Silkworm (1990)
Developed by: Tecmo
Published by: American Sammy
Released in: NA
A conversion of the successful arcade game of the same name, Silkworm puts you into the sweaty helmet of a helicopter pilot (or somebody who’s, like, really good at driving a jeep if you’re player two). The game’s plot is the tried and true sci-fi trope of “supercomputer becomes sentient and goes rogue because humans suck I guess.” The nasty bucket of bolts has gone and re-programmed all of humanity’s military weaponry to attack us instead of help us! And it’ll only stop if people treat it like a God! AND PROM’S TOMORROW!!!
Boom. Silkworm. The game is a shoot-’em-up, which is personally one of my favourite genres to play, so I was pretty excited to blast my way through waves upon waves of evil helicopters. If you manage to upgrade your helicopter all the way, you have default rapid-fire and get to keep the upgrades until your game is over, which is a generous reward for a game of this type. The action is just the right speed; it’s fluid and fast-paced but not so much so that it’s hard to parse what’s going on, which was the prime offense of the last game I played. In short, it plays great.
My favourite part of Silkworm was the background graphics. Every one was wonderfully detailed, and I found myself looking forward to seeing what the next level held in store for me. In terms of the rest of the graphics, spritework isn’t terribly interesting, as 99% of the enemies consist of other bright green helicopters and tanks out to get you. Boss enemies in Silkworm are a letdown; they’re all just big vehicles that move and shoot in the same basic patterns as one another, with increased firepower each level. The only interesting boss design was the final one, but even then, he too was just a big, chunky sprite that eased himself from the left side of the screen to the right and back again, and shot a lot of missiles while he did so.
Silkworm’s biggest weakness for me was its length. I always make a habit of reading the manual before diving into a new NES game, and the one for Silkworm told me that the game was seven rounds long. I was still in good form and having fun by the time I hit that alleged final round, and had nothing but positive thoughts about it in my mind as I made my way through it.
Then there was another level. So I thought to myself, “there’s a secret final level they wanted to surprise the player with for the final showdown? That’s cool!” Still having fun, I beat that one, too…and then there was yet another level. Despite my newly developed trust issues, I’m not begrudging the manual for lying, but rather the game itself for overstaying its welcome. It felt like the inclusion of a ninth level was just one too many and left me feeling a bit tired and bored, which is a shame, really. The cutscenes that bookended the last two levels were fun though, and kept me wondering what was going to happen next, so it wasn’t a total wash.
Despite it’s slightly tedious length, I’d still easily call Silkworm above average. It’s one that I had a lot of fun with, and you could certainly do worse for NES shoot-em-ups, but it won’t be one I replay anytime soon. If you’re a shmup fan or really love the aesthetic of military combat, I’d highly recommend it. Just strap yourself in for the long haul, because those last two levels are brutal, and you only get two continues, with three lives per continue. Good luck buster!
Initial Interest Rating: 7/10
Final Rating:
NESJunk 