Last Resort

Last Resort is an arcade shoot 'em up video game by SNK released in 1992. It was also released for the Neo-Geo and Neo Geo CD systems. Extremely difficult, its gameplay was heavily inspired by R-Type and its system of pod attached to the player's ship. Its first level remained memorable for its homage to the futuristic Neo-Tokyo depicted in the anime Akira.

A homage to this game also appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.

Story
In the year 2990 AD, the world's population rose to over 90 billion inhabitants. Over the years, the destructive air pollution and long-term combustion pertrolium had turned the land into a vast desert. The human began the desperate space emigration.

In the gigantic galaxy, permanent strong-holds and cities are being constructed. New light shines on the battle with space, "New Land," and the rebuilding of their battered society is near completion. But...

SOS! SOS!...

An urgent signal is traced. There appears to be a computer virus in the main computer of the third colony. By some weird science or alien influence, the computer has taken over and is removing the human occupants. The mobile machines, programmed to terminate human lifeforms have invaded the remaining colonies.

The battle-torn space veterans are defeated one by one, and become the made computer's soldiers. An unconscious and unheard shout into space...

"SOS! SOS!.."

The Last operation: LAST RESORT. Urgent! Red Alert!

Gameplay
Last Resort is an horizontally-scrolling shoot 'em up game, with its gameplay being very reminiscent of the R-Type series. The player is initially only equipped with a weak forward-firing gun, but can equip special weapons dropped by specific enemies. The main form of both offense and defense however comes from the Attack Unit, a spherical pod which rotates around the ship and moves in the opposite direction of the player movement. The Attack Unit blocks enemy fire and damages enemies on contact, with the player being able to both fix its position as well as launch it in a concentrated charged attack which causes heavy damage to enemies.

Fighters

 * TZ-024 (Player 1)
 * YS-024 (Player 2)

Minor Enemies

 * Lamella
 * Iron Claw
 * Gustav
 * Red Bug
 * Metal Bee
 * Turner
 * Castan
 * Bask

​Bosses

 * Brucken (Stage 1 Boss)
 * Trigun Arm (Stage 4 Boss)
 * King (Final Boss)

Critical Reception
Last Resort garnered positive reception from seven reviewers of Gamest during its 1992 AOU Show appearance. In Japan, Game Machine listed the game on their May 15, 1992 issue as being the thirteenth most popular arcade software at the time. RePlay also reported the game to be the sixteenth most-popular arcade game at the time. The title received generally positive reception from critics since its release in arcades and other platforms, with some comparing it with R-Type. Other reviewers also drew visual comparison with the 1988 film Akira.

Consoles Plus 's Marc Menier and Douglas of Consoles Plus praised the visual presentation, sound design, playability and longevity, regarding it as a referencial shoot 'em up for Neo Geo. Electronic Gaming Monthly 's four reviewers panned the Neo Geo AES version, commenting that it has impressive graphics and sounds but crippling slowdown and extremely short length, problems they found especially unforgivable given the console's powerful hardware and the cartridge's high price. Hobby Consolas ' Marcos García highly commended the graphics, music and two-player mode but criticized the lack of an additional stage and occasional slowdown during gameplay. Joypad 's Jean-François Morisse and Joystick 's Jean-Marc Demoly gave positive remarks to the graphics, sprite animations, sound and controls.

Player One 's Cyril Drevet stated that the power-up system was a mixture of R-Type and Forgotten Worlds and criticized the occurrence of slowdown during gameplay, comparing it with those of popular shoot 'em ups on the Super NES. However, Drevet nevertheless praised the visuals, sound, difficulty and longevity. Consolemania ' Davide Corrado commended the graphics, sound and playability but criticized its high difficulty level. Power Play 's Martin Gaksch regarded it as the best classic-style shooter since R-Type and its sequel for arcades and consoles, praising the title's ingenuity, audiovisual presentation, and action.

Ultimate Future Games reviewed the Neo Geo CD version and praised the graphically detailed sprites and stages, opera-style rave soundtrack, sound effects and action but criticized its short length. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment 's Andy Eddy criticized the occurrence of slowdown and flickering, short length and difficulty. Nintendo Life 's Damien McFerran compared its dark atmosphere with both R-Type and Armed Police Unit Gallop, praising its soundtrack and challenge, regarding it as one of the best shooters on Neo Geo but criticized the two-player mode for being broken and other aspects. In 2014, HobbyConsolas identified it as one of the twenty best games for the Neo Geo CD. Likewise, Time Extension also listed it as one of the best games for the Neo Geo.