 Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss I like to keep things simple, so when you can describe a game as simply flying mech makes stuff go boom, hey that sounds like it's right up my alley. So here we've got Spring and Powered, another Super Famicom title that never left Japan, doesn't require an english patch to play, and it's actually the third game in a series, the first game being Seiri Sendshi's Spring and for the PC engine, and the second game's Spring and Mark II for the PC Engine CD. But it appears that this is merely a sequel in name only, The first two games were made by Compyle, who have had a hand in some of the very best shoot-'em-ups ever made, including Space Megaforce for Super Nintendo. Spriggan Powered was developed by Micronix, who developed Acrobat Mission, a perfectly okayish, serviceable, vertical shoot-'em-up that came out in 1992, and also had a hand in the Super Nintendo port of Raiden, titled Raiden Trad, another perfectly okayish game but certainly nothing spectacular. Spriggan Powered, however, is quite a few steps beyond those, just in the visual and sound department alone. I mean, holy crap, this game looks fantastic. The settings and backgrounds really stand out. Check out the first level alone. The sky and foreground scroll as they normally would, but you've got some axolay-style scrolling on the Earth beneath you. This might be disorienting to some folks, but it works for me. What doesn't work so well is how freakin' fast the next level's background zips by. The sense of speed here is exhilarating, and again, from a technical sense, this is pretty cool, but after a while I feel like my eyes just need a break. The third level has a neat sunset effect going on, while the fourth level changes things up entirely where you're underground exploring caves with little visibility. From there we go to outer space, skimming planet surfaces, and invading giant enemy ships. Throughout each level you have this red and white mech that shows up as kind of a mini-boss, sort of like Proto Man in the Mega Man series. Heck, it even kinda looks like Proto Man. But yeah, I really dig the different settings here, and it's the game's biggest strength. It's also worth noting that the sprites here are pre-rendered, which is kind of a novelty for the time. And the music is also really well done, and it fits the game perfectly without sounding overly derivative of any other shoot-'em-up soundtrack. So how does the game play? It's nothing that's gonna compare to Compile's best work, like I mentioned earlier, but it's still pretty dang good and a satisfying playthrough. You play as a mech, obviously, and you've got two continues with three lives each to get through six total stages with no saves or passwords, and there's four weapons to choose from. And it's the typical shoot-'em-up stuff, like a laser, fireball, and a homing weapon. Between them by collecting colored orbs, and each can be charged up for a special attack as dictated by the meter above. You also have a shield that you can use to destroy most projectiles headed toward you. Yeah, it only works for a real short period of time, but it helps make this game noob-friendly, so to speak. I know shoot-'em-ups aren't for everyone, and for the most time it's because they're too frickin' difficult. I fall into that group sometimes, too. But the shield mechanic here is real helpful without making it feel like you're cheesing the game out of its difficulty, since it's tied to the same meter as your special attack, so you have to manage which to use and when. However, there are a few mechanics that are way out of balance with the rest of the game, and you can abuse the hell out of them. The main one is the homing weapon. When you've got this thing charged up, it's so powerful that only a couple shots with it can take out a boss. It's pretty ridiculous, and if you want to challenge here, it's one of those things that you have to disqualify yourself from using, so that kind of sucks. Anyway, yeah, not much else to say about this one. Sprig and Powered is just another game released late in the Super Famicom lifespan in 1996 that never left Japan, and it's a simple but well-made shoot-em-up where you fly around as a mech and make stuff go boom. Can't argue with that. No, it's not going to touch stuff like Axolay or Space Megaforce or even Makarov Scramble Valkyrie, but it's still a perfectly good playthrough. The cartridge is a bit pricey, and it was never re-released or ported anywhere, so this is another one you've got to play any way you can. And I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.