Blade Buster

High Level Challenge's free vertical shooter is built for score attack: you choose a two-minute or five-minute game, and each ends with a big boss.

You fly over huge space installations shooting drones, turrets and destructible scenery. You start with three ships, and stacking weapon power-ups also act as a shield: a hit costs a weapon level rather than a ship. Hidden bonuses come from destroying certain enemies early and shooting scenery blocks marked with a pink alien, the first boss drops gemstones, and finishing the five-minute game early pays a large bonus.

High Level Challenge (HLC!), a Japanese doujin group, released it as a free download in 2010. Its timed modes follow Hudson's Star Soldier caravan editions, the competition versions played at Japanese tournaments.

English-language coverage came in 2010 and 2011. Derek Yu at TIGSource noted the many fast sprites with almost no slowdown or flicker. RGCD's May 2011 review gave it 5 out of 5, comparing it with Recca and praising the smooth scrolling, destructible scenery, large bosses and arcade-style music, while noting that the short sessions might put some players off and that nearly all its ideas come from Hudson's shooters. It called the game a modern masterpiece and hoped a publisher would put it on cartridge.