story | gameplay | my thoughts
level structure | controls | options
BASIC INFO:
Title ....... Cyraid (North America); Bakuretsu Senshi Warrior (Japan)
Players ..... 1-2
Genre ....... platform
Subgenre .... puzzle platformer
Platform .... Game Boy (1)
STORY:Natasia has been kidnapped. Save her, Warrior and/or Fighter!
GAMEPLAY:
Cyraid is a platformer with heavy puzzle elements. Each stage is presented on a single screen and each screen is filled with monsters, ladders, and various kinds of blocks. Each stage has about 6 blocks (give or take) that are labeled E.
By simultaneously pressing A and the D-pad, you can kick. Given the correct circumstances, you can use kicking to modify everything on the screen. You can destroy blocks, kill enemies, and kick around ladders. Your goal on each stage is to use your elite kicking skills to reach and open all of the E blocks and collect (or destroy) the capsules that drop out from them.
Every couple minutes, a large, ball-shaped monster appears from some fixed spot on the wall. Any blocks you have destroyed have a chance of reappearing as it stomps about shaking the screen. This can be useful if you find that you have destroyed a block you need to reach a certain area. However, if you are standing on the same spot a block reappears in, you will die instantly.
Destroying blocks sometimes reveals extra lives and powerups. An x-shaped power-up stacks to give you useful abilities like speed and jumping. This allows you to take shortcuts on stages and finish them up more quickly, but you'll lose them if you die.
The final level of each world features a boss. Boss levels remind me of fighting Bowser in Super Mario Bros., in that you must dodge the attacks of the boss monster in order to reach a button that destroys the monster.
THOUGHTS:
I love this game. I'm not sure I can explain why in any satisfying way. It's hard to get past the "OmigoshCyraidSQUEE!"
Ultimately, it comes down to the following combination of facts:
[1] I love puzzle games
[2] Cyraid is a puzzle game
[3] I find Cyraid to be challenging, but not brutally hard
I especially appreciate that Cyraid is an action puzzler. It supports different play styles, which I'll often cycle through. You can be the gamer who sits at the beginning of the stage, not moving until you've planned out every move--and when you get tired of that, next stage you can pick the nearest E-block to open and think on the move. Either way, you'll probably die due to something unforeseen, but you'll be better prepared for the next time you try the stage!
As you progress in the game, you'll accumulate useful power-ups like jumping and speed. You'll pass through levels with these power-ups, not knowing how to beat them otherwise. Learning how to complete levels with power-ups is challenging in its own right, but learning how to do so without power-ups is also quite fun. While perhaps not everyone interested in Cyraid will be interested in this "hard mode," many of us who are drawn to Cyraid will also be drawn to such a challenge.
The simple looks of Cyraid are perfect for its nature. The graphics accomplish what they need to. The visuals aren't very detailed, and perhaps you can't tell what an enemy is supposed to be...but, if you are at all familiar with video games, you know it's an enemy and will hurt you if you touch it. Furthermore, each sprite is distinct from the other, and nothing is so distracting that you will get startled and make a stupid mistake.
LEVEL STRUCTURE:
[world #] [stage #]
There are 4 worlds. World 1 has 8 stages, world 2 has 21 stages, and world 3 has 27 stages. I do not know how many stages world 4 has. Sometimes stages can be skipped. You can start at the beginning of any world by using a password: DRAGON (2), SLAYER (3), or RUGGER (4).
CONTROLS:
D-pad ...................... move your cursor; move your character
select ..................... ??
start ...................... pause
A .......................... shoot lasers (only if you have "-5-" at the top of your screen AND at least one black bar)
B .......................... jump (if you have "-4-" or "-5-" at the top of your screen)
A + D-pad simultaneously .... kick stuff
select + B simultaneously ... lose a life and start the level over
OPTIONS:
None.
CREDITS:
on title screen:
- CYRAID™
©1990 EPOCH CO., LTD.
PRESENTED BY NEXOFT
LICENSED BY NINTENDO
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