Review: Arrow Flash (Sega Genesis)

[Daniel W. Rouse Jr.]

This is regarding Arrow Flash (Telenet/Renovation Products) for the Sega
Genesis.

Arrow Flash doesn't do anything different with its horizontally scrolling
sections and even the vertical sections aren't anything new. There IS
multiple layer parallax scrolling, but graphically, it just generic clouds,
or a starfield, or landscapes--that said, the backward scrolling sections
are a bit challenging to do without the "M" homing missiles and the "F"
pods. The soundtrack is also fairly average, some music better than others,
nothing really awful, but nothing really memorable either. (However, do turn
your sound down for the "Out of danger" warning sound as the ship crashes
into the water part way through stage 1, it really is that loud and that
grating.)

What it does introduce is the Arrow Flash. When the ship is in the robot
state--it becomes an invincible fireball for a short interval. When the ship
is in the ship state, it fires a quick burst of powerful shots. This feature
is what makes the game above average.

First of all, I would say don't even bother with the transform--changing
from the robot to the ship--just leave the ship as the robot form. Second,
if playing with the Arrow Flash in stock mode is too easy, set it to charge
mode. I do recommend rapid fire on (the default is off) for any difficulty.
Easy, Normal, and Hard affect the number of turns and also the shot speed--I
didn't notice any increased shots needed to destroy enemies.

Figure out which enemies need weapon I, II, or III? Well, that is another
part of the game. I've figured out III is needed for the very last boss of
the game. Weapon I is stronger than weapon II, but slower as it is powered
up and starts moving in a wave type motion. Weapon II is faster but weaker.
In any case, don't move too much--enemy patterns are that simple and using
lots of up and down movement is just asking to run into an enemy shot.
However, I've also noticed some of the fastest enemy patterns are also in
the first stage.

Watch out for instant loss of turn traps such as the asteroid field in stage
2--even with a full shield, one hit is a loss of turn.

There are some difficult end of stage bosses, though, when fought without
using the Arrow Flash at all or using the arrow flash in ship mode (instead
of robot mode). Using the robot Arrow Flash, these same bosses are defeated
in just a few seconds.

Actually, this game seems to be played by taking all the speed "S" powerups,
all the pods "F" powerups, all the "M" missile powerups, but only one of the
weapon I powerups until the last boss in stage 5.

Overall, a better than average game. Still worth adding to a collection of
shooters if the price is reasonable enough, but not so valuable that it is a
must-have.