Retro Indie titles are a great thing and many that have been released on actual retro hardware have since made their way to modern platforms, but are all created equally? Or do some retro indie titles that take inspiration from previous games veer too close to said inspiration? This is the question that concerns the game Trophy.
Trophy is an unabashed Mega Man clone and a pretty decently made one. There are no weapon upgrades like that series, but the run, gun and jump action is all straight out of a blue bomber game. The robot Trophy must jump and shoot through eight stages to take down the bad guys and it is well down for the most part but there are issues. These issues come in the form of level design, which unfortunately drags the game down a bit.
Trophy has cheap and frustrating enemy placement and a somewhat uninspired level design which feels completely unbalanced. Some levels are a bit okay but others are just insultingly cruel in the design and placement of the level and enemies. This is not even getting into the parts of the levels that just feel boring and a slog to get through.
To be fair, Trophy does control rather well, with precise jumping and shooting, but the hitbox around the robot hero makes things awkward. You may land some difficult jumps to your surprise but this can also result in hitting traps and enemies when you think you cleared a section. This also applies to enemy attacks as some may hit you when you believe you dodged, but the hitbox may also protect them or hurt them at the same time.
In terms of visuals and music, Trophy is rather well-made. This game was made to run on actual NES hardware and it shows, with music that would not feel out of place in the classic era. Of course, the fact that it was made to run on actual hardware also means it has some of the limitations from the hardware, and as such, the slowdown is a bit of a problem as well.
I know it seems like I am ragging on the game a lot, but the strange thing is that it works well for fans of retro games. It may not be the most polished retro experience, and definitely has a lot of issues, but if this were an actual game from that era, it would be remembered as a very competent Mega Man clone by today’s standards and that is what I am judging it on. This is a game for retro fans first and foremost and for those people, I give it a recommendation. For all others, you may want to look elsewhere for a jump-and-shoot action game.
Disclaimer: A Review key was provided