Throwback Thursday: Blazing Lazers

This 1989 gem defined a genre and was decidedly ahead of its time.

See that incredible speed with no slowdowns? All those colourful sprites and explosions? And what about the amazing music? For gamers used to NES shoot 'em ups, Blazing Lazers was like playing a 1994 game, but in 1989. Even now, when we were trying it for this retro gameplay clip, it felt like a really modern game, and of course we'll return to improve our high-score.

Despite being one of the PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16's early flagships, this space shmup wasn't developed by Hudson, but by the talented team at Compile (Puyo Puyo, Super Bomberman). Its simple but varied weapon system can be tailored based on playstyle, and you only need two buttons (primarily laser/secondary bomb) to master it.

Without a doubt, Blazing Lazers, considered the 'spiritual predecessor' of Super Star Soldier, was exactly that, a genre-defining game, released ahead of its time. It clearly marked NEC's SuperSystem lineup forever, and it did that a decade prior to the golden age of shmups on Saturn and Dreamcast.