Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Playthrough of Image Fight, Irem’s vertical shoot ’em up released for the NES in 1990. Based on Irem’s 1988 arcade game, this 8-bit conversion was handled by Japan System House and was the only home version of the original Image Fight to receive a North American release. It preserves the arcade game’s unusual weapon systems and simulation-based structure, but greatly reduces the intensity and visual spectacle. The result is mechanically interesting and technically competent, yet often feels too empty and subdued compared with the game it is trying to recreate.
Rating: 6/10
Image Fight has a distinctive structure. The first five stages are presented as combat simulations in which you are graded mainly on your enemy destruction rate. Finish them with an average of roughly 90% or better and you proceed directly to the final three “real combat” stages. Fall below that target and you are sent through an additional Penalty Zone before continuing.
Your OF-1 fighter can carry up to three support pods. Blue pods stay fixed and fire straight ahead, while red pods aim in the opposite direction to your movement, making them useful against enemies approaching from awkward angles. Pressing both buttons together also launches the pods outward in a boomerang-like attack before they return to the ship.
The primary weapon can be upgraded with several front-mounted components, including lasers, homing missiles, spread weapons and defensive equipment. These attachments provide extra firepower and can also absorb one hit before being destroyed, which is useful since direct contact with an enemy, projectile or solid obstacle otherwise kills you instantly.
Another distinctive feature is the ability to cycle freely between four movement speeds. Lower settings allow precise positioning, while higher speeds make it easier to quickly reposition around incoming threats. Even changing speed has an offensive use, as the engine flare behind the ship can damage enemies caught in the blast.
On paper, all of this gives Image Fight considerably more tactical depth than the average NES shooter. In practice, however, much of that complexity feels unnecessary because the conversion simply does not throw enough opposition at you. Enemy numbers are greatly reduced from the arcade version, and several stages contain surprisingly long stretches where very little happens. Powerful equipment such as the homing missiles can make the sparse encounters even easier.
The controls are responsive and performance is one of the port’s stronger points. Scrolling is smooth, slowdown is rare and sprite flicker is kept under control. Difficulty only really spikes if you die at an unfortunate checkpoint and have to rebuild your arsenal before a difficult boss. Otherwise, the NES version is significantly more approachable than the arcade original. Finishing the game also leads into a second loop for another run through its stages.
Presentation is where the conversion suffers most. Backgrounds are extremely sparse, enemies are small and lack much of the arcade game’s mechanical detail, and even the bosses rarely make much visual impression. Some later areas consist largely of black space, while the frequent orange, blue and green colour combinations can look rather garish.
The soundtrack fares little better. Its high-pitched melodies become repetitive quickly, and the sound effects lack the punch needed to make the weapons and explosions feel particularly powerful.
Image Fight is ultimately a shooter whose systems are more interesting than the game built around them. The pod mechanics, interchangeable weapons, speed control and performance-based simulation stages all show plenty of imagination, and the NES version runs impressively smoothly. Unfortunately, sparse enemy patterns, barren graphics, weak audio and a generally subdued pace leave it feeling like a shadow of the arcade original. It is worth experiencing for Irem or shoot ’em up fans, but the NES has many more exciting examples of the genre.
Playthrough of Image Fight, Irem’s vertical shoot ’em up released for the NES in 1990. Based on Irem’s 1988 arcade game, this 8-bit conversion was handled by Japan System House and was the only home version of the original Image Fight to receive a North American release. It preserves the arcade game’s unusual weapon systems and simulation-based structure, but greatly reduces the intensity and visual spectacle. The result is mechanically interesting and technically competent, yet often feels too empty and subdued compared with the game it is trying to recreate.
Rating: 6/10
Image Fight has a distinctive structure. The first five stages are presented as combat simulations in which you are graded mainly on your enemy destruction rate. Finish them with an average of roughly 90% or better and you proceed directly to the final three “real combat” stages. Fall below that target and you are sent through an additional Penalty Zone before continuing.
Your OF-1 fighter can carry up to three support pods. Blue pods stay fixed and fire straight ahead, while red pods aim in the opposite direction to your movement, making them useful against enemies approaching from awkward angles. Pressing both buttons together also launches the pods outward in a boomerang-like attack before they return to the ship.
The primary weapon can be upgraded with several front-mounted components, including lasers, homing missiles, spread weapons and defensive equipment. These attachments provide extra firepower and can also absorb one hit before being destroyed, which is useful since direct contact with an enemy, projectile or solid obstacle otherwise kills you instantly.
Another distinctive feature is the ability to cycle freely between four movement speeds. Lower settings allow precise positioning, while higher speeds make it easier to quickly reposition around incoming threats. Even changing speed has an offensive use, as the engine flare behind the ship can damage enemies caught in the blast.
On paper, all of this gives Image Fight considerably more tactical depth than the average NES shooter. In practice, however, much of that complexity feels unnecessary because the conversion simply does not throw enough opposition at you. Enemy numbers are greatly reduced from the arcade version, and several stages contain surprisingly long stretches where very little happens. Powerful equipment such as the homing missiles can make the sparse encounters even easier.
The controls are responsive and performance is one of the port’s stronger points. Scrolling is smooth, slowdown is rare and sprite flicker is kept under control. Difficulty only really spikes if you die at an unfortunate checkpoint and have to rebuild your arsenal before a difficult boss. Otherwise, the NES version is significantly more approachable than the arcade original. Finishing the game also leads into a second loop for another run through its stages.
Presentation is where the conversion suffers most. Backgrounds are extremely sparse, enemies are small and lack much of the arcade game’s mechanical detail, and even the bosses rarely make much visual impression. Some later areas consist largely of black space, while the frequent orange, blue and green colour combinations can look rather garish.
The soundtrack fares little better. Its high-pitched melodies become repetitive quickly, and the sound effects lack the punch needed to make the weapons and explosions feel particularly powerful.
Image Fight is ultimately a shooter whose systems are more interesting than the game built around them. The pod mechanics, interchangeable weapons, speed control and performance-based simulation stages all show plenty of imagination, and the NES version runs impressively smoothly. Unfortunately, sparse enemy patterns, barren graphics, weak audio and a generally subdued pace leave it feeling like a shadow of the arcade original. It is worth experiencing for Irem or shoot ’em up fans, but the NES has many more exciting examples of the genre.
