Blaster Master

超惑星戦記メタファイト (Chō Wakusei Senki Metafight)NES, PlayStation, Wii, Nintendo 3DS +31988

  1. JP1988
  2. NA1988
  3. EU1991
  4. RUDendy

Blaster Master was released in Japan as Chō Wakusei Senki Metafight (超惑星戦記メタファイト) and kept the name Blaster Master in North America and Europe. The easiest legal way to play it today is the NES version on Nintendo Switch Online, which also offers a special 'SP' version.

Blaster Master was developed and published by Sunsoft. It came out on the Famicom in Japan as Chō Wakusei Senki Metafight in June 1988 and on the NES in North America that November. The player switches between driving the tank SOPHIA in side-scrolling sections and exploring on foot as its pilot in top-down areas, across eight non-linear levels. The music was composed by Naoki Kodaka.

The Western release changed the story completely. Sunsoft's American division asked for a new plot because anime-style storytelling was not yet popular in the West, and that request produced the tale of Jason and his frog Fred.

Reviewers praised the controls and the soundtrack but criticized the difficulty, the lack of passwords or saves and the limit of four continues. On 13 February 2019 a special 'SP' version starting near the climax was added to Nintendo Switch Online. Blaster Master Zero (2017) by Inti Creates is a separate reboot.12

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Blaster Master NES November 1988 Sunsoft 1
NA Blaster MasterVirtual Console Wii Dec 14, 2009 Sunsoft 1
NA Blaster MasterVirtual Console Nintendo 3DS Jul 24, 2014 Sunsoft 1
JP 超惑星戦記メタファイトChō Wakusei Senki Metafight NES Jun 17, 1988 Sunsoft 1
EU Blaster Master NES Apr 25, 1991 Sunsoft 1
JP Memorial Series Vol. 4Sunsoft Memorial Series, with Ripple Island PlayStation 2002 Sunsoft 1
JP 超惑星戦記メタファイトVirtual Console Wii Jun 29, 2010 Sunsoft 1
JP 超惑星戦記メタファイトVirtual Console Nintendo 3DS Sep 5, 2012 Sunsoft 1
WW Blaster MasterNintendo Switch Online NES library Switch Jan 16, 2019 Nintendo 3
None Sunsoft Collection 1Evercade cartridge Other September 2023 — 1

Also known as: 超惑星戦記メタファイト JP1Chō Wakusei Senki Metafight JP1Metafight JP1Бластер Мастер RU4

Box art by region

  • Blaster Master box art, North America release
    NA Blaster Master
  • Blaster Master box art, Europe release
    EU Blaster Master

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • TextNES (NA/EU)

    In Japan the story, found only in the manual, follows soldier Kane Gardner, who pilots the tank Metal Attacker against the Invem Dark Star Army on the planet Sophia the 3rd. The Western version instead has Jason following his pet frog Fred, mutated by a radioactive chest, into an underground world, and Sophia the 3rd becomes the name of the tank.1

  • GraphicsFamicomNES

    The opening and ending scenes are different in the Japanese and Western versions, down to the hero's hair color.2

Where to play legally today

  • Nintendo Switch Online Subscription

    Blaster Master (NES)

    NES version (plus an SP save-state version)

    Checked: 2026-10-135nintendolife.com

Reception

The game sold poorly in Japan but did well in the West: Electronic Gaming Monthly put it at number one in its first Top Ten, Famitsu gave it 32/40, and IGN later ranked it 22nd among NES games.1

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2ja.wikipedia.org
  3. 3gameinformer.com
  4. 4trashbox.ru
  5. 5nintendolife.com
  6. 6ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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