TransBot

The Good
Sega's TransBot is just another one of those side-scrolling shoot-em-ups that were all the rage before fighting games were introduced. You are the CA-214 (aka: TransBot), a new experimental astro-plane, and your mission is to destroy DALAUS, a computer that plans to create its own empire. Stopping TransBot from doing this will be a variety of enemies. You must shoot them with your gun, or five other weapons that you manage to collect simply by shooting the Arm Carrier that goes past after you have managed to take down several enemies, and retrieve the ? symbol. Two of these weapons turn you into a robot that carries the ultimate weapon.

The level of difficulty in the game varies depending on the weapon that you use. For example, weapon type "C" is more powerful than weapon type "A" or any other weapon, because when you fire, a huge sonar beam is emitted which can kill a group of enemies in one go and stop you from wasting bullets. This is why I developed my own strategy where in shoot-em-up games like TransBot, I normally stick to the best weapon that I have, and do not bother about getting new weapons during the game.

The graphics are nice. I like how TransBot is drawn, although there is no animation when he changes from plane to robot. During the game, you mostly travel on a black background, as Sega is trying to convince you that you are flying through space. The landscape looks excellent, consisting of mountains, construction sites in the distance, moon surfaces, and the like. Your enemies are also good and move around their own ways including appearing on the screen from the left, and some of them bounce around the screen and follow you wherever you go.

The Bad
Playing Transbot is so boring. Since I started playing the game, I have managed to rack up 202,740 points, yet I had been shooting the same enemies for about an hour. Furthermore, the landscape never changed to indicate that I am one step closer to the boss. What am I doing wrong? Am I supposed to look for gaps in the landscape so that I can go down those gaps? I found a cheat for this game that allows you to fly through an underground area, but is this really necessary to complete the game?

The Bottom Line
To me, this game is a little frustrating due to the reasons that are discussed in "The Bad" section. The game can be a bit challenging at times.

Rating: *½

The Good
The cover is pretty amusing to me.
I don't own a lot of shoot'em up games but this one, with its particular style and the possibility to change (fairly often) your weapon is pretty fun while providing a decent and yet not impossible challenge. You can advance with skill and persistence. It's a good old school game. Sure, you won't be playing for hours and hours to come but it's a nice "I'll do one round just to see" game. There is also quite a diversity of opponents and the rhythm of the game is entertaining.
Like it or not the MS version puts you in media res,... wait what is this AT-ST doing here ?

The Bad
It happens often in the Master System games but even though the music is well-done, the one track tune gets repetitive. This would be okay if the sound of weapon changing wasn't going in a loop until you select it. A bit stressing but nothing deal-breaking.
Again, part of the game, but with my controller going backward is slow, you need a better timing on later levels.

The Bottom Line
I really wasn't expecting that from a low price game from an older era. I'd say if you're not a hardcore fan of the genre but you want something a bit more like an entry point, this would suit you well. Or just add it to your collection if you want to add diversity to your favorite playstyle !