What a top game - How many levels are there exactly?

I've got to the end of level 6 twice (reset once like a dick), so i need to know how much more button bashing i'm in for.

Love this game, love the music, love the speed!

I'm currently stuck on Operation 5 (Hard mode) but oh boy, this is one heck of an addictive shoot-em-up.

I can't believe I didn't know about this game before it was available on VC. It's a really good game - great music, nice graphics for the time, sweet gameplay and some head-banging, swearing, controller-throwing hard bits that makes it even better coz' it just makes me want to play it again. I'm stuck on the last boss but still, an excellent Turbo-Grafx game.

One more go.... Aaaaaarrrghhh. That sixth level is murder! I thought that after the fifth one it couldn't get any harder but the end of level boss in the sixth is kicking me where it hurts. Brilliant shooter, in fact one of the best vertical scrollers ever. I find myself playing this more than any wii-specific game out there (apart from Twilight Princess of course). The VC is THE reason to own Nintendo's machine if we get to play rare gems like these. More PC-engine shooters Ninty, c'mon!

I downloaded Super Star Soldier ages ago, but this is a lot better. Wish I'd got this first! If you can't choose between the two, go for this one, definitely!

I agree with the review - this game is awesome. The best part is the music.

RE:Phil Barker The PC Engine did get a UK release just a very very limited one.

Great game (like so many other TG-16 classics). Party on!

I'm having a lot of difficulty figuring out the final boss. Could anybody help? What's up with the mirrors?

The mirrors are there just to bounce the lasers at you. You can take them out but the way I beat him is to dodge the lasers in that part and than shoot him with the big blue beam after you see him take the mirrors back into his arms i believe. It takes around two big beams and a couple of shots in that phase, theres two phases on the last boss. Try to keep your power shots for the second phase, it will make that part easier.

one of the best games on the virtual console.

One of the best vertical shooters...

Overall, it takes some getting used to because there can be A LOT of things moving on-screen. (i.e. bullets, missiles, projectiles, enemies, power-ups) I play this game for a couple of minutes almost everyday. I love the gameplay.

It's hard to believe that one of the best vertical ship shooters is on such a underrated console. Sure, it's "just another shooter," but it plays great! Everything from the gameplay to the sound, the music, the power ups, the enemies, the boss battles and difficulty settings, it's a special gem that shouldn't be missed. Ever!

I am an older gamer lured back to gaming on the Wii, and I like FUN games that I can pick up and enjoy over and over. This is definitely one of them.

I have other VC games (Street Fighter Turbo, Wave Race 64, Kirby's Adventure, Air Zonk, Devil's Crush, etc.) but I keep coming back to this one. It's just fun to me, as I grew playing 1943 at our local Fuddruckers, so I have deep-seated love of the vertical top-down shooter.

Other games I go back to frequently are Wave Race 64, Mario 64 and Street Fighter Turbo.

On the other hand, Air Zonk, Devil's Crush and Kirby's Adventure kinda suck in their own ways (mainly not so fun, not so realistic with physics and not a challenge, respectively), in fact don't bother buying those as they are just not so engaging. Wait for Williams Pinball on Wii...play some real tables.

In conclusion, I LOVE SOLDIER BLADE!

Soldier Blade feels so timeless.

Finally finished level seven. I got stuck some months ago as i kept concentrating on the mirrors, but the key is to ignore them & just dodge the bullets, then blast the mutha with a few specials. This is the 1st VC game i've completed, & was a bit disapointed that you couldn't save you completed game as a file somewhere (just to prove you have), but never mind. Now off to crack R-Type (stuck on level 4 at the mo). Peace

I want to thank the people that run this site. Without them I never would have downloaded this amazing game. It's a game I never heard of on a system I had never played. I downloaded this game today based on the review and it is one of the most action packed and fun gaming experiences I’ve ever had. This game is everything that's right about shoot 'em ups. So thanks guys for doing this site and taking the time to write these reviews, it really helps.

One of the nicest shooters i have ever played! And believe me, i've got real high standards. My first shooter i first played through (the whole game) was Ikaruga.

This game is so amazing. The music are smashing, the graphics are clean and i just can't stop playing. Right now, i'm on mission 5 and will continue my mission when i get home. ^_^

Excellent shooter.Am on level 5 after 1 week.Still hoping for Space Megaforce(SNES),an excellent top to bottom shooter.

