Blaster Master Zero

Last updated
Blaster Master Zero
Blaster Master Zero cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Inti Creates
Publisher(s) Inti Creates
Director(s) Satoru Nishizawa
Producer(s) Takuya Aizu
Designer(s)
  • Tomokazu Ohnishi
  • Mio Yamaguchi
Programmer(s) Ryoto Nakayama
Artist(s)
  • Yuji Natsume
  • Hidemi Ohnishi
  • Shin Nakamura
Writer(s) Masato Okudaira
Composer(s)
Series Blaster Master
Platform(s)
ReleaseNintendo 3DS, Switch
  • JP: March 3, 2017
  • WW: March 9, 2017
Windows
  • WW: June 14, 2019
PlayStation 4
  • WW: June 29, 2020
Xbox One, Series X/S
  • WW: July 1, 2021
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Blaster Master Zero is an action-adventure platform video game developed and published by Inti Creates for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch. The game is the second reboot of Sunsoft's Blaster Master for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and was released worldwide in March 2017. It was subsequently ported to Windows in June 2019, PlayStation 4 in June 2020 and Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in July 2021.

Contents

As in the NES original, the game's plot centers around Jason Frudnick, a young man who descends into a subterranean world to rescue a frog creature named Fred. Players control Jason behind the wheel of a tank vehicle called SOPHIA, exploring large environments and defeating various mutant enemies. Jason can also exit the tank to explore various areas into which the tank cannot venture. In addition to redone graphics and sound, Blaster Master Zero also adds various tweaks and features not seen in the NES game. A sequel, Blaster Master Zero 2 , was released in 2019 with a third game Blaster Master Zero 3 in 2021.

Gameplay

The game plays similarly to the NES original. Players control the SOPHIA vehicle in the side-scrolling levels, exploring environments and defeating enemies using the tank's various weapons. The player character Jason can also hop out of the tank to enter various passages and doors, where the view switches to an overhead perspective. Players can find various upgrades to the tank that may allow access to previously inaccessible areas. Throughout the game the player also encounters various boss characters that must be defeated to progress to later levels. A multiplayer mode allows a second player to take control of an aiming reticle to shoot at enemies. [1] [2]

Plot and setting

The game serves as a sequel to Chō Wakusei Senki: Metafight, the original Japanese version of Blaster Master, as well as a reboot of the American plot, combining plot elements and character names from Metafight with Blaster Master and its Worlds of Power novelization.

In a distant future, Earth falls into an ice age, after countless wars and environmental disasters. Due to the ice age, the human race was forced to live underground. When the ice age came to an end, humanity began making methods they learned while living underground to restore the planet and the environment. During that time, a large, mysterious comet fell to the Earth, but that did not hinder their effort to restore the lost ecosystems, and humans were able to live on the Earth's surface once again.

Several hundred years later, Jason Frudnick, a young genius in the field of robotics, finds an unusual-looking and frog-like creature that he names Fred. His research is interrupted when Fred escapes into a wormhole that seemed to appear from nowhere, and Jason finds himself inside one of the underground environments from the past, where he encounters an armored tank named SOPHIA III, which he proceeds to use in order to fend off against the mutants that suddenly took over the underground and locate Fred.

During his quest, Jason finds an unconscious girl named Eve, who has a strange connection to SOPHIA III. Together, they find and rescue Fred, whereupon Jason finds out that both Eve and Fred are actually aliens. Fred is a probe sent by the inhabitants of Eve's planet to locate the Mutants, who are alien invaders that once attempted to conquer her planet, whereas Eve is an android created to serve as pilot and support of SOPHIA III. Together, they defeat the Underworld Lord, who was the leader of the Mutants.

In the basic ending, Eve thanks Jason and leaves Earth with the tank and, unbeknownst to Jason, somberly destroys herself along with it. If the player has collected all of SOPHIA III's weapon and upgrade chips, and all of the area maps, then an extended ending is unlocked. After the battle, Eve knocks Jason unconscious and leaves with SOPHIA III to defeat the true leader of the Mutants, the Mutant Core, alone. Fred uses his ability to create wormholes to take Jason to a base where he finds a new tank, the SOPHIA ZERO, a far more powerful version of the SOPHIA III.

Eventually, Jason finds the Mutant Core, which has taken over and corrupted the SOPHIA III with Eve trapped inside of it. Jason fights and disables the corrupted SOPHIA III long enough to rescue Eve and destroys the SOPHIA III and the Mutant Core along with it. In the end, Eve finds out that SOPHIA ZERO was created for her by Kane and Jennifer Gardner, Eve's parents/creators. Eve is truly thankful for Jason, who saved both her and the planet. The game ends with Jason watching the scenery, now filled with greenery, with Eve and Fred perched atop of SOPHIA ZERO.

