EGM Reviews: Scramble Spirits (Sega Master System)

Scramble Spirits (Sega Master System) by Sega

Reviewed in EGM issue 6 January 1990

Scramble Spirits assigns you to a search and destroy mission against an enormous armada of enemy warplanes and weapons. Loosely based on the Sega arcade game of the same name, Scramble Spirits features most of the sights and sounds from similar shooters, including big bosses to blow apart, squadrons of smaller attackers, and methods of increasing your abilities.

Steve (3)
Scramble Spirits is a mediocre translation of the arcade original that’s too easy and doesn’t throw enough thrill into the play. Although Sega shooters are rare, both Power Strike and Activision’s Bomber Raid provide more interesting shoot-em-up scenarios. Scramble Spirits is a big disappointment.

Ed (4)
Another game from Sega which is too easy for the average player. The graphics are very good, with attention paid to the detail in the enemy planes and battleships. The vertical scrolling is good, but the game is just too easy to appreciate what this game has to offer.

Martin (5)
Here’s another shooting game that dishes up nothing but targets. Real weapon power-ups and such aren’t to be found in Scramble Spirits - it does have some variety, but not enough to sustain the game play. This reinforces the fact that shooters are one territory that Sega has never mastered.

Jim (4)
Scramble Spirits is alright as a shooter, but as a game I’ve seen a lot better on the Master System. The graphics are O.K., but the game play gets slow and tedious in many spots and there’s just not enough to shoot at. Way too easy.