Grind Stormer | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Toaplan |
Publisher(s) | Toaplan |
Director(s) | Kenichi Takano |
Programmer(s) | Seiji Iwakura Tsuneki Ikeda |
Artist(s) | Mikio Yamaguchi Yusuke Naora |
Composer(s) | Masahiro Yuge |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Genesis |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Grind Stormer [lower-alpha 1] is a 1993 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and North America. It is considered to be the spiritual successor to Slap Fight . Based around a video game within a video game concept, players assume the role of a young secret agent assigned by the government taking control of the NA-00 space fighter craft in an attempt to defeat the titular virtual reality simulator, rescue the abducted players who lost against it and unveil its true purpose.
Headed by DonPachi producer Kenichi Takano, Grind Stormer was created by a small development team of new employees at Toaplan who would later go on to work at one of its offshoots after the company declared bankruptcy in 1994 and was originally titled Bakuretsu Wing before being ultimately renamed to V・V in Japan. It is notable for marking the debut of Cave co-founder Tsuneki Ikeda in the video game industry, serving as one of its programmers and features a much smaller hitbox for the ship compared with previous shoot 'em up games released at the time. It is also notable for being one of the last games by Toaplan to feature an FM soundtrack, as the company began to clear out their FM chip inventory. Initially launched for the arcades, the game was later ported to the Sega Genesis by Tengen and first published in Japan on 25 March 1994 and a month later in North America, featuring both the original Japanese and North American versions as selectable gameplay modes.
Grind Stormer proved to be popular in arcades but the game has been met with mixed reception from critics and reviewers alike since its release on the Genesis, who felt divided in regards to several aspects such as the presentation, visuals, sound design and gameplay. It has been regarded by some to be an early example of a manic shooter. As of 2019, its rights are owned by Tatsujin, a company founded in 2017 by former Toaplan member Masahiro Yuge alongside many other Toaplan IPs.
Grind Stormer is a science fiction-themed vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game where players assume the role of a young secret agent assigned by the government taking control of the NA-00 space fighter craft through six stages in an effort to defeat the titular VR game, rescue the abducted players who lost against it and unveil its true purpose as the main objective. As far as vertical scrolling shooters go, the game initially appears to be very standard but the power-up and scoring systems change depending on the version being played; [1] [2] [3] [4] In Grind Stormer, players have the normal weapon layout with instant power-ups and bomb icons. This version also has speed-up icons as well as speed-down icons, and higher value point items. In V・V, however, the players collect gems that allow them to choose between multiple weapons through a power meter system reminiscent of Gradius and Slap Fight instead, removing the bombs and weapon icons completely. This version also has a shield power-up not featured in the former version as well.
Each version of the game features three types of weapons to choose from: [1] [2] [3] Shot, Search and Missile. Shot is the standard vulcan weapon players start with at the beginning and can fire in different directions depending on their arrangement, however the ship's firepower increases into one large beam when the options are focused and held on at close range. Search is a satellite-only weapon that turns the options into homing devices that seek out any enemies on the screen (even if they were invulnerable), and changes the ship's color into light violet once equipped. Missile, as the name implies, fires non-homing rockets with a high firing rate and power, while the options follow the ship in the "snake" or "shadow" style, though the item will turn the ship's color into blue once equipped.
In some occasions, players can pick up point icons that constantly changes its value as well as a 1UP icon. Similar to Dogyuun and Gun Frontier , the game hosts a number of hidden bonus secrets to be found, which is also crucial for reaching high-scores to obtain extra lives. The title uses a checkpoint system in which a downed single player will start off at the beginning of the checkpoint they managed to reach before dying. Getting hit by enemy fire or colliding against solid stage obstacles will result in losing a live, as well as a penalty of decreasing the ship's firepower to its original state and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless the player insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing. As with previous shoot 'em ups from Toaplan, the game loops back to the first stage after completing the last stage, with the second loop increasing in difficulty and enemies fire denser bullet patterns as well as spawning extra bullets when destroyed (sometimes called 'suicide bullets' or 'ricochet effect'). Defeating the second loop results in achieving the true ending.
