Shatter those who oppose justice… with your fist!
+Satellite robots vary up gameplay
+Purchasing upgrades, extra lives and health refills all feel unique
-Some bosses are easy compared to the stages themselves
-The game almost feels too short… but that really isn't a bad thing
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As the life of the NES grew to a close in the early 1990s, many unique games began to find their way onto the console. Sometimes, this was due to the fact that developing for the NES was finally cheap. Other times, this was due to the fact that a minor project would wind up being too expensive to put onto the SNES, so they were put onto the older console. Or, maybe, they were just forgotten about by their company for one reason or another. Shatterhand might just be one that fell under all three, or none – there isn't a whole lot known about it.
Interestingly enough, this game was made by the developer Natsume. This company is best known for games like Harvest Moon, River King and… uh… Harvest Moon. However, it's almost fascinating to see this game and see where they've gone since. It's almost a shame to see them developing almost entirely niche titles, because Shatterhand was quite a great game.
Before we go on, however, it should be noted that this game might be a localization of a Japanese game based upon the live-action television series "Tokkyuu Shirei: Solbrain." Similar to Power Rangers, this series focused upon two heroes and their robot assistant working with the local law enforcement to protect and serve the populace through any number of disasters and monster attacks. The game also went under the same name of the series, but because Solbrain and Shatterhand were released in the same year (and the USA doesn't keep exact records of early game release dates), it's almost impossible to figure out which was made first.
It's my own personal belief that Shatterhand was actually made first, however, due to the difference in game versions. Sprites that show up in Solbrain have a lower visual quality to them, either being visually uninteresting or somehow look inferior to their Shatterhand counterparts. Keeping with this is the fact that this game doesn't actually have any relation to the original plot of Solbrain's TV show in either version – and the powerups showing up in this game don't appear at all in the television show either. Finally, Shatterhand is actually the harder of the two, featuring one entirely different stage compared to its Japanese counterpart, as well as different boss locations for the others. While it's possible that Shatterhand came second, the general appearance and lower quality of the Solbrain sprites lead me to believe that the Solbrain iteration was a cash-in and sprite swap to capitalize upon the show that same year.
Either way, this is a review of Shatterhand, not of Solbrain. So on we go!
In this game, the player takes command of a top secret commando working for the organization L.O.R.D. (Law and Order Regulatory Division), named Steve Hermann. After the evil General Gus Grover and his rebellion, known as Metal Command, take control of advanced cybernetics and implement it within their forces, Steve goes into an experimental surgery to put him on an even ground with them – and unleash some vengeance upon them after receiving a brutal beating from Metal Command. After two months of recovery after the surgery, Steve takes the codename of "Shatterhand" and goes out to bring General Grover down… with his bare hands.
However, Shatterhand won't be alone. During his missions, Shatterhand can collect Alpha and Beta blocks from white crates that can be found scattered throughout the stages. Collecting three of these blocks in any form can summon up one of eight satellite robots to assist in combat. Some of the combinations can be found as follows:
AAB summons the Laserbot, which fires a laser beam.
ABA brings forth the Swordbot, which swings a sword at nearby enemies.
BBA makes the Pyrobot, which shoots a long flame. It also requires a double-press of the button to use correctly.
…and there are many more in the game, of course. Each letter combination can be found pretty easily, and there's a good 8 different combinations that can be found, at least. As the game goes on, running the robot into enemies will damage them… as well as the robot. If the robot takes too much damage, it goes up in smoke. However, if the player's skilled enough to collect the same letter combination a second time, the satellite robot morphs into a special armor that turns the player invincible and lets them unleash fireballs for a total of 15 seconds – which can easily be a boss-killer if planned right.
The game takes place over a string of 7 levels. The first and last stages are mandatory in their order, but the middle 5 stages can be played through in any order, almost like a Mega Man game – but without the bonus weaponry. Each stage is uniquely constructed and range from a classic factory to a refinery, an anti-gravity research facility, a submarine (which somehow stores genetic experiments), a burning subway, a filtration plant, and finally to General Grover's missile launch complex and home base itself. An interesting note is that the anti-gravity research facility features reversing gravity, much like Gravity Man's stage in Mega Man 5, but this game came out actually a year before MM5 was released. Perhaps Capcom got an idea from this game…?
Either way, the stages contain some unique features in them. Most stages feature chain-link fencing in the backgrounds that Shatterhand can grab and climb, allowing him to jump away from most enemy attacks. The Filtration plant also is flooded with water, which winds up turning the jumping physics on its ear. The water doubles Shatterhand's jumping ability, but also drags him down twice as quickly.
And, of course, each stage has an end-boss that fits the theme for the most part. The anti-gravity level features a boss that manipulates gravity, while the submarine with genetic experiments features a boss that can only be described as a man-tiger.
Finally, each stage contains locations where Shatterhand can gain upgrades – costing a set amount from the coins he collects from the fallen enemies and white crates. One is a powerup to his punch, changing his green vest to a red vest in the process. Another is a health recharge, filling his health back up to max, and the final one is an extra life dispenser.
Each one can only be used once, but only if the player has enough cash… but cash is plentiful enough anyhow that it's not a problem.
The game controls excellently overall. Shatterhand moves almost perfectly in most stages, though understandably becomes hard to control while underwater. The A button makes our character jump, while the B button delivers his trademark punch (that's right – you beat up giant robots and cyborgs… with your fists!). However, after punching three times in a row, Shatterhand switches from an actual punch to a much more powerful hook – delivering at least twice as much damage in a single fist. He'll continue throwing hook punches until the player stops hitting the B button.
The game changes dramatically once the player summons one of the satellite robots to assist him. The B button also delivers the robot's trademark attack, and Shatterhand punches at the same time. Hitting the A button while crouching brings the robot right over Shatterhand, and allows him to grip the robot as it engages it's thrusters. Releasing the crouch sends the robot and Shatterhand shooting up into the sky, allowing him to make harder jumps with ease. Furthermore, the player can also hit the B button while doing this to hurl the robot at a nearby enemy to cause serious damage to them… at the cost of damage delivered to the robot itself. If the hurled robot misses the enemy, it will still return, but after a longer amount of time.
For an NES game, that's still an insane level of controls – all while keeping it delightfully simple.
The visuals for this game are delightful. While not perfect, enemies are varied and easy to see what they are. Shatterhand himself shows up clearly onscreen and each of the satellite robots shows up with a different appearance compared to their companions. Backgrounds and levels are highly detailed and all appear vastly different from one another overall. Really, this game has details that are barely matched by first-party games by Nintendo themselves. The only complaint I have is that the lowest level of enemies tend to all be rendered in one color – but that's not enough to knock it below excellent.
The music in this game? Oh, wow. Each level has a unique theme, and each tune almost sounds like they belong on the Super Nintendo rather than the old NES. It's just plain hard to describe how well the music fits this game without having to play it again. The effects also fit perfectly, explosions and weaponry sounding excellent for the NES – and almost nothing sounding out of place at all.
When it comes to the replay value, the variety of different satellite robots and different ways to beat the game make it more than worth replaying at least once, but once you factor in the unique gameplay elements and the sheer fun of just punching everything? Oh, wow. This is one I'm going to play for ages, guaranteed.
If you own an NES, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. It's hard, but it's really good and worth your cash. Even if you don't own an NES, try to play it somehow – it's really worth the time to play it.
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Gameplay: 9.5
Visuals: 9.5
Audio: 9.5
Replay Value: 8.5
Personal Tilt: 10
Final Score:
9.5 out of 10 - highly recommended for any NES lover!