Frontier Force

Genre: Shmup Developer: Badcomputer Publisher: 2minds (Physical) Players: 1 Released: 2025

I always enjoy it when homebrew developers continue to produce software for legacy consoles, and as a Sega fan, I must admit that I’ve been eating well lately. Lots of Genesis games are coming out, and even the 32X is getting some love. Thankfully, the Master System hasn’t been left behind, and its robust community of game makers has been turning out some wonderful stuff over the years. Just about every genre has something to offer, and many of the games are almost at the level of quality that you’d expect to see on stores shelves back in the 1980s.

Frontier Force, by Adam (also known as HelpComputer0 or Badcomputer, who we interviewed in 2024) is the latest Master System title to raise some eyebrows. The game was under development for some time, and it’s now finally available for purchase in both physical and digital formats. If you’ve been looking for a new title for your 8-bit machine, and if you’re a fan of shooters, then Adam might have just the game you’re looking for.

In Frontier Force, players step into the boots of Guy, an experienced soldier who is protecting the final human outpost (and who bears more than a passing resemblance to Space Harrier’s hero) from the Kraelion, a ruthless alien species on a campaign for galactic domination. The Kraelion are an unstoppable force that seeks to annihilate the resistance using their superior technology and overwhelming numbers.

The Kraelion attack Space Invaders-style, dropping down from the top of the screen as Guy counters forcefully from the bottom. Our hero doesn’t have much room to maneuver, but he has the firepower to fight back. Armed with the “Vindicator” gun, Guy defends humanity across five single-screen stages with missiles, explosives, flame bursts, energy blasts, and lasers. There are six ammunition types (four primary ammo types – plasma, flame, missile, and chain gun – and two secondary types – laser and bomb), but only plasma ammo is unlimited. Certain weapons deal double damage based on enemy size, which means players will have to learn which ones to save for specific enemies. For instance, the chain gun works for small foes, missiles for medium, laser for large, and flame for all sizes at close range. To help Guy can dash through enemy fire with a double tap of the D-pad, and there are power-ups, including extra lives (after completing bonus stages), shields, extra bombs, and ammo boxes, though ammo pickups are smaller at higher difficulties. Knowing when to use each weapon is key because score is the name of the game here. Your success is measured in gold stars in the top-right corner of the screen, with higher ranks increasing difficulty and scoring potential, and after each stage, players can see how well they did by rank. I like how Frontier Force is really old school in its score-based gameplay, making the game great to play in short bursts. I know a lot of games claim the “easy to learn, hard to master” mantra, but I do believe Frontier Force does a great job in delivering it.

If the game sounds too hard, take heart! There are a limited number of continues, so it’s not entirely unforgiving. Mind you, the continue dynamic does have some caveats. While there are three of them, they can go fast if you aren’t clear about what you’re doing. Frontier Force does give you a chance to increase your lives through two 60-second training stages that give up bonus lives if cleared without penalty for defeat. Players get points for destroying enemies, avoiding bullets, chaining kills of identically sized enemies, and collecting medals, which increase in value based on difficulty and stage rank. Learning the ins and outs of each stage has its reward, as along with seeing the game’s end, finishing the game without continues reveals a secret (no, I won’t reveal it).

Consequently, I have to say that Frontier Force is really impressive for a game almost entirely done by a single person. The visuals and sound are excellent – especially the cool soundtrack by Chip – and the gameplay is delightfully twitchy and fast. If I had to find a downside, it would be that there isn’t more of it. At only five stages and a couple of bonus rounds, the game might not have legs after extended plays. Of course, it’s going to take some time to get good enough to see the end since Frontier Force makes up for its short length with some serious challenge. One might be tempted to think that the difficulty is designed to mask the few stages, but I don’t see it that way. Master System games tended to be hard, damn hard, and Frontier Force fits that mold. It’s a game you play to get better and earn the right to see the next stage. There’s no button mashing here, so get ready to sweat a bit.

As I said earlier, Frontier Force is getting a physical release by 2minds, a European publisher who has brought a ton of Master System and Game Gear titles to market over the past few years. The game is available via their website but is a limited time deal. You can get the digital version from Adam’s page for a cool $5. It’s definitely a game you’ll want to try, and the amount of gameplay and fun it provides for that price can’t be beaten.