Blaster Master Zero

To do: Find unused graphics, preferably sourced from the original 3DS/Switch release instead of the PC version (unless it's the only option).

Blaster Master Zero is a remake/reboot of the original NES game, which alongside modernizing the gameplay seeks to combine the disparate storylines of the JP and US versions: so instead of either being a story about some guy named Jason chasing after his pet frog and somehow finding an all-terrain tank alongside the ruins of an ancient civilization underneath his backyard or a story about fighting the evil alien empire's corruption of the planet in the distant future, now it's both!

Unused Graphics#

A single sprite of Eve standing at a 45° angle, presumably for her encounter in one of the dungeons.

A series of message cards explaining a handful of gameplay elements unlike the ones prompted by the game when an upgrade is found.

[Life Up]
(Jason) and (SOPHIA)'s life increases by 1

[Hyper shot]
Main gun power increased
Wall Guardians can now be defeated

[Ignition Bomb]
A set-up bomb
Press and hold LB to select a sub-weapon, then press B to set it up and B again to detonate it

[Thunder Breaker]
A lightning attack straight down
Press and hold LB to select a sub-weapon, then press B to fire

On the Nintendo Switch version, inside of a folder named "test_data" containing two spritesheets from Azure Striker Gunvolt. Interestingly they have been stored in the common .btnx format (alongside two corresponding .iopd files) rather than Inti Creates' propietary filesystem.

pl0000.bntx	zk0000.bntx

Unused Music#

On the 3DS version, all of the music tracks appear to be duplicated as both .bcstm and .bfstm files. While most of the .bfstm duplicates might seem to be just lower-quality versions of their .bcstm counterparts (despite having a higher sound frequency), on closer inspection they appear to be early versions of the songs, as evidenced by various tracks having slightly different instrumentation and mixing or even outright using MIDI samples instead of chiptune.

Regional Differences#

Title Screen#

Japanese	English

Bottom screen#

Japanese	English

Boss names#

A couple of the bosses saw their names changed between the Japanese and English versions. Interestingly, the underlying katakana transcription of their name was altered to match. All of the other languages have their own set of localized names but use the same katakana as the English ones.

Japanese	English

In the Korean language, the kanji descriptions are replaced by hangul while the bosses' names don't have any underlying transliteration are only presented in plain English using their Japanese names. Traditional Chinese does this as well while retaining the kanji.

Japanese	Korean	Chinese (Traditional)

Version Differences#

• The Nintendo 3DS version run at the native resolution of 400x240 at 30fps, the Nintendo Switch version displays the game at a non-integer scaled 1080p (both in docked and portable mode) with black bars on the side at 60fps.¹
• On all home console and PC versions of the game, there's a "How To Play" option at the title screen and on the Game Menu which explains the controls and the "call SOPHIA" ability. This is completely absent on the Nintendo 3DS version (presumably because such info is provided by the system's built-in electronic manual).
• On the Nintendo 3DS the Game Menu can only be accessed by touching the bottom screen (note: the Game Menu will only display on the top screen), pressing Select will only open the status screen. On any other version, the Game Menu is accessed through the Select-equivalent button.
• On the Nintendo 3DS version, the options of the "Extra" menu are all displayed on a single screen. On all other version it takes up two pages.
• The Nintendo 3DS version lacks any and all 2-player related modes (Co-op, Co-op Boss Blaster Mode and Blaster Battle Mode).
• The Nintendo 3DS version lacks support for Chinese (Traditional) and Korean language options.
• The PC version lacks any support for haptic feedback.

Blaster Master Zero Trilogy: MetaFight Chronicle#

Physical release of all three games and their respective DLCs for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 released on July 29, 2021 exclusively in Japan. It includes one exclusive DLC which adds voice acting to all of the games and has not been available for any of the digital versions of the game regardless of their platform.

Revisional Differences#

Ver.1.1#

Released on March 15, 2017.

• Added Pro Controller support.

Ver.1.2#

Released on May 3, 2017.

• Destroyer Mode added.
• EX Character Mode added:
  • Gunvolt
  • Ekoro

Ver.1.3#

Released on July 6, 2017.

• New EX Characters:
  • Shantae
  • Shovel Knight

Ver.1.4#

Released on October 4, 2017.

• Boss Blaster Mode added.
• Co-op Boss Blaster Mode added. (Nintendo Switch only)
• Available number of save slots tripled. (Nintendo Switch only)
• EX Characters can now use the "call SOPHIA" ability.

Ver.1.5#

Released on November 22, 2017.

• Blaster Battle Mode added.

Ver.1.5.1#

Released on December 4, 2019.

• Nintendo Switch video capture compatibility has been added.
• An issue where the game would get stuck on the Joy-Con connection screen when selecting Multiplayer on a Nintendo Switch Lite has been fixed.

※2 Joy-Cons will be required to play Multiplayer on a Nintendo Switch Lite.

※This update does not apply to the Nintendo 3DS version.

Ver.1.5.2#

Released on June 29, 2020.

• The following languages are now supported:
  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Portuguese
• Various issues have been fixed.

(Note: Released on Nintendo 3DS as Ver.1.4.1)

Ver.1.6.1#

Released on June 16, 2021 for Steam and July 28, 2021 for Nintendo Switch.

• The following languages are now supported:
  • Traditional Chinese
  • Korean
• Various issues have been fixed.

References#