Originally released in arcades back in 1989, Blast Off is the sequel to Bosconian, which was launched 8 years earlier in 1981. It was developed by N.H. System, a short-lived Namco subsidiary that also worked on the isometric platformer Märchen Maze one year prior.
Designed to run on Namco's System 1 hardware, the sequel is a significant departure from its previous iteration, dropping the multi-directional scrolling of the original for a vertical scrolling format similar to other Namco titles like Xevious and Dragon Spirit.
It sees players fighting off a new alien threat with the help of four interchangeable colored lasers, which include a red laser that fires in a spiral pattern across the screen, a yellow laser that shoots straight in three directions, a blue laser that fires both forwards and backward, and a green laser that fires diagonally and behind.
Unlike Bosconian, which was later ported to the MSX, Sharp X68000, Sharp X1, and mobile phones, Blast Off has never been ported over to consoles or computers, making this its first appearance on home consoles.
As always, the game will launch in Japan first, before coming to selected storefronts in the West.