Development

Two months after the game's release, Inti Creates released a patch for the game that added a new "Destroyer Mode", a harder difficulty setting available after players beat the game. They also announced the release of two DLC characters, Gunvolt from the company's Azure Striker Gunvolt and Ekoro from Gal*Gun , another Inti Creates title. [3] Guest characters Shantae and Shovel Knight were subsequently announced in July. [4] An update released in October 2017 added a boss rush game mode. [5]

Release

Blaster Master Zero was released as a digital-only title for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017, in Japan, and on March 9, 2017, in North America and Europe. [6] The game was later ported to Windows in June 2019 and PlayStation 4 in June 2020. Versions for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S were released on July 1, 2021. [7]

Reception

The game has received largely positive reviews. It received praise for its retro art style and being largely faithful to the original game, with Destructoid calling it "a loving recreation that serves as both a companion and in some ways a replacement for the original". [1] [10] [12] However, the game was also criticized for not improving enough over the original as well as being too easy. IGN's Tristan Ogilvie commented that the game "never offers an old-school level of adversity to match its charmingly chunky 8-bit aesthetic", while Game Informer called it "a blast from the past that feels like a bit of a relic". [2] [11] By October 2017, Inti Creates reported over 110,000 sales for the game. [5]

A sequel, Blaster Master Zero 2 , was released for Nintendo Switch in March 2019; for Windows in November 2019; [13] for PlayStation 4 in June 2020; and for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in July 2021. [7]

The final game in the Blaster Master Zero trilogy, Blaster Master Zero 3, was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on July 29, 2021. [14]

Related Research Articles

WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as the Super NES and Sega Genesis, as well as TV games and PC educational software. In 1997, they relaunched their video games arm, placing the company as a contractor for publishers and working on a variety of licensed assets.

<i>Blaster Master: Enemy Below</i> 2000 video game

Blaster Master: Enemy Below, known in Japan as Metafight EX (メタファイトEX), is a video game for the Game Boy Color. It was also re-released for the Virtual Console on the Nintendo 3DS system in 2011, and on the Nintendo Switch Online service in 2023.

Inti Creates Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development company. Formed by ex-Capcom staff in May 1996, they are best known for developing games in the Mega Man series, namely the Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX series, and their flagship Azure Striker Gunvolt and Gal Gun franchises.

<i>Trip World</i> 1992 video game

Trip World is a 1992 platform game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Game Boy. It was released in Japan in 1992. The game's plot centers around the bunny-like being Yakopoo and his quest to retrieve the flower of peace so that peace will return to his disarranged world. The protagonist's trademark ability is to shapeshift into different forms.

<i>Gal Gun</i> 2011 video game

Gal Gun, stylized as Gal★Gun, is a Japanese bishōjo rail shooter game developed by Inti Creates and published by Alchemist. It was first released on Xbox 360 in 2011, followed by a PlayStation 3 port a year later. The game takes place in a fictional academy in Japan, where the player takes the role of a male student, Tenzou Motesugi. He must shoot his female classmates, who are running desperately after him, with "Pheromone Arrows" to prevent them from making their partner, while he finds one of the four lead girls before sunset.

<i>Shovel Knight</i> 2014 video game

Shovel Knight is a platform video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. Development was crowdfunded and the game was released for Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Windows in June 2014. It was ported to OS X and Linux in September 2014, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One in April 2015, Amazon Fire TV in September 2015, and Nintendo Switch in March 2017. Shovel Knight is inspired by gameplay and graphics of platformer games developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

<i>Puyo Puyo Tetris</i> 2014 crossover puzzle video game

Puyo Puyo Tetris is a 2014 puzzle video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. The game is a crossover between the Puyo Puyo series and the Tetris franchise, and features various gameplay modes incorporating both aspects. The game includes characters modeled and named after the seven Tetrominos, which are different puzzle pieces each made of four blocks.

<i>Blaster Master</i> (video game) Video game for Nintendo Entertainment System

Blaster Master is a platform and run and gun video game released by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a localized version of a Japanese Famicom game titled Chō Wakusei Senki Metafight, which was released on June 17, 1988. The game was released in North America in November 1988 and in Europe on April 25, 1991. The game is the first in the Blaster Master series, and it spawned two spin-off games as well as two sequels.

<i>Mighty Gunvolt</i> 2014 platform game

Mighty Gunvolt is a platform game developed and published by Inti Creates. The game is a spin-off accompaniment to Inti Creates' Azure Striker Gunvolt game featuring characters from Mighty No. 9 and Gal*Gun.

