Games

ZX Spectrum ＺＸアムストラッド

Nemesis The Final Challenge - Nemesis The Final Challenge

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Nemesis The Final Challenge Nemesis The Final Challenge （ＺＸＳ） シンクレア ＺＸアムストラッド (ZXS) ZX Spectrum (ZXS) Sinclair ZX Spectrum Cassette -- Ver 1 -- Horizontal Shoot'em-up Date? -- Code? -- £8.00 Imagine 1/1

Main

This conversion or the arcade original is actually not that bad to play, I have played it on a real Spectrum too way back in 1987.

Game Review

Notes:

• Title screen is a modified version of the MSX title screen.
• You can choose 1 or 2 players. They take it in turns, naturally.
• You get 3 lives and no continues. It is almost impossible to recover in this game, so you need to get through on one life.
• You can only have one Option. It doesn't quite work like in the original.
• Double is shot out at an awkward angle, and therefore isn't much use to you.
• Laser can be upgraded. The second upgrade lets it, One Shot enemy spawners.
• All stages are there. They aren't exactly, laid out like the Arcade game, but they're there in spirit. Barely.
• Only a couple of stages have "stage design", the rest are just scrolling backgrounds with enemies.
• The hitbox is absurdly huge. It's quite literarily twice the size of the sprite.
• The shield, as a result, is really powerful. I gained it in stage 2, and it lasted up until the final level... where it did the oddest thing:
• Re-equipping the shield glitches the graphic up. It still works though. The game doesn't say you can re-equip the shield on the Power Bar, but hitting the Power Up button will grant it you anyway.
• All bosses, bar stage 7 and 8 are Big Core, most Sub Bosses are there, but have been altered.
• There is no music. No sound effects. Graphics are bare bones but recognizable.
  CORRECTION: This varies from Rom to Rom. There are versions with music, some without.
• You only get power ups from Ducker robots and Fan waves at the start of certain levels. There are no other ways to get power ups.
  CORRECTION - The Tentacle golems also drop power ups. Making it a good level to regain your shield.
• The blue capsule appears within the levels themselves and are not dropped by enemies. All are in useless spots and kill all of one enemy total.
  CORRECTION - Never mind. They work like in Gradius. Still utterly useless though.
• Big Core only fires three shots, you cannot go between the shots due to the large hitbox. Big Core can be hit ANYWHERE and receives damage, does not show signs of damage via barriers. Basically what-ever half of the screen Big Core is on, is lethal. If you have a option you can stay just above or below him and he'll die in seconds.

Stage 1

This is the second most difficult level in the game, if only because of the amount of enemies it throws at you.

Volcano is intact, and acts like the arcade game.

Stage 2 - FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU...

Ahem. This level is absurd. It's one of the few stages with stage design, and has too many Gun Emplacements.
Shield is a requirement, but it should last you through the next few levels even if you ARE absorbing every single shot.

Zub Rush is intact, but badly implemented. They do not appear at all on the middle left of the screen. This is good, because these things kill you even as they are forming. Baah.

Stage 3 - Moai

They can be shot anywhere, but only the ones that are upright can be killed. They're really bad shots, but there's a segment or two where you are between two moai - and your hit box is huge, so it's pretty much luck if you get past it.

The enemy rush at the end is there in spirit - they are now longer horizontally, and only spawn in the middle of the screen, requiring you to merely move up or down slightly to dodge their shots.

There is a capsule in this level on the main screen, it's usually blue, and it kills nothing, as no regular enemies appear on the screen where it's located.

Stage 4 - Inverted Volcano

It's like level one, but seems easier. There is still an erupting volcano mid-way through the level.

The mini-boss has been removed entirely.

Stage 5 - Skeleton level from the MSX version!

It's the extra level from the MSX version! What the hell!?

The skeletons act like the Moai, and are pretty useless from a "killing you" standpoint.
Miniboss is a rush of prawn/pork chops/what-ever they are, that spawns in the middle of the screen and is easy to avoid.

Stage 6 - Tentacle Golem

It's similar in spirit to the arcade version, but the arms hardly move.

You can't destroy the arms, just the cores, but they have less health.

Stage 7 - Nucleus

There are blocks in the middle of the screen that must be destroyed, and they have to be hit dead centre to destroy them. (although they don't even have to touch your ship to destroy you, of course.)
There is a blue capsule in this level.. which kills exactly one enemy.
CORRECTION - It can kill two.

Nucleus returns, right after a little stone wall section - you need to stick to the back or he'll spawn right on top of you. He dies after firing two shots.

Stage 8

Nothing much to note, although the arms that block the boss entrance must be destroyed now. As soon as they are dead, you must be QUICK to enter the boss room, as the door closes straight away.

Finally, the final boss attacks.

I'll let that sink in for a moment.

The final boss, attacks. What the hell.

The game then loops. Doesn't seem to be any alteration in the difficulty. You get 10000 points for "Saving planet Nemesis."

This port.. sucks. Badly. I might record some of it for a laugh. XD
It's not as god awful as the Salamander port was - that was just painful. What with Brain Golem shooting bullets that are invisible and all. At least this port is playable, just.

Review written by ACE_Spark