Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship
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Nintendo
Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.40
7.47
8.00
8.53
Votes: 15
Reviews: 2


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Reviewer: Visjoner Date: Apr 8, 2003
This game was very important to me, and even today it is. I remember the first times I played it, when someone asked me if I liked the game, my answer was "NO!". At that moment, I thought it was awful... I've noticed that's a typical opinion of anyone who tries this game for first time. The reason? Well, this is not a simple game like 'Gradius' or 'Galaxian', for instance; it's necessary to practice more and more so as to get the control of it, and then I'm sure anyone can spend hours and hours of fun because, in fact, the game is great.

Graphics: 8
The truth is that the graphics of the game itself are not particularly something special, but the ones of the introduction of each planet, for instance, are unusual and even amazing for NES games.

Sound: 5
Probably the worst feature of the game. The sound effects are well done, but the music… I don't know what to say. In the most of the planets, it's simply noise. Sometimes I played without sound and, instead of that, I listened to music while I was playing; it was notably funnier!

Gameplay: 6
That's very frustrating at first... but once you have learnt to manipulate the spaceship, there are many less problems. The most important is to take two essential items found in planets 1 and 2 (they are 3 items, actually, but one of them I still don't know what is it used for); without them, the game would be totally unplayable due to the extreme gravity of almost all the planets, though it's possible to unable that inconvenience buying a determinate items before starting some planets (or using Game Genie codes, of course, but try not to cheat very often!!).

In addition, I have to say that it's difficult to know what to do in the game at first, because the manual doesn't explain it at all, so you have to learn all by yourself; anyway, actually it isn't as complex as it seems... Basically, in each level the goal is finding enough fuel for the spaceship; then, finding the entrance to a passage where can be found a piece of the Golden Warship, a vessel that Jetman has to rebuild; after that, go to the next level if you want…

Overall: 8
The game is not easy, but it's really worth. Some graphics and sounds are surprising, though the music makes the game lose some points. Personally, I think the game is funnier from planet 1 to 4; afterwards, it gets somewhat complicated. Moreover, the game is very complete: tons of secret rooms, bonus stages, action in abundance and lots of challenges are waiting for you throughout 12 planets, though... they are 13 truly. Try to find it!

 

Reviewer: Jake Date: Jul 9, 2001
This game is very ambitious. Its graphics are very impressive by NES standards. The sound is pretty good, but could have been better. The controls are tough to master at first, but very tight and allowing for percision once you get the hang of it. As far as actual gameplay,it's tough to say. The game is very fun, but gets very frustrating after the first few levels. The developers made the levels too hard. Well, thank god for the ""Save State/Load State"" feature found on most emulators. This should eliminate most of the frustration. All in all, a solid game.