The plot summary of Grind Stormer varies between each version. In the original arcade versions, the game is based around a video game within a video game concept and takes place in the year 2210, where 'the ultimate arcade machine' called Grind Stormer/V・V has finally been released to the public. A VR shooting game, it became so addictive that the government assigned a young secret agent to investigate the arcade phenomenon in order to question its true purpose and to perform the impossible: to beat the game by taking control of the NA-00 space fighter craft, as those who played and lost against it were abducted as a result. [2] [3] In the Sega Genesis version, players assume the role of the last surviving Terran Defense Force fighter pilot taking control of the titular fighter craft in order repel an alien race known as the Zeta Reticulli from invading Earth. [1] [5] [6]
Grind Stormer was created by a small team of new employees at Toaplan, who would later go on to work at one of its offshoots after the company declared bankruptcy in 1994, and was originally titled Bakuretsu Wing before being ultimately renamed to V・V in Japan. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Its development was helmed by director Kenichi Takano, with artists Mikio Yamaguchi and Yusuke Naora acting as graphic designers, while composer Masahiro Yuge wrote the soundtrack. [7] [12] [13] Guardian and Twin Cobra artist Kōetsu Iwabuchi also served as the project's planning manager. [14]
Cave co-founder Tsuneki Ikeda served as one of the game's programmers in his first video game role prior to Batsugun and DonPachi alongside Seiji Iwakura and he has recounted about Grind Stormer's development process in various interviews across publications such as Monthly Arcadia . [7] [15] [16] Ikeda stated that the project was conceived as a "training exercise" for the small team, as they received a sample game program containing basic elements from the shoot 'em up genre to work with, which served as a basis to add other elements and Ikeda claimed that the project was pitched as a spiritual successor to Slap Fight. [15] [16] However, he stated that the sample program contained a smaller hitbox for the ship and went unnoticed as the team proceeded on making the game. [15] During initial testings at Toaplan, one of the company's senior programmers gave positive feedback in regards to bullet dodging due to the small hitbox and considered it to be better than Truxton II , encouraging Ikeda and the team to work with the format. [15] When developing the game, Ikeda was influenced by Salamander . [15]
Yuge taught to the new development crew technical guidance so he could let them develop much of the project on their own and he has since stated on interviews that the reason for composing the soundtrack in FM rather than both it and PCM as with Truxton II was due to the company beginning to clear out their FM chip inventory for business reasons in order to keep PCB manufacturing costs low, despite internal conflicts and served as one of the last releases by Toaplan to feature an FM soundtrack. [17] [18] Yuge also worked under a 128 kilobytes memory limit for the sound driver, prompting him to come up with programming tricks to overcome such limit. [17]
Grind Stormer was first released on arcades across Japan and North America in 1993. [19] The same year on 21 May, an album was co-published exclusively in Japan by Scitron and Pony Canyon. [20] It was featured on a Japanese TV show. [17]
Grind Stormer later received a conversion to the Sega Genesis by Tengen and was first published in Japan on 25 March 1994 and later in North America on April of the same year. [21] [22] The Genesis port included both the Japanese (V・V) and North American (Grind Stormer) versions as a 2-in-1 package but has a number of key differences such as having a smaller color palette that lead to sprites being recolored in different ways, along with other presentation and gameplay changes from the original arcade releases. [3] [4] [1] The North American release has since become one of the more expensive titles on the platform, due to manufacturing errors that resulted in a defective cartridge print run as a result, with copies of the port fetching over US$160 on the secondary video game collecting market. [3] [4] [23]
In 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically-oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console. [24]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | (Genesis) 60% [25] |
Publication | Score |
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Electronic Gaming Monthly | (Genesis) 27 / 40 [26] |
GamePro | (Genesis) 15 / 20 [5] |
