[img width=300 height=432]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Recca.jpg[/img]





This is a very unusual entry for me and not really an "unloved" game with the definition I normally use. In North America this game is quite obscure which would obviously lend it to having much less attention drawn on it than most other games.

Rewind back to X-mas. I was involved in a Secret Santa over at Nintendoage.com (which is always awesome by the way), and after opening up my secret gift I stared at it quite puzzled. At first glance I thought it was some kind of pirated game because of the appearance and oddball label on the back. After typing "Recca" into google, I got a bit of info on it, but not a lot. It was apparently a late released Famicom game that was used for a competition in the summer of 1992. Someone on this side of the ocean in 2010 decided it would be a good idea to make some reproductions of the game and distribute them around to happy North American customers. The guy that gave me mine was ambitious enough to make his own personal reproduction for me complete with White Cartridge, professional looking label and don't feed to alligators warning sticker on the back. Its quite a unique looking item.

Anyway onto the actual game itself. Recca is a vertical scrolling shooter. I've played several NES scrolling shooters and a small handful of them I would claim are favorites of mine (such as Legendary Wings, Sky Shark and Tiger-Heli). After playing 1 single round of Recca I know, without any doubt, that it was the best game in the genre I had ever played on the NES. Probably even on the SNES also. Everything about this game is phenomenal.

[img width=256 height=224]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/Reccabusy.png[/img]

The speed is the first thing (of many) that caught my attention. This game is freakin fast. Blistering speed coupled with a super fast soundtrack just blows your mind instantly. Not 10 seconds in and its obvious that you need to be paying attention at all times. No down time at all.

Second crazy attention grabber is the the amount of enemies on screen. Not only are they super fast, but there are tons and tons of them. I haven't paused the game to count, but I'd estimate over 20 baddies on screen at once quite often. And the even crazier thing is that there is NO SLOWDOWN. The screen is literally covered with enemies and it doesn't lag or blink for a second. Even some NES games known for their polish suffer from these issues, but not Recca.

The bosses remind me of playing a Sun Soft game. They are huge, detailed, and have black backgrounds. They don't let up for a second either. All the sudden the game can become like a bullet hell and you'll have swarms of dots flowing towards your ship.

One of my favorite parts about the game is the powerup system. Unlike a lot of shooters, its not so bad if you die in this one. Powerups are so common that you'll likely get another one quickly enough after dying. There are also a huge variety of gun options. There are 5 different types that can each be levelled into more effective weapons. On top of that there are 5 different secondary weapons also. Lots of different ways to customize your ship to your personal play style.

Another interesting feature, and one I haven't spent enough time messing with yet, is the bombs. To use a bomb you simply don't shoot. By not shooting you'll notice a white dot in front of your ship start to grow. You can launch it off anytime you want, but the longer you wait the more damage it can cause. Its also unlimited. Unlimited bombs might sound cheap, but the cost of not shooting anything is a big trade off in this game. It really adds a unique dynamic to your playing.

[img width=256 height=224]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/ReccaBoss.png[/img]

An internet search also pointed out that if you are good enough to finish the game (I haven't had the pleasure yet, and may never have the pleasure:P), you'll be treated to a "second quest" ala Zelda style. You'll play again, but with randomly generated boss sequences and scrambled versions of the levels and enemies you previously fought. It sounds even more intense than the first playthrough which is almost mind boggling to even think about.

Normally I don't promote emulation, but there are usually exceptions to every rule. This is one of those times. The game is quite hard to track down in North America it seems, but it is definitely worth the effort to those who do. I'd urge anyone who likes shooters or just wants to see the NES really pushed to its maximum potential to try this game out any way they can. Youtube videos do not do it justice. You really need to play it to experience what the game feels like.

Please post some feedback if you do try it. I'd love to hear if others are as impressed with it as I am.

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