Blaze On is a deservedly obscure horizontal shooter which immediately feels like an inferior R-Type clone. The attract mode features a breathtaking (for 1992) anime sequence which heightens your expectations to the point where you believe the game you're about to play is... well, more than an inferior R-Type clone.

In Blaze On, powerups are acquired by shooting down particular types of enemy mechas, which then become silhouettes. Moving inside these silhouettes causes you to take on the characteristics of the craft you just destroyed, complete with its special weapons.

Unfortunately, the special weapons aren't so special, and the game suffers from poor balance - you seem to require to be a particular mecha in order to survive particular parts, and the levels are too long to keep my interest.

The game is also mired by what I'm starting to refer to as the Dumbass Continue Bug - you can play through your three lives while the level scrolls continuously, but if you put in another coin and continue play, the game puts you back a minute or so to a checkpoint. That's right, you're punished for giving the machine more money.

All in all, a disappointment. I would expect better from Atlus.