The TG version is missing the intro?
I know this thread is old, but I didn't know that anything was cut from the North American version. I'll have to check it out.
Disclaimer: I dig the Star Soldier series. I dig SSS. They are swell, in my book. That said....
I have to say that SSS was a bit of a let down after Blazing Lazers... yes, BL has some dull parts (stage 2 is uneventful and lasts way too long, for example), but I was hoping SSS would demolish BL.
It didn't. It seemed like it was another horizontal shooter akin to BL, but more generic.
Yes, I know BL is not part of the Star Soldier series, but there is no way to talk about SSS without putting it in context (the schedule of releases in North America). BL set the bar high. Sinistron, Cybercore, Dragon Spirit, R-Type, etc. were nice but didn't seem "next-next-generation" like BL.
Isolating SSS in a vacuum, though, it is a decent game. I enjoyed it. I voted "7", and that was before I read anything here.
Call me crazy, but BL's graphics outclass those in the Star Soldier series. I haven't actually compared them in years, but it always struck me that way. BL's graphics are razor sharp detailed without being distracting, inconsistent, bland, etc.
Jesus, maybe I can't be objective.
Maybe I shouldn't talk about BL as part of the series.