Zenki FX/ Alien Soldier

[drdre]

So, fairly recently I received Zenki FX, and a little bit later Alien Soldier (megadrive).  Obviously Alien Soldier is not a PC-FX game, but I felt the similarities between the two were so strong, I would create a post to compare/contrast.

While Zenki is a beat'em up and Alien Soldier is a run'n gun, as soon as you start playing the games, you notice the similarities.  The main similarity, and the strength for both of the games, are the boss fights.  In fact, for both games, it seems as the entire game was based around numerous boss fights, with short levels in between.  Zenki has slightly longer levels and less bosses, while A.S. has shorter levels and more bosses.  But in the end, the 'feel' of the games is very similar.

As I said, the bosses in both games are fantastic-inventive, unique, visually impressive, and (usually) fairly well balanced.  Razerou is my fave in Zenki, while Wolfgunblood takes the show in A.S.  I feel that a game unique, visually outstanding bosses, with short levels in between is a great idea.  One of the greatest aspects of any 2D action game are the bosses, and both games understand this.  However, I think Zenki should have taken a page out of A.S.'s book, and had even more bosses.  It felt like this was the direction that the game was taking, with the main focus on bosses, but was ended early, with not enough.

A flaw that is similar in both games is the lack of different enemy types.  In Zenki, there can't be more than about 10 or so basic enemies, while in A.S. it's even less (maybe 6-7, seems like).  I also felt that both games had such great focus on visuals, that maybe the sound/music fell by the wayside.....nothing too terrible, but with both games the visuals are noticeably good, while the music is noticeably 'average.

If you've never seen Alien Soldier (or Zenki), go on youtube and check it out.  The games are not identical, but even with a brief viewing you should be able to see the similarities between the two. 
And I'm not favoring one game or the other, or 'hating' on one game over another-both are my favorite games for their respective systems, and I would highly recommend one game if you've played the other.  Watch Alien Soldier (and Zenki) and let me know what you guys think!