Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Blazing Lazers, developed by Compile in cooperation with Hudson Soft and released for the PC Engine in 1989, is one of the system’s defining vertical shoot ’em ups. Known as Gunhed in Japan, where it was loosely tied to the film of the same name, the North American release removed the movie references and became Blazing Lazers. It arrived remarkably early in the PC Engine’s life yet already demonstrated how much more smoothly the hardware could handle a busy shooter than most contemporary home consoles.
Rating: 9/10
The basic structure is traditional: fly upward through nine lengthy stages, destroy waves of enemies, collect upgrades and defeat a succession of mid-bosses and larger end-of-stage opponents. What makes Blazing Lazers special is how fast and effortless everything feels. Controls are extremely responsive, and five movement speeds can be selected directly with the Select button rather than requiring speed power-ups. This makes it easy to switch between precise dodging and rapid movement whenever the situation demands it.
Compile’s weapon system is the star of the game. Four primary weapons can be collected and upgraded through several power levels: the versatile Photon Blaster, the wide-ranging Power Wave, the extremely powerful Field Thunder and the defensive Ring Blaster. These can be supplemented by secondary upgrades including homing missiles, shields, a Multi-Body companion ship and Full Fire enhancements. Repeatedly collecting the small power-up gels increases your weapon level until the screen can become almost completely saturated with your own firepower.
That overwhelming offensive capability gives Blazing Lazers a very different personality from more punishing shooters such as R-Type or Gradius. It is relatively generous with upgrades, bombs and opportunities to recover, and the opening stages are particularly approachable. This makes it an excellent introduction to traditional shoot ’em ups, although experienced players may find the first portion of the game somewhat easy.
The difficulty does increase considerably later on. Enemy formations become denser, projectiles arrive from more directions and the environments become more unusual. The game moves from conventional outer-space scenery into mechanical and organic areas, culminating in stranger hazards such as the expanding and contracting structures of Area 8. The nine stages are substantial, however, and some sections continue for longer than necessary. At its weakest, the game can feel like it is filling time between more memorable enemy formations. This slower early pacing is one of the more commonly noted criticisms of Gunhed/Blazing Lazers.
Technically, it remains impressive. Large enemies, numerous projectiles and heavily upgraded weapons can occupy the screen simultaneously with remarkably little slowdown. The sprites are colourful and easy to read, scrolling is consistently smooth and several bosses are impressively large for a 1989 console game. It was an excellent demonstration of the PC Engine’s sprite-handling capabilities and still feels significantly more arcade-like than many shooters released for competing systems at the time.
The soundtrack is energetic and suits the relentless shooting well, accompanied by punchy explosions and occasional sampled effects. It is not necessarily as memorable as the music in later PC Engine shooters such as Soldier Blade, and visually the backgrounds can occasionally appear sparse, but neither issue significantly hurts the experience.
Blazing Lazers is therefore less about intricate level memorisation or extreme difficulty than maintaining a satisfying rhythm of movement, destruction and constant weapon upgrades. Its greatest achievement is how enjoyable it feels simply to fly around with an absurdly powerful ship and erase entire formations before they can become a threat.
Later PC Engine shooters, including Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade, would refine aspects of this formula, while Compile itself would go on to create even more elaborate games such as M.U.S.H.A. and Space Megaforce. Blazing Lazers nevertheless remains remarkably playable. Its superb controls, flexible arsenal, smooth performance and carefully escalating action make it one of the essential PC Engine shooters and an outstanding example of how polished a console shoot ’em up could already be in 1989.
Blazing Lazers, developed by Compile in cooperation with Hudson Soft and released for the PC Engine in 1989, is one of the system’s defining vertical shoot ’em ups. Known as Gunhed in Japan, where it was loosely tied to the film of the same name, the North American release removed the movie references and became Blazing Lazers. It arrived remarkably early in the PC Engine’s life yet already demonstrated how much more smoothly the hardware could handle a busy shooter than most contemporary home consoles.
Rating: 9/10
The basic structure is traditional: fly upward through nine lengthy stages, destroy waves of enemies, collect upgrades and defeat a succession of mid-bosses and larger end-of-stage opponents. What makes Blazing Lazers special is how fast and effortless everything feels. Controls are extremely responsive, and five movement speeds can be selected directly with the Select button rather than requiring speed power-ups. This makes it easy to switch between precise dodging and rapid movement whenever the situation demands it.
Compile’s weapon system is the star of the game. Four primary weapons can be collected and upgraded through several power levels: the versatile Photon Blaster, the wide-ranging Power Wave, the extremely powerful Field Thunder and the defensive Ring Blaster. These can be supplemented by secondary upgrades including homing missiles, shields, a Multi-Body companion ship and Full Fire enhancements. Repeatedly collecting the small power-up gels increases your weapon level until the screen can become almost completely saturated with your own firepower.
That overwhelming offensive capability gives Blazing Lazers a very different personality from more punishing shooters such as R-Type or Gradius. It is relatively generous with upgrades, bombs and opportunities to recover, and the opening stages are particularly approachable. This makes it an excellent introduction to traditional shoot ’em ups, although experienced players may find the first portion of the game somewhat easy.
The difficulty does increase considerably later on. Enemy formations become denser, projectiles arrive from more directions and the environments become more unusual. The game moves from conventional outer-space scenery into mechanical and organic areas, culminating in stranger hazards such as the expanding and contracting structures of Area 8. The nine stages are substantial, however, and some sections continue for longer than necessary. At its weakest, the game can feel like it is filling time between more memorable enemy formations. This slower early pacing is one of the more commonly noted criticisms of Gunhed/Blazing Lazers.
Technically, it remains impressive. Large enemies, numerous projectiles and heavily upgraded weapons can occupy the screen simultaneously with remarkably little slowdown. The sprites are colourful and easy to read, scrolling is consistently smooth and several bosses are impressively large for a 1989 console game. It was an excellent demonstration of the PC Engine’s sprite-handling capabilities and still feels significantly more arcade-like than many shooters released for competing systems at the time.
The soundtrack is energetic and suits the relentless shooting well, accompanied by punchy explosions and occasional sampled effects. It is not necessarily as memorable as the music in later PC Engine shooters such as Soldier Blade, and visually the backgrounds can occasionally appear sparse, but neither issue significantly hurts the experience.
Blazing Lazers is therefore less about intricate level memorisation or extreme difficulty than maintaining a satisfying rhythm of movement, destruction and constant weapon upgrades. Its greatest achievement is how enjoyable it feels simply to fly around with an absurdly powerful ship and erase entire formations before they can become a threat.
Later PC Engine shooters, including Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade, would refine aspects of this formula, while Compile itself would go on to create even more elaborate games such as M.U.S.H.A. and Space Megaforce. Blazing Lazers nevertheless remains remarkably playable. Its superb controls, flexible arsenal, smooth performance and carefully escalating action make it one of the essential PC Engine shooters and an outstanding example of how polished a console shoot ’em up could already be in 1989.
