Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Here we go, Summer Carnival '92 Recca (烈火) for the NES/Famicom! This was my first clear of the game and I had a score of 4,493,941. It was played using the legit Famicom cartridge on a real NES using a adapter.

Stage listing:
00:00 - Start
00:10 - Stage 1
03:12 - Stage 2
07:35 - Stage 3
10:35 - Stage 4
19:20 - Final Boss + Ending

Recca is probably my favorite shoot em up that was made for the NES/Famicom, and this video marks the start of a mini-series I will be making for this game to cover the various modes. This video covers the "normal game" of Recca, which consists of 4 stages and takes about 20 minutes to clear.


The first thing you will notice about Recca is that everything in the game is insane for a NES game, with ridiculously fast enemies, scrolling, and massive enemy and bullet counts. There really isn't anything else like this on the NES, which at times struggles with what is going on in this game. It's a game that tests the absolute limits of the hardware, and it's hard to believe that this game and something like 1942 were made for the same system.


In Recca the items you will collecting will be used to power up your ship, both main weapon (B button) and sub weapon (A Button). Each main weapon can be upgraded 2 times by collection the same powerup multiple times. The subweapon adds "options" to your ship that function as additional firepower and can still be used while charging up your bomb.


Speaking of the bomb, it is the primary weapon you will be using against the bosses, and there are a lot of them. To charge the bomb, simply stop firing your main weapon (B button). While charging the bomb, it will absorb small bullets and projectiles, which also acts as your main defensive capability. Once the bomb has been charged, you can release it by pressing the main weapon button (B). Another thing to mention is you can change the speed of your ship by pressing select.



Beyond the normal game, additional modes include Score Attack and Time Attack (which are much shorter games), and also some hidden modes like Zanki Attack and Hard mode where the difficulty gets ramped up considerably. Stay tuned for additional videos that will cover some of these modes.