See for moreinformation about the Terra Cresta game series.Game Staff (Copied from the end credits):STAFFDirectorHiroaki KawamotoDesignerKyoko NakagawaTakeshi AshidaRyo YamashitaTaiji NagayamaSusumu UedaSound CreatorAkihiro AkamatuSachiko OitaProgrammerMasahiko NagasawaYoshiyuki TakahashiJun KikuchiAdviserHiromu YamamotoKazuo KomaiMasaru OkaSpecial ThanksKotobukiKenji YoshidaOMAKEClick on picture to enlargeSECRETSStage Select:On the Formation Design screen, holdII and press Run ten times. If entered correctly, youwill now be able to select the stage you want to start from bypressing Left and Right (picture on the left).Full weapons and Formations:Pause at any time during the game and press Up, Down,Left, Right, Up, Down,Left, Right, Up, Down,Left, Right, II, I and Run.Your ship should now have all weapons at full power (make sure theautofire is turned off when you enter this code).LKAdd your Pov here!POVsAs you probably know, this exclusive PC Engine sequel to Nichibutsu's1985 classic is incredibly rare and costs a bomb - but is it any good? Well, it doescapture some of the gameplay elements that made Terra Cresta so unique in thefirst place - the modular ship adds some strategic flair to the game and certainlyhelped it stand apart from its peers back in 1985. The option to edit the ship'sformation is also a welcome feature (although it is borrowed from the Famicom/NESport from 1986) and I really dig the excellent soundtrack and the two score-attackmodes.

Vic Tokai's Terra Cresta is a game that sits right on the edge of the mid-80's video game renaissance. As a port of an arcade shooter (that was a sequel to an earlier game called Moon Cresta), Terra Cresta's most obvious influences are Namco's 'classics', Xevious and Galaga, both games that were played more for score than to win.

Levels are somehow varied but they overall feel really repetitive (there aretwelve of them after all) and the enemy formations are equally monotonous - thisis unfortunately the game's biggest weakness. There are some nice surprisesthough, such as the 'Time Split' stage at the end of the game whichbrings fans of the original classic down memory lane (although I personally thinkit should have been featured at the beginning of the game rather than thevery end!). Lone wolf mcquade. All in all,Terra Cresta II was released in 1992 and it looks kind of simplecompared to other gems released that year, such as Soldier Bladeor Gate of Thunder. But the game is fairly decent and fans of theoriginal arcade game will really appreciate this sequel, as long as itshefty price tag can tip the balance.

Vic Tokai's Terra Cresta is a game that sits right on the edge of the mid-80's video game renaissance. As a port of an arcade shooter (that was a sequel to an earlier game called Moon Cresta), Terra Cresta's most obvious influences are Namco's 'classics', Xevious and Galaga, both games that were played more for score than to win. Yet, its focus on power-ups and boss fights places it more in-line with post-Gradius shooters - games that are played more to finish them. And that's where Terra Cresta firmly stands: with one foot planted on each side of the dividing line and none moving to the future.

The resemblance of Terra Cresta's continuous, vertically-scrolling environments to Xevious is unmistakable, but its bug-like enemies with their circular attack patterns are right out of Galaga. There are also a series of boss fights (four altogether, but two are identical), which might lead you to believe that beating the last one would yield some kind of an ending. No such luck. The game continues on its way, in a second loop with increased challenge. Would beating the final boss again finally earn some closure? Nope. Terra Cresta loops again, and again, and again, endlessly. At some point the difficulty maxes out, but it's hard to determine exactly when since everything looks so similar. Consequently, it's not clear when you should put the game down and consider it conquered - unless you only care to play for score.

One of Terra Cresta's most distinguishing features is a series of upgrades that culminates in the spaceship's transformation into an invincible fiery phoenix (for a limited time, of course). This system has its advantages, but its awkwardness overtakes its usefulness. Once the phoenix power wears off, you can never earn it again, because power-ups don't reappear on the ground so long as your ship already has them. The only way to get the phoenix again is to take a hit or die, thus losing your power-ups and forcing the game to cough them up.

This could, theoretically, introduce an element of strategy - you might think of taking a sacrifice hit to earn the phoenix for a crucial area. But if it wasn't a bit much asking players, who are hardwired to avoid taking hits, to intentionally fly into a bullet, it's over the line to ask us to memorize where the power-ups appear in a game world that isn't neatly divided into stages and all looks alike. It's also reasonable to question if a game should reward you early on for playing well, but have no such rewards for playing well later.

Other problems apparent in Terra Cresta, such as frequent slowdown and flicker, might seem like issues related to the NES's hardware limitations. But when considering that Zanac, released only a year later, throws much more at you than Terra Cresta ever does without any performance problems, then it becomes clear that it was either a hasty port or the developers did not yet fully grasp the NES's capabilities. It's not just that flicker and slowdown are present - it's amongst the worst I've ever experienced. See all those halved sprites in my screenshots? Flicker. Even worse, it can actually cause your ship's weapon to stop firing. Good luck fighting the 'final' boss with three power-ups in tow.

If there's anything good to say about Terra Cresta it's, well, still better than Xevious, and as the difficulty increases, it can get extraordinarily intense. If you set a hypothetical goal of looping it three times, it could take you about a week of practicing to make it that far. But it's impossible for me to not feel that whatever positive aspects it has, it's so overwhelmingly trumped by its contemporaries like Zanac, Life Force, and Dragon Spirit, that I can't even bring myself to say it would be okay if you only want to play it for score. You could play those games for score and you'd be far better off.

While playing Terra Cresta, I was reminded of another obscure 8-bit shooter, Sega's Astro Warrior. Like Terra Cresta, Astro Warrior has vertically-scrolling continuous stages, only three bosses, sluggish control, and no real ending to speak of. But while Astro Warrior served as a reasonable demo for the Master System's graphical prowess, Terra Cresta is merely a failed port of a game that either didn't need to be ported or required some serious revamping for the home console market.