Cobra Triangle is yet again another one of the games from Rare’s older catalog that I had never heard of before I had gotten Rare Replay back in 2015. I remember playing it back then, and I loved it back then, and even if I never got that far in the game, I still had a great time with it. Now, I have replayed it, and I have beaten the whole game, so, do I still love it? Fuck no. Do I hate it though? Absolutely not. What I will say about the game is that it is, like with most of Rare’s titles for the NES, pretty experimental and unique compared to other titles (to an extent), and that makes it very endearing, and also pretty fun to experience to get first impressions. However, after going through the process of beating the whole game, I would say it wasn’t really worth it, and I can see that the game isn’t perfect by any means, even if I would say it is still good for a bit.

The graphics are very good, with all that happens in the game at high speeds being very impressive for a game on this system around the time, the music is good enough, even if there are some levels of the game where there is no music at all, the control is, obviously simple, but the turning is pretty fucking heavy, even though it isn’t as heavy as Solar Jetman’s control was, so that is a step-up (even though this came out first), and the gameplay follows a simple and fun structure, while also adding enough variety to where it doesn’t get boring (again, to an extent).

The game is a racing, vehicular combat game, where you drive around in a speedboat at high… well, speeds, destroying numerous enemy boats and turrets around you, getting powerups along the way, and completing various objectives to beat the levels. While most of the gameplay isn’t all that original, the use of this setting and these circumstances are pretty unique for the time, and the amount of variety seen throughout the game can also add to the uniqueness of the title. Throughout the levels, you will be doing several different tasks, such as racing against other boats, getting powerups from ramps, protecting a group of people, and defusing bombs in the water. There is enough here to keep the player invested, while also throwing in boss battles to provide more of a challenge.

In addition to all of this, there are other aspects of the game that make it more replayable and even more charming. Similarly to Gradius, you can grab the powerup icons and choose the upgrade that you want use for the levels forward, such as speed upgrades, upgrades to your firepower, a temporary force field that will heal you completely, and MISSILES! Who doesn’t love missiles? Not to mention, the types of levels that you encounter in the game, and in what order, are completely random, which is pretty rare for a game on this system, which allows for a unique experience every time you play.

And finally, I can start to see a bit of that good ol’ Rare charm start to shine through in this game, with several moments in the game being very charming. For example, one of the boss fights is against a previous boss, but in order to defeat him, you have to NOT fight him at all, and just wait for him to die on his own. Not gonna lie, that made me laugh quite a bit when I saw it, it is such a Rare thing to put in their game. In addition, the final scene of the game where you are congratulated is treated as if it is an entire separate level, which was also pretty cute.

That being said, whenever I said earlier that this game is only good when you play for a little bit, I meant it. As you keep going, you will notice that levels start repeating quite a bit, with little to no changes made to them other then a new type of scenery for the most part, which can make things pretty repetitive and uninteresting. In addition, the obstacles that you have to face in these later levels are BRUTAL, and if it wasn’t for the rewind feature in Rare Replay, I would have never been able to beat the game. For example, there is one level type where you are driving through a strong current, avoiding stalagmites along the way, and the amount of stalagmites that are shot up in front of you, along with how fast they are thrown in, it feels almost impossible. I’m pretty sure it is doable with a lot of practice, but since I am a scrub, I just brute force my way through instead.

Aside from that though, the only other problems that I would have with some of the boss fights being a pain in the ass (that FUCKING CRAB), but you would only really get that if you were to get to the bosses themselves. Again, this is all why I stated that to truly enjoy the game, you should only play it casually, not trying to beat it. Yeah, there is no finality to it, but with the random nature of the levels, you could experience a good chunk of the game just from replaying the same first bunch of stages again and again, and you can get pretty far to where you can also fight some of the bosses. However, that’s all you really need to see, as nothing beyond that is really worth struggling through, but what you do get to experience is good enough, and again, pretty admirable for the time of release and the type of game that it is.

Overall, while falling into similar repetitive traps that plenty of other games from the time fall into, Cobra Triangle is one of the better titles from Rare’s early stages, and I would definitely recommend you giving it a try at some point. Hey, who knows, you may even find something you would quite enjoy playing for a bit……………….. man, it feels weird ending one of these old Rare games reviews on a positive note. Don’t worry, next time we do one of these games, it will probably be a lot more negative… I assume.

Game #228

Very nice graphics and lots of mission variety, that's ultimately ruined by the game being way too hard. At least you keep your power-ups permanently but man the game is needlessly brutal. All enemy boats are faster than you when they want to be, get attacked from all sides, have knockback and hitstun meaning attacks can combo you, your health meter doesn't update right away for some reason, some attacks just do so much damage...among other things.

If the game were just a bit easier, it could be considered a classic NES title.

A speeboard shooting game, Cobra Triangle is possibly the only game in this collection I’ve never seen or read about before, so I was very curious about it.

Cobra Triangle is another Rare game that takes an isometric view, which gives the game a great look and sense of speed. Controls are simple with acceleration and shooting (I really like that Rare Replay added the right trigger for acceleration, meaning your thumb can be entirely focused on shooting), turning is very fluid. The upgrade system is a bit confusing to start with. Each upgrade pack you pick will cycle you through the different types of upgrade, and you press X to use the packs on that upgrade.

The campaign is split across 25 different challenges, of which there are multiple types. There’s a time trial race which has a load of enemy AI for you to blow up, an obstacle course where you have to avoid logs and whirlpools, a shooting gallery where you have to shoot targets as your boat drifts along, one where you protect swimmers, a few bosses and some others.

One I liked in particular (even though these levels are quite difficult) was one where you have to destroy mines. You pick them up by driving over them, and have to drive them to a marked location as the guards pursue you. If they catch you, they’ll take the mine off you and take it back (unless you then drive into them and get it back). I feel like this mode in particular would be an awesome 2 player mode, but unfortunately Cobra Triangle is only singleplayer.

The snapshots were a lot of fun for Cobra Triangle, the final one was difficult until I tried a crazy tactic that ended up working.