Beep! Mega Drive | (Genesis) 7.0 / 10 [27] |
Gamest | (Arcade) 37/50 [28] |
Game Players | (Genesis) 58% [6] |
Joypad | (Genesis) 68% [29] |
MAN!AC | (Genesis) 67% [30] |
Mean Machines Sega | (Genesis) 82 / 100 [31] |
Mega | (Genesis) 39% [32] |
Megablast | (Genesis) 78% [33] |
Mega Fun | (Genesis) 61% [34] |
MegaTech | (Genesis) 54% [35] |
PlayStation Magazine (JP) | (Genesis) 22.3/30 [36] |
Power Unlimited | (Genesis) 80 / 100 [37] |
Sega Power | (Genesis) 27% [38] |
Sega Pro | (Genesis) 57 / 100 [39] |
Video Games | (Genesis) 65% [40] |
Publication | Award |
---|---|
Gamest Mook (1998) | Best Shooting Award 4th Annual Hit Game 30th (Arcade) [41] |
In Japan, Game Machine listed Grind Stormer on their April 15, 1993 issue as being the eighth most-popular arcade game at the time. [42] GamesMaster noted its "fast and furious" action. [43] According to Masahiro Yuge, Grind Stormer proved to be popular in arcades and exceeded the company's expectations. [5] [18] Den of Geek noted it to be one of the titles from Toaplan which intensively pushed the formula established by their previous endeavors. [44] Time Extension noted the game as historically significant to the evolution of the bullet hell format. [45]
Reviewing the Genesis version, [4] GamePro remarked that despite being not technologically innovative as Star Fox , they ultimately called Grind Stormer a colorful and fun game. [5]
Grind Stormer has been regarded by some retrospective reviewers to be an early example of a manic shooter. [3] [4] The rights to the game and many other IPs from Toaplan are now owned by Tatsujin, a company named after Truxton 's Japanese title that was founded in 2017 by Yuge, and is part of Embracer Group since 2022. [46] [47] [48]
Zero Wing is a 1989 side-scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Toaplan and originally published in Japan by Namco and in North America by Williams Electronics. Controlling the ZIG space fighter craft, players assume the role of protagonist Trent in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the alien cyborg CATS. It was the eighth shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their fourteenth video game overall.
Toaplan Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo responsible for the creation of a wide array of scrolling shooters and other arcade video games. The company was founded in 1979 but its gaming division was established in 1984 by former Orca and Crux employees, who wanted to make games, after both companies declared bankruptcy. Their first shoot 'em up game, Tiger-Heli (1985) on arcades, was a success and helped establish Toaplan as a leading producer of shooting games throughout the 1980s and 1990s that would continue to characterize their output.
Tiger-Heli is a vertically scrolling shooter game developed by Toaplan and released for arcades in 1985. It was published in Japan by Taito and in North America by Romstar. Controlling the titular attack helicopter, the player must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. The Tiger-Heli has a powerful bomb at its disposal that can clear the screen of enemies when fired. It was the first shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their third video game overall.
Twin Cobra, known as Kyukyoku Tiger in Japan, is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Toaplan and released for arcades in 1987 by Taito in Japan and Europe, then in North America by Romstar. It is a sequel to the 1985 arcade game Tiger-Heli. Controlling the titular attack helicopter, the players must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. It was the fourth shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their tenth video game overall. It was ported to multiple platforms, with each done by different third-party developers that made several changes or additions.
Flying Shark, known as Sky Shark in North America, is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in 1987 by Taito in Japan, Romstar in North America and Electrocoin in Europe. Controlling the titular biplane, the players must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. The plane has a powerful bomb at its disposal that can clear a portion of the screen of bullets and damage enemies when fired. It was the third shoot 'em up game from Toaplan, and their eighth video game overall.
Truxton is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan and Europe by Taito, as well as in North America by Midway. Set in a future where the Gidans alien race led by Dogurava invaded the fictional planet Borogo, players assume the role of fighter pilot Tatsuo taking control of the Super Fighter ship on a last-ditch effort to overthrow the alien invaders.
