Super Nintendo Look - Flying Hero

Flying Hero: Bugyuru no Daibouken tells the tale of a little round fellow on a quest to save his best friend. Said quest plays out across eight acts, each of which contain 2 or 3 bosses that need a good blasting. Let me just go ahead and say, wow. Sting created a unicorn. A Super Famicom shmup that doesn't skimp on stages or bosses, has no slowdown, and can be comfortably finished in less than 40 minutes? I didn't even have to play the game to recognize that it's something special. The visuals are also quite impressive. I was legitimately shocked to discover that this was a late 1992 release. It looks at least a couple years ahead of its time. Every instance of Mode 7 is perfect. Since you already clicked on this article, I wouldn't mind if you left right now to check the game out for yourself.

If you're still here, then I'll let you on a secret. By inputting a special code at the title screen, you are guaranteed the best possible experience. Ready for it? Okay then. When the title screen appears, press the start button once. That's it. You might've visited GameFAQs and read about an option m- just ignore it. There are three difficulty settings, but Normal is the best. Don't try easy unless you're new to the genre. Don't pick Hard unless you're a critic looking for negatives to help pad out a review. Just hit that start button and get moving. 

Now, I don't know what exactly Bugyuru is doing that's causing baddie-bashing projectiles to appear. He could be spitting them from his mouth or creating them out of thin air with psychic powers. Shoot, he might be throwing bullets with his invisible hands. Either way, numerous problems are solved by holding down the fire button. Bombs can be dropped when the situation gets too hectic, but don't expect much of a breather. The area they clear is unexpectedly small. Practice flying the hero at level 2 or 3 speed, as survival depends quite a lot on maneuverability, as well as crushing enemies before they get a chance to act. Above all, make use of the L & R buttons whenever possible. Pressing them while firing causes Bug's shots to tilt in the indicated direction. L + R fires behind the ball. It'll see a lot of use, and for once I don't have reason to complain.

How this game implements the L & R buttons is brilliant. It's a lovely feature not just because it makes full use of the SNES controller, but also because it makes side and rear-shots seamless. Having weapons that fire to the sides or behind a ship isn't new, but typically they're a toggle or power-up of some sort. Players either press a button multiple times to cycle through their arsenal, or they give up a practical weapon in favor of something that has very little actual use. It gets to the point that one wishes shmup developers would stop having enemies spawn in from behind. Flying Hero made the right call by mapping everything to commonly pressed buttons. Switching angles is made easy, allowing players to remain focused on the action. They also have options besides a direct assault, because flying through the tiny space in-between every multiple spread could get a bit tiring.

While the starting shot is good enough to survive Bugyuru's adventure, there are two other weapons to try. Get ready, because this game loves its rule of 3. Three main weapons, three levels of power, a secondary that can be strengthened up to the three times, and a main weapon levels up when three cakes (or one triple cake) are collected. Stick to the default gun until you're comfortable, since its power also ties into the hero's life. Contact with an enemy or their attack drops the weapon level by one. If they keep taking damage, level one ball-guys start losing their secondaries. It's only after one has lost everything do they become vulnerable to death. It seems like a lot, but Bugyuru doesn't yelp! or anything when he gets hit, and the invincibility period that follows is pretty short. Still, since weapon-level isn't shared between mains, you could theoretically grab a different weapon, and gain another couple of hits, but only if you maxed out the weapon earlier. Sheesh! All this repetitive weapons and levels talk has me feeling nauseous. It's still worth pointing out though, as it's showing Sting's growth as a developer. They're starting to realize their individuality and thus their potential. Being unique - even if it means being semi-convoluted - is important and great.

Flying Hero's eight acts take place in a wide variety of environments. From land to sea to space, there is no place that our winged friend isn't pelting with bullets. It's a necessity too, because everything that has ever felt the essence of life in their soul wants to kill the hero. Waiting in the midst of the chaos are three witches. You'll meet the first in act 1's opening, summoning bats like a vampire. From then on, the screen is filled with all manner of beasts, each having trait or visual flair that makes them stand out. Enemy design is really good here. There's plenty to look forward to in each stage. Bosses are all unexpected, interesting, and look really cool. The expertly crafted pacing brings it all together. Action flows with calmness and determination. Encounters with large groups of baddies are suitably hectic. The moments of calm are appropriate signals that a new obstacle or mid-boss will arrive soon. I've said it before, but Sting knows their stuff. 

However, there will come a point when the adventure ends, and the player - you or someone else - will be wondering what's next. It's fair to wonder, especially since this is one of the easier STGs on the Super Famicom. This is normally the time one would move onto the Hard difficulty setting, but you've already read that I don't recommend it. Consider attempting a 1CC or no-death or a no-damage run first. Squeeze as much entertainment as you can out of Normal, because Hard is when the fun stops.

The most noticeable change on the Hard setting is that any enemy that takes more than one hit to destroy has received a substantial boost to defense. This not only results in longer boss battles, but destructible objects are also affected, making the enemies that use them far more dangerous. Sometimes this is welcome, as there are attacks and animations bosses that can't be seen when they die too quickly. One of the act 5 mid-bosses will throw pieces of its "brain" at the Hero. Once they're gone, all he can do is panic. Unfortunately, there are also bosses that really shouldn't be allowed to live for more than a few moments. On act 7, there's a two-headed mid-boss that swings around. They'll corner Flying Hero at a near instantaneous speed. If there's a trick to this battle, it won't be figured out in the first handful of attempts. Basically, it's guaranteed damage, and kind of unfair. I get that the difficulty setting is aimed at experts, but that particular fight is opaque. 

Another issue caused by increased enemy durability is that there's even less of an incentive to use weapons besides the default. The laser is a decent boss-killer as long as it's at full power, but the piercing shot just isn't enough for anything. Seemingly uncontested, the baddies will pile onto the screen, introducing flicker that gets in the way of one's bullet-dodging attempts. It turns a fluffy yet enjoyable shooter into a series of annoyances. Instead of a defense buff, I would've suggested increasing the enemy's response time; have them fire more frequently. Although, that just leads back to the issue of bosses not getting enough time to show off their entire repertoire. Maybe do a bit of both? I don't know. I'm just throwing out suggestions.

All in all, Flying Hero is further evidence that Sting Entertainment is finding their place in the sun. It's a unique cute 'em up that's confidently designed. There are enough good ideas and fun battles to create an unforgettable experience. I will recommend that you keep any and all memories of the game pleasant by ignoring the harder difficulty setting. Anyone thirsting for a challenge has plenty of choices, and at least one of them doesn't involve fighting a first boss for three straight minutes because they're built like ten tanks taped together.

I think you're amazing, but I don't want to spend all day fighting you.