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The Sega Genesis is a console with a large shoot ’em up library. Whether you like vertically or horizontally scrolling shmups, the Genesis has you covered. Many of them are ports of arcade games and others are original titles developed for the console. Among the latter is Steel Empire, a horizontally scrolling shoot ’em up notable for its unique aesthetics. I’ve heard about this game a lot over the years and keep seeing it pop up in various places, even more so since the remake released. I played the remake on 3DS years ago and recently nabbed the Steam version so I figured I would give it another go. Developed by HOT・B and published by Acclaim, Steel Empire was released for Genesis in 1992. It was ported to the Game Boy Advance and a remake was released for 3DS, PC, Switch, and PlayStation 4. For this review, I played the original game and remake for PC, the Steam version.
Set in a steampunk-inspired setting, it is the Age of Steel and the Motorhead Empire has enslaved virtually the entire planet. Only the Republic of Silverhead have the weapons and power to achieve victory. With an airplane and zeppelin and the power of their Lightning Bomb, you, the player, have been recruited to pilot one of these aircraft and wage the war of the Steel Empire. That’s a condensed version of the plot summary from the manual and I respect the game’s commitment to its steampunk aesthetic. It makes for a very interesting and unique style. Mammoth battleships cruise the skies, armored locomotives equipped with cannons the size of railway cars, and fortresses float in the air. It’s all very cool. But even cooler is the fact you can pilot a zeppelin and when you’re given the chance to destroy enemies with a zeppelin, you do it.
I consider Steel Empire to be a beginner’s shoot ’em up. Why? Because I beat it on my first run. Actually, I beat the remake on my first run on the Normal difficulty level. I made it to the last stage without losing a single life, and if I can do that, it’s not a very tough game. I’m not very good at shoot ’em ups but I love the genre and Steel Empire is one of the most accessible shmups I’ve played, although I did find the remake easier. I died a lot more and consumed multiple continues during my first run through the original game on the Normal difficulty level. But I did beat it so I would say by Genesis shoot ’em up standards, Steel Empire is one of the easier and more accessible games for the system.
Unfortunately, Steel Empire is a single player only experience. Although, I’m guessing the Genesis game would slow down to a crawl with two players on the screen. The frame rate dips frequently enough already with only one player which actually works out in your favor because it makes dodging projectiles easier. Also, two players would make the game that much easier and the difficulty is already low as it is.
Steel Empire is a horizontally scrolling shoot ’em up. Before each stage, you can select one of two aircrafts to pilot, an airplane and zeppelin, and they do have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, the plane is faster but the zeppelin is more durable. You can fire right and left or forwards and backwards and unleash a Lightning Bomb to cause massive damage to whatever is on the screen. The original game comes with three difficulty levels and the remake features an additional one simply called “Difficult” which needs to be unlocked. The remake does include some modern stuff like achievements along with new content like a gallery that unlocks as you complete certain challenges and a Training mode which is basically a stage select, allowing you to practice any stage of you’re choosing.
As expected, you destroy enemies and bosses for points. Your aircraft does have a health bar, so to speak, and when all your health is depleted, you lose a life. Lose all your lives and you can consume a continue to keep going. Furthermore, consuming a continue will place you at the beginning or mid-point of a stage depending on how far you were when you lost your last life. You can replenish health from pickups along with others that grant extra bombs and lives, bonus points, increased speed, outrigger planes, and experience. Experience is one of the more unique elements of the game. For every three experience pickups you collect, your level increases by one. What does that mean? It means that the higher your level, the more powerful your shots are among other things. Basically, your aircraft becomes more powerful as you progress through the game.
For the most part, Steel Empire is a pretty standard shoot ’em up with seven diverse stages. The aesthetics help carry it and the low difficulty ensures anyone can get through this relatively easily. It’s fun to engage giant battleships, sky copters, gun ships, and floating fortresses in the skies and stage two stood out to me because of its escape sequence which forces you to fly in the opposite direction at a high speed and avoid obstacles. Like many games in the genre, memorization will certainly be beneficial but it never feels required, at least on Normal. As far as I can tell, the remake is pretty faithful, albeit easier in my experience. Besides the obvious audiovisual differences between the two games, some of the pickup icons look different.
Both the original game and remake showcase a colorful presentation and feature some nice parallax scrolling backgrounds and detailed stages and sprites. From beaches to cities to caverns, every stage looks and feels distinct and everything about the presentation conveys that steampunk look and feel. The action is accompanied by a catchy soundtrack as well. The remake does look and sound better and plays smoother. I like the new visual effects and softer backgrounds and I particularly enjoy the sound of your aircraft’s guns in the remake even if it does drown out some of the music on the default volume levels. Basically, the remake takes the look and sound of the original and features some enhancements. On the technical side, as indicated earlier, the Genesis game does slow down when there’s a lot going on and I found the remake to be smooth from beginning to end.
I had a really good time with Steel Empire. It’s not super challenging or frustrating and you can increase the difficulty if you’re looking for more challenging gameplay. I think I prefer the remake over the original and not because its easier but because it features more content and I like the enhanced presentation. Despite the low difficulty, mastering the game will still take practice and the replay value comes from trying for better scores and the multiple difficulty levels. The two aircraft do handle differently and it’s fun trying out each one. Also, you get to pilot a zeppelin and that’s awesome but a plane that resembles a bird is cool, too. Steel Empire is not the greatest shoot ’em up ever made. It doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking. It just looks cool, plays well, it’s accessible, and is very fun. That’s really all there is to it.
I absolutely recommend Steel Empire, especially if you’re looking to get into the genre. This is a great place to start if you’re a newcomer. You can find copies of the original Genesis game online for a decent price and the remake is available on multiple systems. Not only that, Strictly Limited Games sold boxed copies of Steel Empire Chronicles for Switch and PlayStation 4 that contain not only the remake but also the Genesis game, Game Boy Advance port, and the NES game called Over Horizon. Ultimately, Steel Empire is a lot of fun and makes a great gateway into the genre. Definitely check it out.