Curse

Mega Drive · 1989 · JP

Micronet Micronet Shoot'em Up

Publisher: Micronet · Developer: Micronet · Genre: Shoot'em Up

Curse is a basic horizontal-scrolling shooter, one of the first released for the Megadrive, where one pilots a space fighter through deadly environments such as a mutated jungle, a ruined city, and an underground volcano. The game features five stages, and at several points in each stage, a larger boss enemy appears which must be destroyed to continue. There a variety of weapon power-ups to collect, each with three power levels. There is a spread shot that can cover nearly the entire screen, a bomb that explodes into shrapnel when it connects, and a twisting wide shot that can pass through environmental obstacles. There are also homing missiles, smart bombs, speed-ups, and an option that can be placed on any side of the ship. The ship also has a shield which can absorb damage from smaller bullets, meaning it can take a few hits before exploding unless it's hit by an enemy ship, part of the landscape or some special enemy weapons that just ignore the shield.