In my opinion, SSS is boring, uninspired, ugly, derivative and.... boring. It's not the worst shooter on the system (or even close), but it's totally eclipsed by Blazing Lazers and the rest of the Soldier series.
Heh, I feel the complete opposite. BL was awesome, no doubt. But it wasn't perfect. I like BL's graphics (it has that original TG16 release look), but SSS definitely had more correct /updated graphics for the time. More use of shades, more moving parts on the bosses, etc. The music was nice too, though overall BL has the better sound track. But I never thought SSS's sound track sucked. I rather liked it. I just wish it had a little more bass (ok, a lot!) to it and it's samples/explosions. I also liked all the different range/looks/styles of the levels and new weapons of SSS. For me, SSS was harder than BL. Well, it took me longer to beat it then BL. Soldier Blade being the hardest of the three. I'll never understand the low opinion some people have of SSS. If you liked BL better, SSS was still a great game when it was released.
I would have loved a SCD release of SSS with a red book audio sound track. That would have been awesome.
Also, EGM was waaaay pro Sega (16bit). Often belittled the TG16 IMO. But I still read every issue. I usually ignored the reviews and just looked over the game spreads (or whatever you call them). I clearly remember the issue that showed off Cosmic Fantasy 2 cinema shots. I couldn't believe it! No 'jaggies/edgies' like Last Alert or Valis II. Very highly anticipated TGCD game for me BITD. I think Ys III got some low scores ranging of 5-6 range. But that game was fantastic fun from start to finish. f*ck EGM reviewers.