<i>Azure Striker Gunvolt</i> 2014 video game

Azure Striker Gunvolt, known as Armed Blue: Gunvolt in Japan, is a 2D side-scrolling action-platform game developed and published by Inti Creates. It was first released for Nintendo 3DS via eShop in August 2014. Ports of the game were released for Windows in 2015, for Nintendo Switch in 2017, for PlayStation 4 in 2020, and for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2022. In addition to utilizing gameplay similar to Mega Man Zero, Azure Striker Gunvolt also introduced new gameplay elements such as Gunvolt's ability to "tag" enemies and target many at once, adding an additional layer of complexity to the genre.

<i>Runbow</i> 2015 platform racing video game

Runbow is a platform racing video game made for the Wii U and later ported to Microsoft Windows, New Nintendo 3DS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Runbow was developed by independent video game developer 13AM Games as their debut title, releasing it on 27 August 2015 in North America, 3 September 2015 in Europe, and 23 October 2015 in Australasia. The game was released in Japan on 25 November 2015.

Mega Man Legacy Collection is a series of video game compilations based on Capcom's Mega Man franchise. Each compilation features several playable video games from one of the Mega Man sub-series and adds new gameplay features and bonus content such as concept artwork. These compilations were developed internally at Capcom and were released between 2015–2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, with the exception of the original Legacy Collection which was developed by Digital Eclipse and also released on Nintendo 3DS.

<i>Shantae</i> Video game series

Shantae is a series of platform video games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games for this character were created by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of five games: Shantae (2002), Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010), Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014), Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (2016) and Shantae and the Seven Sirens (2019). A sixth title, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, is in development and scheduled for release in 2025.

<i>Azure Striker Gunvolt 2</i> 2016 video game

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, known as Armed Blue: Gunvolt Sou in Japan, is a 2D side-scrolling action-platform video game developed and published by Inti Creates for the Nintendo 3DS. The sequel to Azure Striker Gunvolt, it was released in Japan on August 25, 2016 and worldwide on September 29, 2016. A compilation containing the game and its predecessor, titled Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack, was also available at retail in Japan and North America. Striker Pack was later released for Nintendo Switch on August 31, 2017 and PlayStation 4 on April 23, 2020. The standalone game was ported to Windows on June 22, 2020 and was released for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on July 14, 2022. A sequel, Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 was released in 2022 for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows.

<i>Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon</i> 2018 platform game

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is a 2018 platform game developed and published by Inti Creates. It is a companion title to developer ArtPlay's 2019 game Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and was conceived to fulfill the promise for a retro-style accompaniment to Ritual of the Night after its Kickstarter campaign exceeded crowdfunding goals. Curse of the Moon follows Zangetsu, a cursed swordsman hunting down demons for revenge, as well as three other playable characters named Miriam, Alfred and Gebel. It features an 8-bit aesthetic and gameplay style similar to Castlevania games on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), particularly Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989).

<i>Blaster Master Zero 2</i> 2019 platform video game

Blaster Master Zero 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Inti Creates. It was released in March 2019 for the Nintendo Switch, in November 2019 for Windows, and in June 2020 for PlayStation 4. Versions for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S were released on July 15, 2021. The game is a sequel to the Blaster Master Zero, which was a remake of Sunsoft's Blaster Master for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A sequel, Blaster Master Zero 3, was released in 2021.

<i>Blaster Master</i> Video game franchise

Blaster Master is a video game series that was originally developed and published by Sunsoft. It began with the 1988 video game Blaster Master for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the series has been rebooted twice. The first reboot, Blaster Master: Overdrive, was released in 2010 and intended to "rebuild the Sunsoft brand in North America", but it received mediocre reception from critics and did not see a follow-up.

References

  1. 1 2 Burkum, Perry (March 9, 2017). "Blaster Master Zero (Switch)". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Davis, Ben (April 4, 2017). "A Blast Past Its Prime". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Free Update For Nintendo Switch's Blaster Master Zero Adds DLC Characters, New Mode". GameSpot. CBS Interactive, Inc. May 2, 2017. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ Holmes, Jonathan (July 4, 2017). "Shovel Knight and Shantae set to strike in Blaster Master Zero". Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Vogel, Mitch (October 5, 2017). "Blaster Master Zero Gets Another Load of Free DLC". Nintendo Life. NLife Media. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Blaster Master Zero for 3DS, Switch launches March 9". Gematsu. February 28, 2017. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Blaster Master Zero coming to Xbox Series and Xbox One on July 1, Blaster Master Zero II on July 15". Gematsu. June 16, 2021. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Blaster Master Zero for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Blaster Master Zero for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  10. 1 2 Carter, Chris (March 9, 2017). "Review: Blaster Master Zero". Destructoid. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Ogilvie, Tristan (March 15, 2017). "Blaster Master Zero review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  12. 1 2 Bowling, Chris (March 9, 2017). "Review: Blaster Master Zero". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Blaster Master Zero II coming to PC alongside DLC character Copen from Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX on November 29". Gematsu. 17 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Blaster Master Zero III details opening sequence, characters". Gematsu. May 19, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.