This week's Arcade Archives release is... Blast Off (Namco, 1989)
PSN
No EU PSN release
US
Switch
No EU eShop release
US
Thought defeated after the 2281 war, in 2289 the Bosconians strike back and once again begin to invade UGSF star systems (find out more about this plot on the official UGSF website). And so, the Blaster FR fighter pilot is deployed to stop the Bosconians at all costs! The Blaster FR's equipped with four main weapons- the red helix, the blue backshot, the yellow reverse-T shot and the green Y shot- that you can cycle between with the press of a button. Each of the six missions is split into three phases- the initial approach, breaching the giant space station and then destroying the core (with this third phase being presented in an up-close view, to bring you right up to the action)- with enemy ships all over the place. Only you can bring peace back to the galaxy!
Developed by N.H. System, some kind of Namco subsidiary or subcontractor that also developed the charming Märchen Maze, if you were looking for a true sequel to Bosconian... This isn't it, I'm afraid. It's got some elements of the original game, but they're all presentation- the original voice-clips show up (including BLAST OFF which is where the game gets its title), the space stations with a core that need to be shot and even the spy ship mechanic is in place (let spy ships slip past you and you'll enter CONDITION RED where more enemies appear)- but otherwise this is a more straightforward vertical shmup. It does look nice, mind- some good detail on the sprites, and I'm a fan of the way it enlarges all the sprites for the interior sections, even if it makes you a bigger target. Not a whole lot else to say really, it's completely fine but definitely not a Bosconian follow-up, if that's what you were hoping for.
... And yep, it's one of those weeks where the ACA release doesn't show up on the EU storefronts for seemingly no reason! I suppose it's fitting for the final ACA game to be covered on this Cohost. More on that in a later post, the future of these posts is uncertain!