This was a game added to the SNES Switch Online service ages ago, and one I remember Prfsnl being quite excited for and recommending highly. I was recently in the hospital for a week getting my appendix taken out, and with only my Switch for company, my attention drifted to the SNES and SFC libraries on the Online service, and in particular, this game. I really had no idea what to expect, other than a game Prfsnl recommended, but I was really pleasantly surprised and hooked! At a time when a lot of other stuff on there had failed to keep my pain-addled attention, Operation Logic Bomb had me forget all about that and really get into something other than a hospital ward. It took me about 2 hours to finish the game, only using save states to kill the last boss.

Operation Logic Bomb is an action game on the SNES and has about as much story as most of the games of the era. Honestly, that much isn't even true, as in the game all you really get is a faint understanding of the actual events, as things are never really spelled out for you in any sense. Scientists researching something or other involving other dimensions have turned their facility into some kind of monster-infested hell pit, and it's your job as a special forces agent to save them and set things right! Just as some people need no introduction, OLB really doesn't need any more story than the stuff it presents. Little recordings you find that show off how to use your new weapons as well as previews of upcoming bosses (as they attack other special forces members or scientists) do more than enough to establish the urgent and isolated mood the game needs, and I found it an intriguing mix of cool aesthetics and fun mystery.

The gameplay is something of a linear top-down run'n'gun. The closest thing that comes to mind to compare it to would be Smash TV, but that's really only for the perspective. The actual gameplay is much more slow paced than that, as this is most certainly a game built and balanced for consoles instead of arcades. The sprites are also much bigger than Smash TV's were, so the slower pace of things works well with that in mind. That tangent out of the way, it's a really solid run'n'gun game. Healing spots are very limited, so you need to manage your plans of attack accordingly whenever possible, and this is helped by all sorts of new guns and tools you get on your mission.

You start with a fast line shot and a spread tool you can swap between, and you slowly upgrade your arsenal to include a powerful flame thrower, a laser that reflects off of walls, and tools like a decoy hologram and a very powerful claymore. They're all fun and well executed for their specific parts they're given in, though I preferred to use my tried and tested spread shot most of the time. You use the shoulder buttons to strafe, so you have to press other face buttons to cycle between weapons, and that can be pretty awkward in a pinch, but it works pretty well for the most part. The levels and bosses are designed really well for the most part. My only significant complaint would be with the bosses than can only be hurt with the claymore. Those bosses don't stay still very long, and they move very randomly, so using your time-detonated claymore to hurt them makes for some frustrating boss encounters. Other than that, the game is polished really well, and I'm pretty darn sure that even with those frustrating bosses, I could beat it without save states if I gave it another try.

The presentation is really nice. Environments are split between digital-hell-like dimensional rifts and big, chunky early 90's sci-fi laboratories, and it works great for the mood (and as a bit of a throwback to that era of sci-fi). The music is also fun and pumping, and it fits the action really well.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. If you have SNES Online and you passed this up (as I did) because of the ugly cover art and the fact that it's an action game from the ever unreliable Jaleco, this is a game absolutely deserving of a second glance. It's not super long, but for any retro action game fan, this will be a delightful afternoon with or without save states, and it's easily one of the best games exclusive to the SNES Online service (that meaning a game that the Super Famicom service doesn't have).