REVIEW: Blaster Master Zero 3 (2021)

The final entry in the trilogy.

Jason and the gang are back for the third and final game in the re-imagining of the classic Blaster Series by Sunsoft. This time, Inti Creates took on this project and pays homage to the original series while building on that lasting legacy.

The game is split into two sections. The exploration part within a small tank reminiscent of standard genre platforming. You can even exit your little vehicle as a human in a suit, weak as can be.

The other half is what best could be described as an almost top-down dungeon crawling experience.

Watch out, those beams are deadly

A unique mishmash as present in the original game and brought forth in the new games with some newer enhancements too.

The series introduces dimensional rifts and adds immensely to the game length and mapped area. You enter and are transported into another world. This mechanic is often used to reach areas you cannot reach by any other means. While dungeon crawling you'll often see many of them in different sections throughout. You are essentially doubling your exploration and they're always worth exploring. The effort is worth it in finding new gear for yourself or your tank.

The top-down viewpoint with a nice reversal shot going on too

The entire series is about exploration. By tank or by foot there are numerous worlds and areas to visit. As with any game of this type areas will be blocked off until your find that one item and everything clicks. How do I get that pesky item right in front of me except for that barrier? The solution will be found soon enough.

The game as a whole was enjoyable but had its issues.

We're entering the rift. Time to gear up

The plot is a complete mess, even the original with your friend frog named Fred was out of left field. Much of the plot in this entry assumes you have played the other two. I did and still had no real idea what was happening. Perhaps leaving multi month long respites between play sessions didn't help but I'm not so sure either.

The gameplay is what shines for me and it delivers. Tight controls both within the vehicle and on foot sections. You have a little jet pack on your back when exploring and that helps out a lot considering a small fall will often kill the player.

The music is a nice 8bit outing as to be expected. Nothing annoying or overstaying their welcome here. Sound design was also nice with the sounds of laser beams and space related sounds that fit well within the framework of the game.

Two tanks for the price of one?

I ended up finishing this title in a little under 17 hours. Apparently I got the bad ending as that seems to be the default? There is a part during the end dialogue where you're supposed to press some buttons to obtain the real ending. This is a complete secret! An odd choice to include a secret ending like this as I thought things would turn out differently, they do if you know this little piece of information.

The game dialogue is excessive. While I enjoy a good story this one bombards you with text. I lost interest most of the time and skipped through it trying to get back to the gameplay. There are points where exposition dumps containing hundreds of words happen frequently.

This game apparently never wanted to end. There were many times when I figured I was done but meanwhile another entire section opened up. This happened too with some of the bosses. Another form? How many are there? This did get old as I feel it dragged in certain parts.

Boss recycling is a thing here. I guess it was inevitable but I was a little disappointed to see it happening time and time again. Once you know the pattern there isn't much engagement here.

Get ready to blast off in style!

The Nintendo Switch port ran fine for me. I always play it docked display on my television while using the pro controller. No slowdowns, hiccups or crashes either. I was playing the Japanese import called Blaster Master Zero Trilogy: Metafight Chronicle. There are options for Japanese and English text but apparently no English audio provided on this release. I don't mind, I listened to the Japanese audio. The tone and inflection are funny especially when pronouncing names such as Jason, Sophia and other English words. I don't believe this physical release was ever released outside of Japan, a real shame.

While I may be pointing out the issues that bothered me this is still a fun game. Gameplay is where it's at and it delivers here but the rest needs to be said. Tighten up the plot and less boss recycling will go a long way.

As I mentioned, I played the other two entries and this is the third and final of this series. Inti Creates managed to make a memorable series overall. As the last entry it did wrap up this story and I feel satisfied. Let's hope it remains that way, they haven't overdone releases like some other resurrected franchises.

This voice-over actor needs to go!

All media courtesy of Nintendo