improved in ways, disappointing in others

User Rating: 7 | Thexder NEO PSP
By robertbyronz | Review Date:
I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this was being released again with a graphical update, etc. I was very, very excited. I played the original with a joystick on a Tandy 1000 EX computer and loved it. I have to say, that at a young age, it introduced me to classical music. Is any of that music here? No. Instead there's this techno rock mix something that's very annoying.

Playing with the stick is an exercise in frustration. For the computer and if you had a joystick, the control was picture perfect and made the game very enjoyable. There are gameplay elements missing well. It simply isn't the full Thexder experience. As I said though, the biggest letdown was the classical music.

On the positive side, the updated graphics are fantastic. The look of the Thexder unit is spot-on, and the levels appear to be the same (granted.. it was a looong time ago that I played it).

The Thexder unit itself however, is quite difficult to control. Maybe it's me wanting a real joystick, but both with the thumb stick and the d-pad. After 10 minutes my thumb was cramping up.

I gave the score I did, because I am quite disappointed overall. I think other Thexder fans out there can agree with the music. It's the first time (believe it or not), that I ever heard Moonlight Sonata, and it gave the original (be it on my old Tandy, or another computer) much class that this one is sorely missing. Still, I applaud the developers for bringing back a great game mostly intact. Happy to see it on the PSP. I really wish it was (although it would be a very simple game to release) a full release for the PS3, as the dual shock controller could resolve many of the issues I'm addressing. Good release overall.
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