the game very difficult, it was also very long. We're talking four, five, maybe even six hours long. This game does not have save points, plus it was rare that I ever got to play for that many hours in a row. My brother would always want to play at some point, or my parents would need me for something, or I would be forced to turn off "that Nintendo" and go outside, or it would get too late and I would have to go to bed. Or, heck, I would run out of lives and continues or I would get lost and give up out of frustration. This game was tough for a seven year old!

All the kids at my grade school ended up getting this game, and we would compare notes on how far we'd been able to make it, and what to do if we got stuck. I have a lot of fun memories talking about this game with my pals. I remember everyone furiously trying to beat it in order to impress the other kids, but no one ever could!

Life went on, as it tends to do. I moved to a new school and made new friends who had never played Blaster Master before. I got new Nintendo games for birthdays and Christmases. Blaster Master became a distant memory. After a couple years, my mom ended up getting my brother and I both Sega Genesis consoles for Christmas. But in order to fund that purchase, she traded in our Nintendo and all of our games for it. Blaster Master disappeared completely from my life.

Let's skip ahead to my mid-20s. I was living with my girlfriend Jessica at the time. We had a Nintendo Entertainment System, and we often went to used video game stores looking to find games for it. Slowly but surely, I started to build back up the video game collection that I once had for the NES over ten years ago. One of the titles that I purchased and added to my collection was Blaster Master. I popped it in and played it for a while for old times sake, but once again I was not able to beat it. I noticed how time consuming the game was, and I told myself I would come back to it and beat it later. But for some reason I never did... until now, probably a good ten years since that time I last played it.

Why the sudden urge to play it now, after so many years? I started thinking about death, and it suddenly came to me how terrible it would be if I died before ever getting the chance to finish Blaster Master. That made my mind up, right then and there. I was going to play Blaster Master, I was going to beat it, and I was going to review it. This game has haunted me since I was seven years old. This sounds silly, but beating Blaster Master would give me some kind of closure on a chapter of my life that had been open since 1989. Would I do it? Could I do it? Read on and find out.

Story:

The game's story line manages to be both ridiculous and charming at the same time. You play as a young boy named Jason. Jason is at home chilling with his pet frog when it manages to escape, jumping out the window and hopping out across the backyard. Unfortunately, the frog leaps up onto a container of radioactive sludge that is for some reason hanging out in Jason's yard. The frog mutates into an enormous size and jumps down a nearby sinkhole, also in Jason's backyard. Seriously, what is going on in this kid's yard?

Jason chases after the frog, falling down the hole and landing at the foot of a giant battle tank. Jason suits up for battle, hops in the tank, and blasts off in pursuit of his pet frog. Now that is a dedicated pet owner right there.

The story is silly, no doubt about it. But back in the 80's, I didn't care. As a kid, it made perfect sense to me. It is okay to look back and laugh about it now. It is a ridiculous story, but charming in its own way.

Gameplay:

Blaster Master excels in nearly every category, most noticeably in its gameplay. This game is very easy to pick up and play. You control the tank, using the directional pad to move, and the A and B buttons to jump and shoot. Using the select button, you can jump out of the tank and control Jason on foot. Jason can enter buildings on foot, where the game switches to an over the top or 3/4 overhead view. There, you can look for power-ups and fight bosses. In this view, you control Jason using the D-pad, and you can move him up, down, left, right, and diagonally. The A and B buttons fire your main gun and a short range grenade gun. The main goal when controlling Jason is to hunt down the game's bosses, but when I was not doing this I was spending time looking for weapon power-ups. These power-ups improve the range and effectiveness of Jason's main gun. When fully maxed out, it becomes a highly powerful spread-type gun with a damage range that covers almost the entire screen in front of you. Fully maxing out your weapon before facing off against a boss character greatly increases your odds of success in battle.