Batsugun is a 1993 vertically scrolling bullet hell arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe by Taito, as well as Korea by Unite Trading. The last shoot 'em up created by Toaplan, the title takes place on a distant Earth-like planet where a global takeover operative led by king Renoselva A. Gladebaran VII is set into motion, as players assume the role from one of the six fighter pilots conforming the Skull Hornets squadron taking control of submersible jets in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the invading military force from the planet. Its gameplay mainly consists of shooting mixed with role-playing game-esque elements using a main two-button configuration.
Demon's World is a 1989 run and gun arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and in North America by Catalina Games. In the game, players assume the role of two ghost hunters to fight against several ghosts and monsters that were unleashed upon Earth by the titular demon king. Initially launched for the arcades, the title was then ported to the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² by NEC Avenue and published exclusively in Japan on 26 February 1993, featuring various additions and changes compared with the original release.
Teki Paki is a 1991 puzzle arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Tecmo, Hong Kong by Honest Trading Co. and Taiwan by Spacy Co. Ltd.
Rally Bike is a racing arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published by Taito in May 1988. In Rally Bike, players compete against computer-controlled opponents in races across locations in the United States. Initially released in arcades, the game was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and X68000 by different developers.
Hellfire is a 1989 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and North America by U.S.A. Games. The first horizontal shoot 'em up title to be created by Toaplan, the game takes place in the year 2998 where a space matter known as Black Nebula created by robot dictator Super Mech spreads and threatens to engulf human-controlled galaxies, as players assume the role of Space Federation member Captain Lancer taking control of the CNCS1 space fighter craft in a surprise attack to overthrow the enemies with the fighter craft's titular weapon.
Wardner is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Toaplan and published in arcades worldwide by Taito in 1987.
Slap Fight is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published by Taito. Set on the colonized fictional planet of Theron in the future, where an alien race led by Gaudy have invaded the human-controlled location, players assume the role of an Allied League of Cosmic Nations (ALCON) fighter pilot taking control of the SW475 space fighter craft in an effort to counterattack the invaders. Initially launched for the arcades, the game was later ported to other microcomputer and console platforms by various third-party developers, with each one featuring several changes or additions compared to the original release.
Fire Shark is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe, and by Romstar in North America. It is the sequel to Flying Shark, a game released in 1987 on multiple platforms. Set in the year 1991, the game focuses on a mysterious armada launching a worldwide attack from a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. Players take control of the titular biplane to counterattack the enemy forces.
Twin Hawk is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published by Taito. Taking place at the end of an alternative World War II setting, where general Giovanni and his army plots to take over the fictional country Gorongo, players assume the role of a wing commander from the Daisenpū squadron taking control of a Flying Fortress fighter aircraft in an effort to overthrow the enemy.
Truxton II is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe. It is the sequel to Truxton, which was released earlier on arcades in 1988 and later ported to various platforms.
Knuckle Bash is a 1993 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan in Japan, as well as North America and Europe by Atari Games. It is notable for being one of the few titles by Toaplan that has not received any official port to home consoles as of date.
Dogyuun is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan. Set on the colonized fictional planet of Dino in the future, where an alien race of metallic robots have invaded a police communication center and held its inhabitants as hostages, players assume the role of two fighter pilots taking control of the Sylfers bomber space fighter crafts in an revenge attempt to overthrow the invaders and free the surviving colonists after one of their comrades is killed by one of them during a reconnaissance assignment.
Guardian is a 1986 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and North America by Kitkorp. In the game, players assume the role of a robot fighting against a multitude of enemies and bosses across six locations on a futuristic science fiction setting. It is notable for marking the debut of Twin Cobra and Hellfire artist Kōetsu Iwabuchi in the video game industry, serving as its graphic designer.
Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves is a 1994 platform arcade video game developed and published by Toaplan under their Hanafram label. One of the last games to be created by Toaplan, it is the sequel to Snow Bros., which was released earlier in 1990 on multiple platforms. In the game, players assume the role of one of the playable characters to rescue a kidnapped princess from captivity.
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