Article 25028 of rec.arts.anime:
From: shimkevi@buchmf.bu.edu (Sergey Shimkevich)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video,rec.arts.anime
Subject: GunBuster Volume 1 Super CD review
Date: 2 Jul 92 00:47:08 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.video
Organization: Boston University Chemistry Department
Lines: 98

Here's the review of the newly released GunBuster game for the PC Engine. I am
using Clarence Din's format.

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Aim For The Top! GunBuster, volume 1 (Super CD)

Company: Riverhill Soft/Hudson Soft

Top o Nerae! GunBuster is a game that is very similar in concept to Sherlock
Holmes and Murder Club - basically a board game where you are presented
with a situation and have to pick out a correct action to progress further.
It is based on a very popular 6-part OVA (Original Video Animation) of the
same title (recently released in the US with subtitles). The game is based on
the first two parts of the series.

The storyline in the game is the same as in the video. Noriko Takaya is a
student at Okinawa Space High School for girls where combat pilots are being
trained. Rather unsure of herself, she also has to carry on the legacy of her
late father, Admiral Takaya who was killed in a space battle with the aliens.
In the first part of the game the goal is to survive the tribulations of high
school (self-doubt, sibling rivalry) and to get assigned to the new
battleship, Exelion. In the second part there are more obstacles to overcome,
including a terrifying ghost from the past.

The gameplay is very simple. After the opening intro (accompanied by a short
version of "Fly High", you see the options screen (looks exactly like the
screen in Science Lessons) where the super-deformed Noriko and Kazumi tell you
about the options. You can then start a new game, continue a saved one, go to
a sound test mode or hear the background info on the three main characters. If
you choose to do so, a super-deformed Coach Ohta will tell you about this
option and then proceed to introduce the character that you've selected. After
that the character will introduce herself. You'll also see such
vital statistics as birthdate, height and blood type displayed (turns out that
Noriko is 0, Jung-Freud is AB and I forgot about Kazumi).

When you select a new game or continue, you then get to a main screen. There
is a display, about 1/4 of the screen where the action takes place, two
windows where the commands are displaced and a Stress Meter. When you make the
wrong decision, the Stress Meter goes up. When it is full, the game is OVER!!!

You see a short animated sequence (the closest to full-motion animation that
I've seen on the Turbo/PC Engine) and then you have to make a choice. If you
make the wrong choice, you see the often hilarious results (for example when
Jung-Freud is introduced to Noriko and Kazumi, one of the wrong responses is
to "take a look at Jung's (excuse me) bosom", also some wrong responses
can get you slapped by Kazumi - OUCH!), your Stress Meter goes up and you have
to make another choice. When you make the right choice, the story continues.

At some point you'll be allowed to save your game and continue. You can also
save the game at the end to have access to endgame options that include a
command that replays the game automatically from the beginning to the end and
a short comedy routine by Noriko, Kazumi and Jung-Freud.

Also, when you put a regular system card instead of a Super System card, the
results are absolutely hilarious. You see a parody of a Science Lesson where
Kazumi asks Noriko questions about the PC Engine (no, the Coach doesn't show
up at the end, too bad). 

GRAPHICS : B+ (unfortunately PC Engine/Turbo shows its limitations)
SOUND    : n/a (it's all speech)
MUSIC    : A (two songs from the OVA!!!)
GAMEPLAY : A (lots of fun - if you like the show)
LONGEVITY: A (you'll want to play it again, just to see the often hilarious
           results of incorrect responses)

PLAYERS  : 1

DIFFERENCES USING TURBOBOOSTER: n/a

IMPROVEMENTS: 

OVERALL  : A+ (if you like the show on which it is based)

COMMENTS : 

If you liked GunBuster and have a Turbo/PC Engine, you'll most probably love
this game. On the other hand, if you do not know the story beforehand and/or
do not speak/read Japanese, this game will not be much fun. Even though it is
fairly easy to get through by the trial and error method, the story wouldn't
make much sense. 

A bit on the negative side: unfortunately the PC Engine/Turbo hardware shows
its limitations. The animation is still jerky and it is only in 1/4 of the
screen (just like in Sherlock Holmes). Still, it is a very nice game and I
enjoyed it a lot.

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P.S. In the closing credits there is a scene where Noriko puts a bowl of
round white (cakes?) near her dead father's picture. I am curious as to what
this ritual is.

-Sergei Shimkevich