Over Horizon X Steel Empire

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There are two ways to look at a package like Over Horizon X Steel Empire, a collection of classic shooter (shmup) games for modern platforms. One is exploitative, given these are older titles that haven’t been remastered in any way, a barebones package with nothing to pad things out – minus the games, of course. The more optimistic way is to consider how difficult some of these games are to come by, legally anyway, meaning there are worse ways to spend a few bucks to enjoy a few classic shooters from a bygone era.

What side of the argument you fall on will depend largely on how you view your bang for the buck, but one thing for certain is, these games still bang.

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Released by ININ Games courtesy of port-friendly developer Ratalaika Games, Over Horizon X Steel Empire includes three games (really two plus one remake) of horizontal-scrolling shooters developed by Japanese developer HOT-B: 1991’s Over Horizon released on the NES/Famicom and 1992’s Steel Empire released on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (and it’s 2004 GBA remake).

Over Horizon is, for me, the collection’s real highlight in that I never experienced the game when it was first released back in 1991 (primarily because I didn’t live in a region where I could have easily picked it up). Its design and gameplay emphasize everything I love about older titles appearing on fading or obsolete tech, which required creative use of the hardware (often going well beyond its intended use) and experimenting with familiar gameplay.

By 1991 the NES/Famicom was well past its prime, already having been displaced by vastly more powerful hardware, yet games like Over Horizon proved it could still pump out a classic when it wanted to. It’s just a shame so few ever got to experience this game during its original release, outside of Europe and Japan. Does it ape classics like Gradius and R-Type? Yes it does, but in fun and interesting new ways.

Visually, this one’s a stunner for a late-stage NES game, with detailed backgrounds that animate (and, at times, interact) and huge bosses with clever attack patterns. There’s plenty to shoot at and slowdown is minimal, if at all. At times you’ll even interact with the backgrounds to keep up the pace, which was a welcome surprise. Even the soundtrack bangs, not surprising considering it’s from Masaharu Iwata (Ogre Battle, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy XII). You could easily mistake Over Horizon for a PC Engine title, and that’s high praise indeed.

It’s also innovative from a gameplay perspective (for the time), letting you shoot both forwards and backwards, which is more fun and useful than you’d think. You can add homing pods to your ship by picking up items, which can be repositioned for maximum carnage. Most fascinating is the “Edit Mode”, which lets you allocate 5 points to create your own weapon variation (like a homing laser) or even positioning your homing pods via a mini-grid. From here you can take your experiments into the game and see if a career in engineering is in your future.

While not the most expansive editing system around, it offers an intriguing peek into the possibilities of early customization and is the only remnant from the game’s original intention to let gamers create their own shooter.

Compared to most of the popular shooters at the time the game’s difficulty is Goldilocks spot-on, meaning it’s not too easy or too hard; it’s just right. Hardcore genre enthusiasts will most likely scoff at this, especially as shooters from this era were (in)famous for their insane difficulty levels.

For many, probably most, it’s the dual versions of Steel Empire that will be the highlight, though for different reasons. Included are the original 1992 Sega Genesis version and 2004 “update” for the Gameboy Advance. Not included are the 2014 version for 3DS or this year’s The Legend of Steel Empire (really a double-dip as the game is essentially a 3DS port anyway). At least you get Japanese versions of both games, so that’s something to pad the roster.

The Genesis / Mega Drive was spoiled for great shooters, and while I wouldn’t say Steel Empire is one of the console’s best, it’s certainly worth your time. Easily one of the most memorable aspects of this game is its steampunk storyline and design, and there’s actually a fairly creative backstory here involving empires under siege from crazy dictators and traveling to the Moon, which adds some depth to the standard blasting endless waves of enemies and giant bosses.

You’ll choose from two air vehicles: the Striker (biplane) and Zep-01 (zeppelin), each with their own attack variations. Like Over Horizon you can shoot forwards and backwards, collect attack pods that hover around your ship, while snatching icons lets you power up your main attacks to give you an edge. When things look dire, why not drop a Lightning bomb? Or save them for the bosses? So many options, so few lives to spare!

Again, the steampunk motif helped this one stand out from a very crowded glut of mostly good shooters on the console at the time, and the visuals mostly hold up. The soundtrack is another highlight, courtesy of Noriyuki Iwadare (Langrisser, Lunar). It’s exciting and appropriately bombast, given the storyline, and a great match for what’s happening onscreen.

While the 2004 Gameboy Advance version of Steel Empire retains much of what made the OG version special, this comes at a cost. While essentially the same game, \tThe visuals and sounds have been severely downgraded with chunkier sprites blown up to fit the GBA screen and the soundtrack sounding tinny and less exciting. The lack of screen space, as well as the way this version handles powerups, makes the GBA version even more difficult than its bigger console cousin.

Given this comes from Ratalaika Games fans will recognize their famous ‘Ratalaika Wrapper’, which is both the emulator used to deliver these games as well as their familiar interface and wallpaper to compensate for the mix-matched screen ratio. There are 6 save states per game, and options to change the background wallpaper, colorblind accessibility options, light shader options, button remapping, cheats, and even the blessed “rewind” to correct mistakes playing without having to replay everything.

Sadly, this is as barebones a “collection” as you’ll find, with just the three aforementioned titles and nothing else. It doesn’t include the 3DS version of Steel Empire, nor the more recent The Legend of Steel Empire (which is a double-dip as that “new” game was essentially a 3DS port anyway). No special features, no alternative ports of any of the games, no background info, no nothing. Even more confusing, there’s a version coming out titled Steel Empire Chronicles that does include the modern remake, though at a steeper price.

When you favor the innovative 8-bit goodness of Over Horizon or the higher intensity, steampunk-driven 16-bit aesthetics of Steel Empire, there’s no question these two different (if similar) tastes pair well together in Over Horizon X Steel Empire. The games included are still fun to play, look and sound great, and scratch that very particular shooter itch. I wish there was more to the package, but there are worse ways to spend a few bucks on a pair of genuine shmup classics.