Blaster Master Overdrive is a WiiWare game, released in February of 2010. It's a re-imagining of the first Blaster Master, starring Alex who pilots S.O.P.H.I.A..
Storyline[]
Alex's family is infected
A mysterious virus spreads throughout the Earth. Animals exposed to it are transformed into hostile, grotesque mutants and humans attacked by them fall into comas. Alex, the protagonist, is a biologist whose family has been infected. Suiting up and jumping into S.O.P.H.I.A., Alex seeks out to destroy the source of the virus beneath the planet's surface.
After the viral menace is destroyed, the Earth recovers and Alex's family revives. The game ends with a sequel hook, with a scene of a purple meteor heading towards the Earth, followed by the declaration that, "the battle has just begun."
Speculation[]
Despite Overdrive being billed as a "re-imagining," speculation can be made about the plot, especially in its relation to the rest of the series. According to an interview with the producer for Overdrive, Yoshiaki Iwata: "...the setting for Overdrive actually has the game taking place prior to the original Blaster Master.", though he didn't elaborate further aside from a hope to explore more of the story in the future.[1]
Alex may be the father of Jason and the grandfather of Roddy and Elfie. His young, unnamed son resembles Jason, and the fact that he possesses Sophia would explain why Jason eventually found the tank hidden near his home several years later. S.O.P.H.I.A. also appears to be the most primitive version of Sophia in the series, with no allusion to the version of the vehicle in its name, unlike Sophia 3rd and Sophia 4th. This could signify that S.O.P.H.I.A. is the earliest and original incarnation of the tank, and gives time for Alex to upgrade it to Sophia 3rd over the years before Jason finds it. If this is true, this would conflict with the previous continuity established when Blaster Master: Blasting Again adopted the Worlds of Power novel as canon. Sophia 3rd was a creation of Eve's home planet and belonged to her, and arrived on Earth when she did, not too long before Jason discovers it. Overdrive makes no attempt to explain where S.O.P.H.I.A. came from, though the virtual manual claims that Alex built it.
"...the battle has just begun..."
The identity of the purple meteor is impossible to discern from the game; it may be the arrival of a new antagonist, or it could be the Plutonium Boss on his way to burrow into the Earth, setting up the original Blaster Master and giving credence to the theory of Overdrive as a direct prequel and Alex being Jason's father.
Gameplay[]
S.O.P.H.I.A. and Alex initially have substantially less Life than in previous installments, but have the potential to have much more.
Modes[]
Vehicle Mode[]
Here, Alex pilots S.O.PH.I.A. through the various areas. If Alex steps outside of his tank, he'll take constant, minor damage until he enters Chambers or hops back inside the vehicle, which instantly restores his HP.
Alex Mode[]
Alex can move and shoot in eight directions and is capable of strafing.
Alex has four different weapons to choose from, each with their own power levels.
Powerups[]
- Repair Kit
- Reinforced Armor Kit
- Energy Generator
Areas[]
- Ruins
- Caverns
- Subterranean Lake
- Sky Tower
- Lava Flow
- Ice Caves
- Badlands
- Ruinous Depths
Homages[]
Overdrive contains many homages and subtle references to every previous game in the series. Among them are:
- Music and level themes from Blaster Master and Blaster Master: Enemy Below. All of the music in the original game are all remixed in this game.
- The Drill Kit, a Sophia module last seen in Blaster Master 2
- A doppelgänger boss from Blaster Master Boy
- A mutant bat boss from Blaster Master: Blasting Again
- While unconfirmed, it seems likely that Overdrive’s Alex is an homage in name to Alex Bufoni from the Worlds of Power book, much like how Eve was adopted into canon with Blaster Master: Blasting Again.
Gallery[]
References[]
| Blaster Master Series | |
|---|---|
| Games | MetaFight · Blaster Master · Boy · 2 · Enemy Below · Blasting Again · Overdrive · Zero · Zero 2 · Zero 3 |
| Media | Worlds of Power · Comic |
| Companies | Sunsoft · Aicom · Software Creations · Crave Entertainment · Inti Creates |
| Blaster Master: Overdrive | |
|---|---|
| Areas | Ruins · Caverns · Subterranean Lake · Sky Tower · Lava Flow · Ice Caves · Badlands · Ruinous Depths |
| Upgrades | Anchor Kit · Hover Kit · Drill Kit · Dive Kit · Wall Kit · Super Tire Kit · Anchor Kit 2 |
| Weapons | Gun · Grenade · Homing Missile · Blast Bomb |
| Bosses | |