Astro Robo Sasa

Astro Robo Sasa is one of those early Famicom games that feels completely different once you understand its main idea. Released in Japan in 1985, the game puts you in control of a small robot named Sasa, who must travel through a series of dangerous areas while collecting valuable energy capsules. Developed by Mass Tael and published by ASCII, it was originally based on the MSX game Sasa.

The unusual part is that Sasa does not have a normal jump button. Instead, his plasma gun is also his method of transportation. Firing the weapon pushes Sasa in the opposite direction, allowing you to launch yourself through the air. Shooting repeatedly builds momentum, so moving around becomes a matter of understanding the recoil, gravity, and your own position. It sounds simple, but controlling Sasa accurately can take quite a bit of practice.

Each stage is essentially a compact single-screen challenge. Energy capsules are scattered around the area, sometimes hidden behind barriers that have to be destroyed. Every shot consumes energy, while collisions with enemies can drain even more. That creates an interesting balancing act: you need to fire enough to move and clear obstacles, but wasting shots can leave you without enough energy to finish the stage. Energy collected during one stage also carries over, making careful play important throughout the adventure.

Astro Robo Sasa contains 16 stages and moves through different environments, including open fields, warehouses, underwater areas, and outer space. Gravity changes between some sections, forcing you to rethink the way you control the robot. There is also two-player support, with the second player taking control of Nana and able to transfer energy to Sasa.

It may look primitive by later NES standards, but Astro Robo Sasa has a genuinely creative gameplay mechanic. The combination of shooting, movement, physics, and resource management makes it a fascinating early Famicom experiment and a great choice for players who enjoy unusual retro games.