Defeating each boss unlocks a special power for your tank. Each power you unlock for your tank helps you access areas of the game that you could not previously reach. If you insist on using the term Metroidvania to describe this game, you wouldn't be wrong in doing so. It fits the formula to a T. Explore area, kill boss, unlock power, use power to access new area, explore area, kill boss, use power to access new area, etc. But like a good Metroidvania title, you often have to backtrack to old areas with your new powers in order to gain access to the next section of the game. It is very easy to get lost in Blaster Master. So you definitely have to pay attention to where you are going. See that area up in the corner you can't reach? Make a mental note of it to come back and check out once you get the hover ability.

Blaster Master is one giant maze, and it is a joy to unravel this maze and put everything together. The game is difficult and will probably take you multiple attempts before you've memorized where it is you need to go. It is a rewarding experience, and due to the fact that is so long and there are no save games files or password options, it can be a bit frustrating if you die and have to start from the beginning again. 

Graphics:

Blaster Master was ahead of its time graphically for the NES, and maybe this is just the nostalgia speaking but I still think the game looks fantastic. The world of the game is big and colorful and vibrant. Each stage has its own unique atmosphere. Some of these stages can be quite beautiful to look at, in particular the underwater stage.

There is a nice variety of enemies to fight. A lot of them are very unique in design, and can only be found in certain levels. Many of these enemies, the bosses in particular, are iconic to me and evoke strong memories when I look at them. It is a shame Blaster Master never took off in a way like The Legend of Zelda and Metroid did. One thing Blaster Master is guilty of: re-skinning. The game does change the color of a couple of basic enemies from black or dark blue to red later in the game to indicate that they are more difficult.

Sound:

Blaster Master has absolutely brilliant music and sound effects. Last week when I first started the game up, I immediately felt warm and fuzzy childhood memories come back to me because of the music during the game's introduction scene. I was overcome with excitement and started dancing around like a fool with the controller in my hand. People who know me in real life know that I don't get normally get excited like that, so this was a big deal. I couldn't help it! The game's opening music is flawless and it perfectly sets the scene for the adventure you are about to undertake.

The music for the rest of the game is sensational as well. Again, it is a bloody shame that Blaster Master never took off in popularity like Metroid or Zelda. This by all rights should be one of the most iconic NES soundtracks out there, but I get the feeling that most people wouldn't be able to identify it if it was played for them.

Because sharing is caring, here is a Youtube link to the game's entire soundtrack. Hopefully it doesn't get taken down and I look like a fool for posting a link to a busted video.

Overall:

In case you can't tell by what I have already posted, I really love Blaster Master. It was one of the first NES games I ever owned (although technically it was my brother's). It was a game I spent a TON of time on as a kid. It's also a game that challenged me in a way that few games have ever challenged me before. I was able to beat nearly every single video game in my NES collection, and the fact that I was never able to beat Blaster Master should tell you just how challenging it is.

It is not just nostalgic memories carrying the game for me either. I can pop it in and play it now in 2019 - 30 years after the game initially came out - and still have a great time. The graphics, the gameplay, and the music all withstand the test of time. A save system would have been great, as the game is very challenging and also very long. If you want to beat Blaster Master, you better set aside your whole day for it. That would be my main complaint about the game. Oh, and the fact that during the overhead view Jason levels, the game always assumed I was pushing diagonals whenever I wanted to move straight up and down or straight left and right. This caused several cheap deaths with me accidentally walking over the edge of an insta-death pit many, many more times than I care to admit.

If you have fond memories of Blaster Master from your childhood, I can't imagine that you wouldn't like the game if you were to revisit it in the present day. If you have never played Blaster Master before, I think that if you like Metroidvania style games, you would love this. Not only does it follow the Metroidvania formula to perfection, you can argue that it helped to create the formula to begin with. It is a very influential title that I don't think gets the credit it deserves. Let's change that. Spread the love, tell your friends! Everyone get out there and play Blaster Master!

Oh, and in case you were wondering: yes, I did finally manage to beat the game. Ah, sweet, sweet closure. Seven year old Dan would be so very proud of me.

Final Score:

A+

If you liked my review of Blaster Master, please check out some of my other game reviews:
Metroid
Castlevania
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Ducktales: Remastered