Ugh. I love this game but am so frustrated. Can't get past level 2. Go figure. lol. I just stink.

Great game. After dying for the 20th time on level one I was screaming WTF!!! WTF!!!!!!!. now i am on level.......................................2 only get this game if you can handle the challenge and are not a homicidal maniac

Got to level 5 on my first try.. from there on, it's really really hard. Glad to have downloaded this gem . Gunhed anyone ^^ ?

Yay, it's level 6 for me . Nice boss ^^ .

I'm not a pro with these games by any means. But this one is fantastic. I can't remember what level I'm at because I'm playing like 5 shooters at the moment, but this is cool. Is the VC awesome or what?

I had never played this gamed before. But I like shoot'em up's and the review was good so I bought it. I must say that this one is really good. Not as good as Hellfire for the Megadrive but a solid shooter that keeps up with games like Project-X and Ikaruga.

So far Soldier Blade is my favorite vertical scrolling shooter on VC.

If anyone likes this get Blazing Lazers, the first in the Turbo Grafx's famed 'Soldier' series. It's not quite as good as this gem (in my humble opinion), but it's a pretty close thing. THE TURBO GRAFX WAS THE KING OF SHOOTERS!!! Lets hope a few more of those Jap only PC Engine classics make it to the West.

Really good shooter, hard but not as evil as other shooters.
And finally a Soldier game which doesn't has this brain thing as the final boss.

This game is an awful lot of fun....

Got gifted this yesterday. It's fantastic

Hard to understand that this is a 8-Bit game. Seriously one of the best vertical shoot-em-ups EVER.

Great game I am up to level 6! I purchased this because I enjoyed Star Soldier R and wanted to try Hudson's past titles. The game is highly addicitive just like Star Soldier R

I got to level 7 recently and I gotta say it got really hard. I can hardly live for more than a couple minutes....

The game is great, though. I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.

This is the first game I have played in the Star Soldier series, and what a choice! This game is very addictive game and I can't stop playing it, what is also good about this game is that you get a partner that can take hits for you and won't die. Overall, nice shooter game for people who want a challenge and people who are new to shooter games. 5/5

I wanted a Star Soldier game from VC for a while, and I'm glad that I started with this game instead of Star Soldier R . It's not the most original shooter out there, but damn is it fun to play! It looks pretty good and the music is awesome, especially coming out of that dinky Turbografx 16 sound chip. The difficulty is also perfect, putting up a good challenge yet giving people like me (who usually suck at these kinds of games) a chance at beating it. Score attack is a nice distraction, too. The last 3 levels took me forever to beat (especially level 6, yeesh!), and hard mode is complete murder!
Still, excellent Shooter: 5/5

Mr. Cheez, if you like Soldier Blade, do the good thing, and check out Star Soldier R.

Dang for only 600 points this game is well
worth it i played this game constantly when
i got it one of my favorite games on my VC
5 stars easy

Finally beat it! Awesome game. The 2- and 5-minute modes are a good addition as well. Hard mode is really hard....I dont think I'll try to beat it in hard mode. That would take me forever....I'm not that good yet.

5 stars for sure...

Bought it as my first VC game and my first real investment into Shooter.

Like it, that I can easily pick this game up and play a couple of minutes. Also It's very challenging for me, however got to Level 3 .. ugh!

Thanks for the reviews, the nice comments and the hints on your page...

This gives me a good time while waiting for my grrrl to get ready...

Just downloaded it due to all the rave reviews. To be honest, I don't really see what is here that classifies this as a 5 star game. I bought Lords of Thunder earlier this year and have LOVED the thing to death. It just feels like a MUCH better shooter. Heck I'm enjoing Gradius III more than this. The music is really bland and the weapons feel very limited and unimaginative. I hope Gate of Thunder is a better game, since I was also thinking of buying that.

I'm with you Maniac, Lords of Thunder is absolutely awesome! I just now found out about it a few days ago, and have been enjoying it since.

@ Marvel_Maniac- There's crazy people like me that like this game more.

