🐳 New! Moby v2023.06.02 update

Burai Fighter

aka: Burai Senshi

Critic Reviews 77% add missing review

1UP! (87 out of 100) (87%)

Indiscutablement le savoir-faire se reconnaît et donne lieu à un solide jeu de tir et d'aventure spatiale. Ce n'est pas un shoot'em up qui surprend à chaque détour comme les maîtres du genre le font si bien, il est relativement tranquille dans son déroulement, mais le finir puis tenter de conquérir ses autres modes de difficulté tient en haleine aussi longtemps que notre volonté le permet.

Jan 4th, 2008 · NES · read review

ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) (9.8 out of 12) (82%)

Burai Fighter glänzt durch hohe Spielbarkeit und ein variables, immer wieder überraschendes Gameplay. Ein Muß für Ballerfans!

Sep 1991 · NES · read review

Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library ( ) (80%)

While the enemies themselves may not be the most interesting, they come quickly and often, which makes blasting them via the great controls a better shooter experience than you might think on the surface.

2016 · NES

Video Game Den ( ) (80%)

Unfortunately, Burai Fighter has a couple of flaws - the top-down levels distract from the flow of the game (they are nice additions though) and the difficulty level is quite hard. But all in all, Burai Fighter is an excellent and unique shooter with a solid execution.

Oct 19th, 2010 · NES · read review

Classic-games.net (8 out of 10) (80%)

Burai Fighter is a great hidden gem in the NES library and an awesome shooter to boot. There aren’t many like this and I am glad it is a good one. Any of its releases make for a good time but the NES is still the best and dirt cheap.

Jan 17th, 2020 · NES · read review

Mean Machines (79 out of 100) (79%)

Since the Nintendo doesn't have many shoot 'em ups in its software range, Burai Fighter is a welcome addition as far as I'm concerned. Although there are only three extra weapons each has nine different grades of power and can be cycled through in the heat of battle - essential, since some weapons are more effective than others in certain situations! On the normal level, the game isn't particularly tough, but the two other skill levels offer plenty of challenge for the experts - I certainly got plenty of fun out of it. If you're a shoot 'em up fan like me who's after a good Nintendo blast, check this out.

May 1991 · NES · read review

Questicle.net (B) (75%)

Had Burai Fighter been able to distinguish itself more from some of the other shmups of the day (R-Type, Raiden, Life Force, etc), it could have become a solid little franchise. Unfortunately, compared to a lot of other shmups, it lacks any real graphical prowess or a distinguishing feature to call its own. If you’re a shmup fan, though, don’t write it off. Underrated and undiscovered gems are always a blessing to find in this slowly disappearing genre.

Apr 2011 · NES · read review

NES Times (7 out of 10) (70%)

So while Burai Fighter doesn't necesarily break too much new ground, that doesn't mean it's not worth at least a look. The gameplay is solid enough to satisfy shmup fans and the different features help it seem like slightly more than just another space title. It may not give the top titles a run for their money, but Burai Fighter is another long-forgotten NES title that at least deserves a look.

Apr 5th, 2009 · NES · read review

Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) (28 out of 40) (70%)

Burai Fighter is one of the best original shooters to come along in a long time.

May 1990 · NES

Video Games (66 out of 100) (66%)

Bis auf leichte Flackeranfälle ist das Spiel technisch gelungen. Nur die Grafik, die sich im großklotzigen Eienrlei verliert, hat mir nicht gefallen. Dafür bietet die wechselnde Ansicht Kurzweil. Auch wenn Ihr Euch an die Seuerung gewöhnt habt kommen wegen des gesaltzenen Schwierigkeitsgrads selbst erfahrene Spieler ins Schwitzen.

Sep 1992 · NES · read review

Player Reviews

One of the Hardest NES shooters ever made.

The Good
Burai Fighter is a horizontal shooter developed by defunct Japanese studio KID -that for the most part was contracted to make console ports and bishojo games, but has quite some obscure gems with a distinctive style: secret endings and such.

You control an unnamed hero flying in a space suit from a side-view perspective and with a gun in his hands, with a very simple style of graphics but a lot of personality. Nice music too.
The objective here is to kill the final boss of each stage.
You can Fire with B and use a bomb with button A: pretty straightforward for a shooter...
But that's the end of normality here because you can shoot in all 8 directions while moving, but to change the direction you wish to shoot you have to move in that direction first, then press and hold the B button for rapid fire and as long as you keep holding the B button you will shoot in that direction. If you release it and then move in another direction, when you press the button again you will shoot in that other direction...
Pretty complex, wouldn't you agree?
Well guess what, this only describes most of the levels because in levels 3 and 6 the game changes to a Top-view perspective, and for some inexplicable reason they decided to change the mechanic, now making it so that you can only shoot in the direction you are facing. It's so weird!
Also, the objective in these levels changes, now you need to destroy a base that you have to find first, following a map that you only get a glimpse of at the beginning of the level.
If you manage to beat one of the stages, as a reward you get a password that you must write down immediately if you intend to move on.

The Bad
It has three difficulty modes: Eagle (the easiest), Albatross (way more difficult) and Ace which is insanely hard, I don't think it is beatable on an actual NES... not by a normal human being, definitely not casually, and by that I mean you probably need to play this every single day for years to have a chance.
And I haven't even begun to complain about the difficulty: of course it's a one hit death, and doesn't matter where you are, you re-start at the beginning of the stage, without your current power ups and none of your bombs...
And get this: there's even a fourth unlockable difficulty mode...!!!
So, to get the true ending you need to beat this game at least twice in its hardest modes.
But don't worry too much, even the easiest mode is a near impossible challenge...
This game has a lot of things you get to hate in a shooter: your "ship" is too big, your weapons too weak, sometimes it is better to avoid the Power Ups, it has very small corridors that the scrolling use to crush you while the enemies shoot at you, the shooting mechanic is weird and kind of uncomfortable...
And yet... the game is good?
I mean... It is a unique shooter for the NES and personally I've never experienced anything like it.

The Bottom Line
Burai Fighter belongs to a different era when a game was judged not only for its quality but also for its durability... According to producer/designer Ken Lobb "Kal" there was an intention of releasing this on arcades with some early work that never went further.
In any case, it was clearly made for an audience of hardcore players well seasoned on the challenge shooters used to offer in the Arcades. In the backrooms of such places sense enhancement drugs were probably offered and thus games like this and even harder were beatable for a few chosen ones.

by pelida77 (36) on Jan 3rd, 2023 · NES

Plus 6 player ratings without reviews

Contributors to this Entry

Critic reviews added by SlyDante, A H, RhYnoECfnW, sayewonn wisseh, Alaka.