 SNES DRUNK! Ever since I found Segaia, a Japanese shoot-em-up import, I've been looking for other games in the genre for the original Game Boy, just because it seemed so unlikely to me that I'd find such a quality shoot-em-up on a limited system. That game led me to find Solar Striker, a fascinating piece of history, because it was developed by Nintendo R&D 1. That's right, the same people who brought you all the original Black Box Nintendo titles, like Balloon Fight, Hogan's Alley, Kid Icarus, and Metroid. And the guy in charge was Gunpei Yokoe, otherwise known as the creator of the Game Boy. Solar Striker is an exceedingly simple, vertically-scrolling shoot-em-up. By simple, I do not mean easy. This game gets pretty effing tough as you progress through its six levels. But there's no frills, no extra bells and whistles, no BS with this game. It's just so enjoyable in its simplicity. It's as modest a game as you'll ever find. I guess some people will turn their nose up at a game like Solar Striker, because it's a little too basic. But personally, I love this. The controls are perfectly responsive, making Solar Striker a true test of skill. And man, how do you not love that shooting sound effect? This game starts out really easy as a way to pull you in. But man, some of the bosses, holy crap. For non-shoot-em-up veterans like myself, this game might be a little too hard, because you'll end up playing for literally only 10 minutes and then hit a wall. And well, either you'll practice and get through it, or you won't. There's not a whole lot of tricks or cheats or tips or whatever to get through it. All I can say from experience, I just stay at the bottom of the screen and let the power-ups come to you. Don't get overeager and chase after them, or you'll die and die and die. Anyway, yeah, there's not a whole lot else to say about a game this simple. It's a textbook case of what you see is what you get, and I appreciate that. Especially on a handheld system like the original Game Boy. If you dig stuff like Galaga and Space Invaders, you would really enjoy Solar Striker, and the cartridge is only $3 or so on eBay. But hopefully we'll see it land on the 3DS Virtual Console soon enough.