Marie Lu once said “Everything is science fiction until someone makes it science fact,” and with aliens, AI, and Neuralink all being a thing, it’s only a matter of time until someone figures out time travel. That being said, we need to keep an eye on the folks over at 8-Bit Legit. Not because they are evil or anything, I am sure they are perfectly nice folks, but if anyone is going to go back in time, change some minuscule detail, and bring the world’s gnarliest case of The Butterfly Effect upon us, it will be them. How do you ask? Well, the most likely scenario is they take their own personal WayBackMachine to 1987 and drop copies of  Project Blue into every Blockbuster and pharmacy in America. Next thing you know, Mega Man was never made, and we’re all playing 8BitStations or LegitBox Ones. Also, toast is illegal for some reason. Time travel is weird like that.

Now, before we jump ahead here, Project Blue isn’t the greatest NES-style game ever made, but it does nail just about every aspect of what made those releases great. Like many of 8BitLegits’ other offerings, this game manages to trigger hints of nostalgia despite being a newer release I had never touched before. It perfectly captures the look and feel of the era while incorporating the same two-button and D-pad controller scheme and is easily one of the most difficult platformers I have ever played, and that’s on the game’s easiest setting. The enemies take multiple shots to die, assuming they can even be killed since there are a number of invincible baddies thrown in just to torment you. I’ve been able to shoot spitballs further than the blaster can shoot and the platforming skills needed to dodge the various enemies and traps is borderline God-tier. The only thing that really works in your favor is how there is a fun new mechanic where the longer you move in one direction, the more speed you gain, allowing the player to make longer jumps than normal, akin to running and jumping in Super Mario Bros., but with the convenience of not having to hold down any other buttons.

The game is very reminiscent of Metroid or Mega Man, but not individually – more so borrowing aspects from both series. The moment-to-moment gameplay is extremely similar to playing Mega Man, with the removal of the unique worlds that the bosses are based around. There is a fair amount of backtracking to be found within that gives it that Metroidvania feel, but lacks the upgrades and abilities that you’d be accustomed to. I personally would have preferred if we picked a game to pay tribute to and stick with it, but that’s just me. The only aspect of this I can legitimately criticize is how the power-ups work, as they are almost always limited by uses or lost upon death. This isn’t necessarily detrimental to the gameplay, but would’ve helped even the playing field since the only times I really felt like I was anywhere near capable of pushing through this game was when being buffed by one of these upgrades.

The thing that really held this game back from greatness for me was the lack of a password or save system, which I know goes against being a true NES port, but this is a fairly long game (Over 200 screens spread across four levels) and if you close out of it, you have to start over from scratch. There is a checkpoint system in place as a backup in the event you run out of lives, however, the placement needs some work. There are areas that will test your wits and dexterity that are far from insurmountable but easy to walk away from with just a sliver of health left and most reasonable people would assume would trigger a save point but don’t, and then other areas that seem to save after just about every or every other screen transition.

Project Blue isn’t going to be remembered as your favorite or the best NES game ever released, but it is yet another solid throwback title, despite missing a few elements that would’ve elevated it to something that would be more of a must-play across the board opposed to a must play if you’re a fan of retro games. That is, unless 8-Bit Legit gets ahold of a time machine and makes it so none of the other heavyweights are ever made.

7 out of 10

Pros

• An Authentic NES Experience
• The Running Mechanic is a Nice Touch

Cons

• Lack of a Save System
• Wonky Checkpoints
• Underwhelming Upgrades

Project Blue was developed by toggleSwitch with FrankenGFX and published by 8-bit Legit. It is available on NES, NS, PC, X1, and XSX. The game was provided to us for review on XSX. If you’d like to see more of Project Blue, check out the official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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