Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (N64) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
301A playthrough of Electro Brain's 1998 vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up for the Nintendo 64, Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth.
This video shows a full playthrough of the game on the normal difficulty level with the good ending.
Also shown:
32:58 Bad ending (happens if you don't destroy the bomb)
34:03 "Special Missions" All 3 Secret Stages shown and beaten
49:05 Caravan mode 2 minute game
51:29 Caravan mode 5 minute game
Anyone who played shooters in the late 80s or early 90s should be pretty familiar with the series that Vanishing Earth is part of - Hudson's Star Soldier games were well known for being used at their Caravan events. The first Star Soldier got a fair release on the NES, but where the series really earned its medals was in the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 titles. Super Star Soldier, Final Soldier, and Soldier Blade were all amazing titles that largely surpassed any shooters on competing consoles at the time - but of course, Hudson's console was king of the console shoot 'em up castle for quite a long time. There was also the fantastic Star Parodier on CD System 3.0, but it was more a side game to the series than a proper entry being a "parody" of the Soldier games, just like Konami's Parodius did.
After the 1992 release of Soldier Blade, it seemed as if there wouldn't be any further games. The Turbo was dying a quick death in America, and beyond the occasional Bomberman or Adventure Island title, Hudson just wasn't often heard from for a period.
In 1998 Hudson finally unleashed a proper sequel to Soldier Blade, but it was critically blasted, and a six year hiatus did little to help the series popularity. When Vanishing Earth was released, to call its reception 'underwhelming' would've been the understatement of the year. The press hated it, the public didn't care, and two decades later the game still doesn't seem to receive any attention whatsoever.
For anyone that is interested, however, this is a really solid game. From the speed settings to the weapon loadouts, it retains much of what made the TG16 so fun. Tons of enemies swarm from all angles, past foes make cameo appearances (just check out the awesome fan-service focused secret level, "Reminiscence"!), and the new shield deflect technique, or "Rolling" as the game calls it, allows for some pretty exciting and daring strategies at boss battles.
It looks fantastic for an N64 title: it uses a combination of 2D and 3D to create some pretty sweet stage effects and there's often an overwhelming amount of color on-screen despite the space/industrial theme that's going on. There's little slowdown to be found, and the whole thing moves along at quite a good pace. The only issue I have with the graphics is that, because the ship doesn't really stand out from the backdrops and enemies, it is way too easy to lose your ship during the more chaotic moments. It's not too big of a deal though - the game hands out bombs and extra lives fairly regularly, and it's not a terribly difficult game to begin with. I'm tempted to call it too easy compared to the big names like Gradius, Darius, R-Type, but then again, like the earlier games in the series, this one is accessible for those that don't play shooters regularly and don't want to spend months learning one. I do like the relaxed difficulty when I just want to have fun playing a game without dying left and right. The soundtrack is pretty excellent too, so big points there, but what is up with those weird voice samples?
If you have any interest in it, go and grab yourself a copy! It's not that common, but its one of the best really cheap titles you can get on the N64. I got my copy from a local game shop for $6.99 a few months back, and for a classic Hudson shooter, prices that low seem almost criminal. Go buy it before it suddenly gets a boost in popularity and prices skyrocket!
_
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
Visit for the latest updates!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NintendoComplete/540091756006560
https://twitter.com/nes_complete