Paranoia
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Naxat's Paranoia is one very intriguing video game. Dubbed
'Psychosis' when it hit the States, Paranoia provided a
boost to NEC's already strong lineup of shooters for the
P. C. Engine/Turbografx-16. However, the premise of the game
separates it from most other titles in the shoot 'em up
category. While you do take command of some sort of ship in
this game, the adventure doesn't take place in outer space -
nor does it take place underwater, in the sky, or in any
other such location that is typical to the genre. Paranoia
takes place inside of someone's mind.
Your mission is to enter a person's unconscious and save her
from the nightmarish images that have tormented her. In
order to do so, you'll have to make it through five
side-scrolling, action-packed stages. Five stages isn't
much, and none of the levels are particularly long.
Nonetheless, Paranoia is among the toughest shooters that I
have ever played. Each stage is referred to as a 'Cause';
beginning in Cause 2, the game becomes incredibly difficult.
The enemies are quick and powerful and they never let up.
Making things even rougher is the fact that there is
typically very little space available for you to move around in.
Game play consists of your usual shoot 'em up fare. The
screen always scrolls from left to right. Various weapons
can be picked up (and strengthened), and you can obtain
options to aid you in your quest. Pressing Button II fires
your guns, while Button I rotates your options. Learning how
to make optimal use of your options is crucial to making any
type of headway in the game. You must become competent at
using the options as both offensive and defensive tools. Not
only can they protect you ship from enemy fire, but they can
also damage evildoers upon contact, and fire in any of four
different directions (whereas your ship can only shoot
straight ahead).
Since this game takes place inside of a person's head rather
than in outer space somewhere, the locales that you visit
are quite odd. During your adventure you'll fly past places
as varied as sunny beaches and dark, mysterious gardens. One
Cause even asks to you to slowly and methodically navigate a
maze, which is quite a contrast to the rapid pace and
straightforward action featured in most shooters. You'll
have to constantly be wary of what is going on all over the
screen, because some very strange events take place. For
instance, as Cause One commences, a tiny worm at the bottom
of the screen gets attacked by a couple of small creatures.
While the worm's plight has nothing to do with you, should
you destroy the monsters who are attacking it and save its
life, you will be handsomely rewarded later in the game.
Paranoia is a very interesting game visually. The
backgrounds are quite colorful, and your ship (which
constantly rotates) looks different from the machines that
you can control in most shoot 'em ups. If I have a gripe
about the graphics, it's that most of the enemies are
extremely small. Most 16-bit shooters feature gigantic foes
to contend with, but not this one. The enemy cast could have
been a bit more daunting and detailed.
The music is the aspect of the game that I probably liked
the most. Most of the tracks that play in Paranoia are
absolutely frantic, and even a little bit off, which
contributes to the bizarre, intense atmosphere. There are
times during the game when you really do feel like you're on
a mission to preserve the sanity of a human being.
As ludicrous as it may sound, your best bet for making it
through Paranoia is to power up your ship in Cause One, and
then make it through the rest of the adventure without dying
a single time. The game grants you three ships and three
continues, but should you die, your ship will be stripped of
all the accessories that you've picked up for it. At this
point you may as well pack it in, because many segments of
the game are virtually impossible to get through without a
ship that's fully powered-up. Your normal guns are
essentially useless; as small as many of the enemies are,
they can take an absurdly large amount of shots before being
destroyed. Another problem is the fact that your ship flies
very slowly, even after you acquire icons to boost its
speed. One hit will spell the end for your ship, making
Paranoia one of the toughest shooters available.
Personally, I loved this game. It's a change of pace from
most of the shooters that are out there, and it serves up a
tremendous challenge. I'd urge anyone to play the game
before purchasing it, however. It's definitely one of those
titles that you'll either completely love or absolutely hate.
Overall: 8 out of 10
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