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Just when I finished with the final boss of Blazing Chrome, one of those tributes that are made to put your nostalgia to the surface appeared. It does so by "loading" an audio track to accompany the final scenes of the game and emulating the scratch-disk sound that those first compact disc players had when they had to turn awkwardly to find the specific track. Yes, that noise that sounded like you were scratching a crystal.

Like this, there are many examples in JoyMasher's work. They do not stop being beautiful, but gimmicky. The best ones, however, are the ones you get while you play. Who does not remember those slowdowns of games in the 16 bits that, without intending it, turned the whole sequence into slow motion? There are bosses in Blazing Chrome who use this same resource, although now on memory everywhere, to return to the past, but with the knowledge that this particular boss would be practically impossible without this slowdown. That is nostalgia applied to game mechanics. You can not ask for much more.

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Blazing Chrome is able to perfectly emulate the original sensations of that Run'n'gun representative that was Contra. Perhaps being his stage in the 16 bits with Contra Hard Corps of Mega Drive and Super Probotector: Alien Rebels of Super Nintendo his biggest inspirations. From the graphic palette to the rendering techniques for special phases, which emulate the famous 3D effect through Mode 7, you can find your way through the five missions that Blazing Chrome proposes is a true delight. And yes, of course, the video game does not forget those spectacular phases on a motorcycle or aboard gigantic wicks.

I like even playable additions or how to interpret the already known ones. The ability to get rid of enemies that get too close by a melee attack is very well implemented, although sometimes it is more difficult to understand how to execute it perfectly. The ability to stop your progress at the time of shooting by pressing a button, I feel more useful than ever, because although Blazing Chrome knows that there will be good speedrunners that cross the levels at high speeds, has built each level so you can clean it better than in the original Contra.

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It is not exempt, however, from some things that could improve or from a certain involution, even if we keep to the most recent deliveries of the Contra itself. The enemies are very well designed, but perhaps abuses the repetition of the most basic in the final stages of the game. In addition, although finishing the game in normal mode unlocks a handful of options, we have seen other examples, such as the wonderful and somewhat unknown Hard Corps Uprising, who knew how to give a longer life to these types of arcade experiences through progress options or the inclusion of an online mode for two players, something that is missing in Blazing Chrome. The study says that they are discussing the possibility of incorporating this facet in a cooperative line, but at the moment they do not promise anything. Not only that, but the factor more plataformero that explored the saga here has been omitted to focus all their attention on the classics. There is however a classic Boss Rush mode, to face all the final heads of the game and the addition of two extra characters centered in the melee once we finished the adventure for the first time.

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My opinion after playing

Blazing Chrome is a good game not because it rescues a successful and classic formula of the Run'n'gun, but by recreating it with a great design of levels and mechanics that at all times look for the player's demand, with a very well measured difficulty. JoyMasher wants you to play your game. Although that means endless continuations, the moments in which we appear are perfectly chosen so that you feel the challenge and improvement through the practice and learning of patterns. Once the adventure is over, it is where the arcade begins and this time machine takes you completely to that past that you are so eager to show yourself and so eager to relive.