Hellfire (1990)
Shoot 'em ups were certainly pretty abundant on Sega's 16-bit power-house and they were definitely of varying quality but one of the finest must surely be Hellfire, one of Toaplan's few horizontally-scrolling efforts. It was never the flashiest game around but it did have one vital ingredient - a great first impression - and a big reason for that was the fantastic music, composed by Toaplan stalwart Tatsuya Uemura, that blasted out at you as soon as you undertook your mission. Games like Thunder Force 3 and Super Fantasy Zone have better overall soundtracks but few shmups on any system get you pumped-up for the alien smackdown like this one does. See if you agree!
(full Hellfire review here)
Special Note: I didn't record this great tune myself, I'm just an admirer, so all credit goes to the original composer
Good call. I LOVE the music on the 1st level of this game.
ReplyDeleteThis & TF3 were simply awesome.
Sounds great! Never played the game myself, unfortunately. May have to rectify that soon...
ReplyDeleteHello there Hawk, glad you approve :) It sure does get you in the mood for the rock-hard action, huh? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Bryan :) I can heartily recommend Hellfire if you're in the mood for a top horizontal shmup. It's not particularly fair but if you're after a challenge... ;)
I like the Hellfire music too. When I first got my Mega Drive I also picked up a few random carts with it out of a junk bin. Hellfire just so happened to be in that pile and was one of the first games I ever played on the system. It had such an impact on me that the Mega Drive is now one of my favorite consoles.
ReplyDeleteI imagine that if any MD shmup would have an immediate impact on you, it would be this one! It certainly is a great game :)
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