Thexder NEO Review
Thexder NEO is a project that was undertaken by Square Enix to revive a very old classic action-arcade game originally made by Game Arts way back in 1985 under the guise of Thexder. It was well received at the time, but its revival initially took people by surprised. Thexder NEO is essentially a remake of the original, and it hopes to capture those who have fond memories of the title, while introducing new players to some old school gaming.
Essentially the game is based around a very simple premise, so there isn't really a story in place. Players looking for a deep and involving plot are probably looking in the wrong place, as Thexder NEO is all about the gameplay and in that respect there is an abundance. Players take control of a Bi-Pedal Mech armed only with homing lasers and the ability to transform into a Jet Plane, it might sound quite limiting, but it's more than enough.
For those who have heard of or maybe played the previous game, as far as updates go, they've revived it with absolute precision. Everything is kept in the exact same style, but it has seen an extreme graphical make-over. However, aside from a difficulty select, there are no extra additions to the main game. Probably the biggest change aside from the graphics comes with the balancing and tuning. What was originally quite slow paced has become a much faster experience. It's not really clear whether the game is any easier or harder because of this, but one thing is for certain, completing the game on normal is a challenge to say the least.
The game is split across ten stages, with each stage being cleared by locating and crossing the goal. Along the way players will encounter many different kinds of enemies, most of which are indescribable but are essentially made up from mechanical shapes. These are swiftly dealt with by using the homing laser; holding down circle and facing the direction of the enemy dispatches them rather rapidly. However, the weapon does have limitations. If the AI manages to get too close, they will continually spiral around the player, depleting their health and due to the weapon, targeting them becomes a significant problem. Thanks to the homing laser they can still be dealt with as they dart back and forth across the player, but it still causes some frustration.
Some enemies drop pickups in the form of health, but for the most part only very specific enemies will do this. These are usually located out of the way in areas of the level that do not really need to be visited. Generally it's often easier to simply rush around the level at high speed in the Jet Plane and try to find the exit as fast as possible - something that inevitably detracts from the overall experience. Surely this is not the way the game was intended to be played, but the seemingly broken enemies make it essential to actually progress. The mech also has a shield that makes them invincible for a limited period of time, making a level blitz seem even more appealing.
To try and make the gameplay more varied, there are also sections where it isn't possible to touch the floor or where players must dispatch multiple enemies in Plane form. However, they are extremely awkward and aren't overly enjoyable. The plane is extremely volatile, it moves at a very rapid pace and simply dispatching enemies without touching them can be quite difficult. This does create rather stressful moments where circling constantly seems to be the only way to break through, without taking copious amounts of otherwise unnecessary damage.
