Magmax (NES) - Full Run with No Deaths (3 Loops)
45Full run through of the NES "classic" MagMax (マグマックス) by Nihon Bussan! I cleared 3 loops without dying, and then quit the game after getting to loop 4 with a score of 381,200. This was played on a real NES with real cart.
Stage Listing:
00:00 - Start
00:20 - Stage 1
02:12 - Stage 2
04:27 - Stage 3
06:31 - Stage 4
08:17 - Loop 2, Stage 1
08:50 - Going Underground
11:41 - Stage 2
15:49 - Stage 3
19:57 - Stage 4
23:25 - Loop 3, Stage 1
25:19 - Going Above Ground
26:16 - Stage 2
28:43 - Stage 3
30:47 - Stage 4
32:46 - Loop 4, Special Message "MEIGETSU"
So I must admit up front that MagMax holds a special place to me, it's one of the few shmups I owned back in the day, and it's also likely my first 1CC (it was either this or Life Force, I'm not 100% sure).
MagMax is a conversion of an 80's arcade game, and it has all of the hallmarks of an ancient shmup: massive hitbox, slow moving ship, and short loops. So what is special about MagMax? It is one of the first shmups I can recall that has "branching paths", and in this case you can choose to play either above or below ground. I played the first loop above ground, second below ground, and third above ground again.
The game actually plays sightly differently depending on the path you are on, and you can change paths as often as you want provided you find one of the many grey portals to go above or below ground. The above ground section has kind of an isometric view, and your ship has a much smaller hitbox (the shadow below your ship is what you want to use as a guide), shorter loops and is also significantly easier than below ground.
When you play below ground, you are a much larger target, there are more enemies that are also more aggressive, and there are also stage hazards like the water areas that freeze your ship and leave you helpless. I like to think of the below ground route as a sort of hard mode.
As for powerups, you basically add pieces to your ship, which make you easier to hit (Since you are larger, especially below ground), but also let you take more hits before you die. They also give increased firepower and a "sword" when you are above ground. Below ground, the sword is replaced with a fire shot, which useful for killing certain enemies in the fortress section which are otherwise invincible.
When you clear 3 loops you get a special message over your score, where it says MEIGETSU. I take this as a sign that this is basically the end of the game, as the message doesn't change even on subsequent loops (and I've looped the game in the past like 7-8 times).
Anyway, despite the chunkiness of the game, I still find it somewhat enjoyable, and it's also surprisingly hard if you play below ground on later loops and aim for no deaths.
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