Blaster Master: Overdrive

Blaster Master: Overdrive
So close, Blaster Master. Yet so far.
Protagonist(s): Alex Genre(s): Metroidvania 2D Sidescroller Platform(s): Wii Shop Channel (Wii) Release: NA: February 8, 2010 EU: June 18, 2010 Developer(s): Sunsoft Publisher(s): Gaijinworks Series: Blaster Master Predecessor: Blaster Master: Blasting Again (by release date) Successor: Blaster Master Zero (by release date)

Blaster Master: Overdrive is a WiiWare exclusive Metroidvania game released exclusively in Western territories in 2010. It is also the first reboot in the Blaster Master franchise.

Plot

The Earth has become infected with a dangerous virus that transformed the animals into monsters, threating the entire human race as we know it. It is up to the biologist Alex to find the cure of this virus by using an armored vehicle called S.O.P.H.I.A. to fight against the mutated creatures and save the world.

Bad Qualities

1. The controls try to replicate the NES original, but they end up failing. S.O.P.H.I.A. just doesn't have that same momentum as the original, and she's as stiff as frozen cardboard. you pretty much need a running start to jump anywhere. Her jump also feels a tad bit too floaty.
2. The art style is bad, and overall the game doesn't look too hot. Many of the enemies just clash with the slightly cartoony visuals, or some just aren't that easy to see with the dark visuals. Understandably, this is a WiiWare game (not to mention, on an already underpowered system), but other games like Jett Rocket looked amazing despite the 40MB limit of WiiWare.
3. The Wii was more than capable of 16:9, but the game is locked to 4:3 only. Understandably, this was a retro-revival, but they should've used a pixel-based art style if they wanted to do this, like Capcom did with Mega Man 9 and 10.
4. The camera sucks. S.O.P.H.I.A. is never at the center of the screen, it's always to the far left or right. This makes it so you can easily get blindsighted by an enemy.
5. Archaic Save System. If you die, you go back to your last save point. That's fine, but they're very scarce. So somehow, it's worse than the original game.
6. Sloppy level design. Much of it feels like a Mario Maker level with random platforms put everywhere, and the blocky structure of stages. The Alex sections are even worse, because they're so open.
7. Poor choice of controls. While you can sidestep with B, you can change weapons with A. The sidestep feature - while nice - was not all that necessary. Why not switch weapons with B? This also applies to the S.O.P.H.I.A. sections.
8. No original music, just remixes from Blaster Master. While the music isn't bad, it kinda sucks that we didn't get something original.
9. While not as bad as Blaster Master 2, it still could've made some improvements over the other games.
   • The fall damage with Alex is still there and it still sucks.
   • There are still aimless dungeons.
   • The Gun Upgrade is missing again, but you have other weapons, so it isn't as bad as it seems.
10. Cliffhanger ending: A meteor seems to crash into earth, and then the game says, "The battle has only just begun." Given that the game was a commercial failure, we will never get a sequel of it.
11. It is now impossible to get this game legally since the 2019 WiiWare closure, therefore making the only way to play it is via piracy. So even if you wanted to play this game now, too bad!

Good Qualities

1. It does actually make improvements over the other games.
   • It allows you to save.
   • It has a very useful map system.
   • Continues have been blasted.
   • Overall, it has a better difficulty curve than the original.
2. Solid soundtrack. Area 7's music is amazing and quite tense.
3. Despite the issues with the level design, it's actually just okay.
4. They actually at least tried to push the franchise forward, even if the game failed.
5. Like any Blaster Master game, the upgrades are still fun to use.
6. The title screen looks pretty cool.
7. The illustrations look amazing.

Reception

Blaster Master: Overdrive recieved a 58/100 from Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews. Bob Mackey of 1UP.com noted the game, while still remaining challenging, "manages to iron out a few unforgivable aspects" of the original Blaster Master, but also lamented that the improved gameplay in the top-down sections suffered from the choice of controls.

While numbers didn't show its sale, it is speculated by many that the game didn't performed commercially as Sunsoft woud have hoped. Because of this, the series went dormant for almost a decade and Sunsoft abandoning gaming development entirely, until IntiCreates bought the rights from Sunsoft to create the excellent Blaster Master Zero reboot trilogy, which performed better commercially.

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