Final Soldier (TurboGrafx-16)

Final Soldier

A sci-fi top-down shooter, sequel to the Star Soldier games. Once again its your job to protect the Galactic Empire from an alien invasion using nothing but your trusty starfighter.

The game is divided in several stages in which enemies attack you in several waves until you reach the stage boss and proceed to the next one. Final Soldier incorporates four different gun pods mapped to each button, which can be fired independently or in conjunction. What you equip in each pod is up to you however as not only you get to select weapon loadouts between levels, but also shooting power-ups cycles to the available weapon types that you can incorporate mid-game.

Final Soldier Review

By Dazza

Just when you thought Hudson didn’t have any more vertically scrolling shoot-em-ups to release on the Virtual Console here comes another one! Final Soldier is the second game in Hudson’s Soldier series following Super Star Soldier. Unlike the other games in the series it never saw a release outside Japan on to the TurboGrafx-16 which is a shame.

This time around you can choose a different style of weapon at the start of the game which adds to some tactical play. Weapons are exchanged throughout the game with coloured power-ups allowing you to build up your arsenal. The levels are nice and long, but can be a tad repetitive.

The visuals impress as always, the ships are nicely detailed and there is never a hint of slowdown. The music is decent too but perhaps not in the same league as Super Star Soldier, there is a bit of speech however which was a treat back in those days.

There are 7 levels to fight your way through and in addition to this a special 2 or 5 minute challenge score attack mode which adds to the longevity of this game somewhat.

For the obsessive shmup fan this game is well worth a look, however for the more causal player you could do better with the excellent follow-up Soldier Blade which is really the best of the series or stablemate Blazing lazers / Gunhed.

4/5

Average reader rating: 4.50 (4 ratings)

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Screenshots

Final Soldier Screenshot Final Soldier Screenshot Final Soldier Screenshot

Final Soldier (Video Clip)

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1. Jazzem United Kingdom 23 Feb 2008, 13:28 GMT

How does this compare to the other Soldier games?

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2. Drake Netherlands 23 Feb 2008, 19:01 GMT

I haven't played it myself, but the general opinion is that it's the worst of the four Star Soldier games on TG (I'm not counting Star Parodier).

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3. Damo United Kingdom 25 Feb 2008, 21:47 GMT

Yeah, this is certainly the weakest IMO. I know a lot of people love it but if you ask me it feels really poor compared to the other SS games, especially Soldier Blade.

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4. GameGod3008 United Kingdom 23 Mar 2008, 15:29 GMT

1: Why wasn't this released outside Japan?

2: It seems to be in English according to the video or was that a fan translation or an upcoming translated version for the VC?

3: What was Star Parodier?

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5. link64 United Kingdom 31 Mar 2008, 19:06 GMT

3. a parodie of the star soldier series

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6. GameGod3008 United Kingdom 31 Mar 2008, 22:03 GMT

ok thanks

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7. Corbie United States 04 Apr 2008, 18:03 GMT

I think this game is better than Super Star Soldier, but not quite as good as Soldier Blade. I do like the music in Final Soldier the best, though. Star Parodier is one of the best shooters ever made. Cute em' up or not. The soundtrack alone is worth the price of the game.

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8. link64 United Kingdom 05 Apr 2008, 17:39 GMT

how hard is this game

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9. GameGod3008 United Kingdom 14 Apr 2008, 15:23 GMT

When i said what was star parodier, i meant what it was like but now it's been confirmed and i know more now.

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10. CopyofCopyX Germany 02 May 2008, 09:07 GMT

Right before the final boss you get this wierd message:

Warning!!
Ultimate Enemy approching

Nice name for the last boss.

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11. vicviper United Kingdom 12 May 2008, 18:47 GMT

If you like shooters this is well worth getting. It is easier than the too tough Super Star Soldier and has better visuals. Not as good as Soldier Blade, yes, but few shooters reach that calibre.

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