CGC Game 15: Journey To Silius (NES) [Console]

[PistolsAtDawn]

journey-to-silius-nes.gif (7.26 MiB) Viewed 7055 times

The player controls Jay McCray, as he goes on a mission to defeat the terrorist group responsible for his father's death. There are five stages, consisting of the ruins of a space colony, an underground concourse, the enemy's hideout, a flying spaceship, and a factory. The player must fight his way through an assortment of robotic enemies and security systems in order to reach the end of each stage and fight the stage's boss.

Game info

Core info

Play however you'd like! The point is to enjoy and have fun, but if you would like to compete on high scores, please let us all know how you played (as in, with a arcade control panel, gamepad, etc.). We're on the honor system here for reporting high scores, so if you used cheats, fess up!

Please share with us your thoughts, jokes, frustrations or anything else related to this game that you may discover (i.e. if you discover the game itself was featured or visible in some other form of entertainment like a movie or TV show).

[PistolsAtDawn]

I played some of this yesterday, and charmless is right that the music is pretty great. The sprites are also nice and detailed (especially for an NES game).

In some ways it's a lot like Mega Man. Good graphical design (the backgrounds too). There are some cheap deaths, and you can switch between weapons just like the Blue Bomber switches between abilities (which also use ability power).

And just like Mega Man, you are most certainly not going to finish the game on your first run. It is very difficult with little gameplay variation. You can't shoot upwards, which I think is awkward. You'll probably spend more time dodging enemies than you will on the attack.

I got frustrated with it after not much time, so I turned on cheats to see what the rest of the game is like, and I don't think I'd go back to this one very often. I know NES games didn't usually have complicated (or long) endings, but I'm not sure I would say pushing through to see the end is worth the effort. This game was, after all, designed to be The Terminator game based on the movie. Once that changed, the story obviously had to change with it, but the replacement plot is so generic that I could not care less about how it ends. You get revenge for your murdered dad, and that's it basically. Meh.

I think I'm going to play one of the other nominated NES games. I'm a bit disappointed by this one. I wouldn't have called this one a hidden gem.

But tell me how I'm wrong! If you like this game, please tell me what specifically you appreciate about it.

[charmless]

I think Journey to Silius is a solid game but it is the music that really makes it stand out. It's hard as... and I usually make it to stage 3 and it's game over. It's all about memorization. Because if you don't know exactly where some enemies are it's almost impossible to avoid damage. This is especially true when jumping down from platforms.

I really wish the game would cut me some slack from time to time. Not to make it too easy but having your energy refilled after losing a life would be a small but welcome feature in the game. Just to make it a little bit more approachable.

I like the game overall but the difficulty keeps me from going back too often.

[PistolsAtDawn]

It's all about memorization. Because if you don't know exactly where some enemies are it's almost impossible to avoid damage. This is especially true when jumping down from platforms.

That is just like the Mega Man series. You'll learn, but not before it hurts!

I really wish the game would cut me some slack from time to time. Not to make it too easy but having your energy refilled after losing a life would be a small but welcome feature in the game. Just to make it a little bit more approachable.

And this was the reason that I got frustrated. At least Mega Man keeps what energy he hasn't used when you die. The fact that all my non-pistol ammo was gone after each death meant I wasn't having much fun with it. Unfortunately.

The music is seriously great though!