Well, x. SuperMario.x is correct. I may prefer Lords of Thunder, but in truth they are all good games. Its a matter of personal preferrence. From my perspective Soldier Blade feels very limited and doesn't scratch that SHUMP itch like other games. The music is sort of sub-par and the levels feel flat. I just downloaded Axelay yesterday and I am totally LOVING it. Far and away (IMO) a better game. Of course, thr real beauty of the Virtual Console is that for the first time, I get to give all of these games a try. For $6, I certainly don't feel ripped off for buying Soldier Blade.

Never played Soldier Blade, but I know Gate of Thunder is bad. The music quality is poor (compared to Lords of Thunder anyway), and playing the game itself is boring. Judging by the video above, this game is no different. I'll have to pass.

Like Marvel Maniac, I am severely underwhelmed by this game. I like Blazing Lazers better for its more responsive control, except for a miserable difficulty spike at the end.

Like a lot of shooters, the design doesn't really feel well thought-out at all. I'm obviously supposed to memorize the levels as so many hazards are totally without warning. (Game designer: "why not just put that there? And then that, and then that?") Apparently the "challenge" of that appeals to some people, but I prefer Gate of Thunder, where things make more sense and level design seems designed with intent.

I'm almost as far as saying I hate this game and am sorry I downloaded it. I'm not particularly a fan of the genre because so many are designed this way, and the challenge is all about finding the ONE way around a situation. And Soldier Blade is a great example of unthinking stage design. On the plus side, continues are unlimited for once, which is a big deal as far as I'm concerned (let's just pretend I have unlimited quarters in my pocket).

To me, Gate of Thunder, Lords of Thunder, and Axelay are FAR superior to all the other shooters on the VC (I have around twelve). Okay, you can't mess with the bizarre R-Type I guess. Star Parodier is supposed to be an improvement, so maybe I'll check that out sometime.

Slowly I am getting into the shooter genre. I have downloaded Gate of Thunder, Lords of Thunder, Blazing Lazers and yesterday Soldier Blade. I do really like all! Any other recommendations?

Axelay!

What a great game! I love it very much!!!
Great sound, action and after all it`s not that frustrating like other shooters.
5 stars from me!

got it, awesome, on 2nd level
? tho
i have Lost Levels too
which is harder?

Just downloaded this game. I have been a shmup fan for some time but actualy never played any of the Soldier games until now. It's not the best game in the genre but definetly not the worst.

I like the graphic presentation and weapons in this game (the laser is cool) and it's fun to play such an easy shmup for a change. Well at least it was easy up til 6th stage. I got there with 1 credit on my third run but got killed pretty fast. Mostly because of the new enemies and some new elements (like the moving walls) that were introduced there. But with some memorization it should be possible to make it through without a scratch. Who knows, maybe this game will be my first 1CC shmup on normal mode.

Which game should I get next Super Star Soldier or Blazing Lazers?

After some more time spent with this game and figuring out the weapon strategies I managed to 1CC this game. Now I completely changed my mind. This game is super awesome. There is so much love put in this game with many small details. And the music is great and super catchy.

Ok, I usually "sleep" through the first 4 stages but after that is where the true fun begins. With large stages and challenging bosses. I especially like the end boss in stage 6, the one that changes it's arms, and the first mid-boss at the beginning of the stage 7, the one with mirrors. The final boss was very hard. I only managed to kill him thanks to all my saved extra lives and bombs.

I found the first weapon to be the strongest and best suited for bosses. Concentrate both your and the pods fire on the boss weak point and they will go down in no time. Also, when using the "kamikaze" special weapon on any boss place your ship on the bosses weak point and blast away for extra damage. Just remember to back down when the special weapon is about to end. If you have 3 weapons collected and you see another one coming your way, use the special weapon than get that weapon and you will have 3 special weapons again ready to be used. Don't be greedy and use special weapons on tricky bosses but try to save at least one so that you don't loose the pod with extra fire power. You will always get extra weapons at the beginning of the next stage.

My final score for this game is a strong 9 and I sertainly recommend it to everyone. Get it now if you don't have it already.

Just downloaded this game today, got to level 4 with about an hour of effort. I'm already stuck. Funny thing is, I suck at hard shoot-em-ups. I can definitely see myself playing to the end.

A good shump. Me playing Soldier Blade Stage 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydblwr_eVFE

I tought long and hard about what would be my first VC purchase, but this is the one. Love the gameplay, def shmup heaven. Easy to learn hard to master. So far i've only gotten myself to stage 4 (barely). But maybe i'll give up my 'no continues' rule for this game.