An absolute masterpiece. Blaster Master blends tank exploration and on-foot dungeon action. Vast, inventive, visually splendid for NES. Essential in every form.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player12+
Description
Hybrid action-adventure in which Jason Blake pilots a transformable tank to explore dungeons and battles on foot. Published by Sunsoft, released in Europe in 1988. Tank transforming into different vehicles to progress, vast labyrinthine exploration, on-foot dungeon combat and imposing bosses. A Sunsoft masterpiece on NES with ambitious design.
Blaster Master review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Exploring vast caverns at the wheel of a jumping tank, then heading out on foot through top-down dungeons, marries two styles of gameplay with rare fluidity. The nonlinear progression and the vehicle upgrades reward exploration. Ambitious for the hardware, it retains solid handling and an open structure that still draw players in.
The European PAL release of the cult Sunsoft action title, sought for both the steady climb of the EU cote and for Naoki Kodaka's soundtrack. PAL CIB in its original cardboard box is harder to find complete than the US version, and the union of top-down exploration with side-scrolling action makes it a perennial rediscovery. The franchise stays alive through 'Blaster Master Zero', which sustains long-term interest.
Memorable bosses
Marrying tank exploration with on-foot top-down forays, the adventure saves its guardians for underground arenas where you leave your vehicle to face enormous mutants. Each creature, gigantic next to the tiny hero, demands learning its angles of attack. This dual structure and the Sunsoft touch give these duels a singular flavor, between finesse and nerve.
Is Blaster Master still worth playing in 2026?
Blaster Master, known in Japan as Chou-Wakusei Senki MetaFight, is an absolute Sunsoft masterpiece. The game mixes tank exploration with on-foot dungeon action seen top-down, in a proto-metroidvania structure of unusual scope for 1988. Vast, inventive and visually splendid for the NES, supported by Naoki Kodaka's score, the title still fascinates today. The learning curve asks for some patience, but the sense of progression and the beauty of the world cross the eras. Essential in any form.
