Blaster Master - Reception

Reception

While Sunsoft's development team, headed by Iwata, were confident that they produced a great game, Chô Wakusei Senki Metafight did not sell well in Japan and, as a result, was not received well within Sunsoft. No sequel was originally planned due to the game's poor sales; Iwata already started development on another game when the North American release Blaster Master sold well. The game's impact led Sunsoft to develop titles with similar top-down gameplay like Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Fester's Quest, in which the latter's main designer helped design the characters for Blaster Master. Iwata incorporated many of the gameplay elements in the remake Blaster Master: Overdrive, which his goal was "for players to recall and think back upon (the original) Blaster Master, and so my goal was to find a way to evoke that through this game."

Blaster Master received praise from reviewers for its gameplay. In a 1988 Electronic Game Player (later known as Electronic Gaming Monthly) review, Steve Ryno lauded the concept of combining two "radically different" video game genres into one continuous game. He added that the top-down portion contributes further to the depth of gameplay and said that "everything works well without the game becoming crowded or unbalanced". The game was featured as one of the "Truly Awesome" games in Game Players' 1988 buyer's guide. In a 1992 review in UK magazine Mean Machines, Julian Rignall, praised the overall gameplay and the tank's control and movements, while co-reviewer Matt Regan enjoyed the game's fast-paced gameplay and abundance of rooms and bonus areas to explore. Jeremy Parish from 1UP.com praised the gameplay, saying that the player can explore the map "Metroidvania style" in a large, responsive tank while occasionally having to leave the tank to explore on foot – something that he compares to the Warthog sequences in the original Halo video game. Nintendo Life's Corbie Dillard praised the game's responsive controls and for its non-linearity.

The game received positive reviews for its graphics and sound. Ryno praised the attention to detail in the graphics, adding that they transition well between levels as new and diverse environments are introduced. He also praised the fluid animation and movement of creatures in the top-down perspective and its music; he found music "pleasing" and noted that different tracks were scored for each separate level. Dillard praised the game's impressive graphics, saying that the graphics are varied, distinctive, and well-drawn; he adds that Sunsoft "did their homework" in this regard. He called the music in the game as one of the best chiptunes in the 8-bit era, noting the up-tempo tracks and high-quality sound effects. IGN's Mark Syan Sallee described the music "as memorable as anything from Nintendo", while Regan said that the game's sound effects and music bolster the gameplay and graphical atmosphere.

One of the main criticisms of Blaster Master has been its difficulty. IGN's Levi Buchanan mentioned the lack of passwords or save features as used in Metroid; the game had to be completed in one sitting. They added that some players need to exploit the "grenade glitch" to beat some of the bosses. Buchanan criticized the game for its difficulty in the on-foot portions, saying that the bosses are too difficult to beat, that the enemies regenerate upon re-entering a screen, and that players can lose a life from falling too far in the 2D platforming mode. IGN's Lucas Thomas agreed about the lack of passwords or save features, saying that because of the game's difficulty, dying near the end of the game and having to restart the game all over again without passwords or save points have caused much frustration for players. Parish criticized the game for having a limited number of continues and for the graphics in the top-down perspective, saying that the display is "incredibly cutesy compared to the tank sections, with the protagonist's head providing about 50% of his total body mass".

Some reviewers have found other criticisms in the gameplay. Buchanan mentioned that the character holds his gun in his right hand, requiring the player to compensate by moving left before shooting enemies (if the player can move left on the screen). Thomas echoed Buchanan's concerns in a later review, adding that this requires players to mentally adjust and to target enemies off-center. Thomas criticized the control of the tank, in particular the lack of traction, which he said may cause players to roll off a platform or cliff. Parish criticized the gameplay in the top-down perspective, saying that the gun the players uses is too weak; he continues by adding that there are too few upgrades for it and that, whenever the player takes damage, it downgrades from a "high-powered beam of death" to "a stupid unreliable peashooter of mild discomfort".

The game has received notable recognitions in gaming magazines. It was featured on the cover of the premiere issue of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment in December 1988. Electronic Gaming Monthly listed the game at #1 in its "Top Ten Games" list in the premiere issue. In Nintendo Power, the game debuted at #12 in its "Top 30" NES games list in its March–April 1989 issue; it later climbed to #6 from May to August 1989, before it peaked at #5 in September, behind Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Super Mario Bros. 2, Ninja Gaiden, and The Legend of Zelda. The magazine listed it at #63 in its "100 Best Games of All Time" list, while Electronic Gaming Monthly listed it at #184 in its "Top 200 Games of Their Time" list. IGN listed it as #22 in its "Top 100 NES Games" list.

Nintendo Power reviewed the game in its February 1993 issue, as part of an overview of NES games that the magazine felt were overlooked or otherwise did not sell well. The review said that Sunsoft should have used a licensed character to improve sales. However, they praised its graphics and gameplay, saying that "the action switches between side-scrolling stages and stages that have a Zelda-ish view". Later, in its 100th issue in September 1997, the game was listed 63rd in its "100 Best Games of All Time" list, citing its "fast and furious" gameplay.