Terra Cresta is a 1985 vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Nichibutsu.The player assumes control of a starship named the 'Wing Galibur' that must destroy the Mandler army before they destroy all of humanity. For Terra Cresta on the NES, a reader review titled 'A little too repetitive.'
See for moreinformation about the Terra Cresta game series.Game Staff (Copied from the end credits):STAFFDirectorHiroaki KawamotoDesignerKyoko NakagawaTakeshi AshidaRyo YamashitaTaiji NagayamaSusumu UedaSound CreatorAkihiro AkamatuSachiko OitaProgrammerMasahiko NagasawaYoshiyuki TakahashiJun KikuchiAdviserHiromu YamamotoKazuo KomaiMasaru OkaSpecial ThanksKotobukiKenji YoshidaOMAKEClick on picture to enlargeSECRETSStage Select:On the Formation Design screen, holdII and press Run ten times. If entered correctly, youwill now be able to select the stage you want to start from bypressing Left and Right (picture on the left).Full weapons and Formations:Pause at any time during the game and press Up, Down,Left, Right, Up, Down,Left, Right, Up, Down,Left, Right, II, I and Run.Your ship should now have all weapons at full power (make sure theautofire is turned off when you enter this code).LKAdd your Pov here!POVsAs you probably know, this exclusive PC Engine sequel to Nichibutsu's1985 classic is incredibly rare and costs a bomb - but is it any good? Well, it doescapture some of the gameplay elements that made Terra Cresta so unique in thefirst place - the modular ship adds some strategic flair to the game and certainlyhelped it stand apart from its peers back in 1985. The option to edit the ship'sformation is also a welcome feature (although it is borrowed from the Famicom/NESport from 1986) and I really dig the excellent soundtrack and the two score-attackmodes. Levels are somehow varied but they overall feel really repetitive (there aretwelve of them after all) and the enemy formations are equally monotonous - thisis unfortunately the game's biggest weakness.
There are some nice surprisesthough, such as the 'Time Split' stage at the end of the game whichbrings fans of the original classic down memory lane (although I personally thinkit should have been featured at the beginning of the game rather than thevery end!). All in all,Terra Cresta II was released in 1992 and it looks kind of simplecompared to other gems released that year, such as Soldier Bladeor Gate of Thunder. But the game is fairly decent and fans of theoriginal arcade game will really appreciate this sequel, as long as itshefty price tag can tip the balance.
Terra Cresta will forever be known as “that one shooter that lets you turn into a dragon and be invincible and stuff. That was cool.” Turning into a dragon and running amok in any game is a win, particularly if said game is a brutal, claustrophobic shmup. Pity your poor un-upgraded ship, as it spews at legions of vibrating orbs with a double peashooter!
Rejoice as it collects upgrades and turns his ship from a class Z dropout into a class AAA bullet tycoon! Mourn the loss of your upgrades once your ship is hit by a whizbang projectile that came out of nowhere and everywhere ’cause you can’t turn your back without running into a stupid orb or a stone dinosaur. Much like Gradius or any other mid-80s shmup that went for broke, losing your upgrades in the middle of an advanced level will see you killed faster than a mob snitch. And Terra Cresta pauses for no man. The stages bleed into each other. Bosses come and go.
If you kill them, enjoy your points and the obligatory extra life. Otherwise, they’ll retreat, robbing you of time, bullets, and dignity.
Yes, in Terra Cresta, for approximately thirty beautiful seconds (and only if you collect all five upgrades), your ship transforms into a flaming dragon. And you can go forth and wreak havoc upon the orb community, and it will refresh your opinion of the game. But without the dragon and the upgrades, Terra Cresta is a bite-your-fist difficult shmup that teeters on mediocrity. Your mileage will vary.