Hellfire | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Toaplan |
Publisher(s) | |
Designer(s) | Yuko Tataka |
Artist(s) | Kōetsu Iwabuchi |
Composer(s) | Tatsuya Uemura |
Platform(s) | Arcade, PC Engine CD-ROM², Genesis |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, co-op |
Hellfire [lower-alpha 1] 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. [1] 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.
Conceived by Tatsuya Uemura during his time working at Toaplan and developed in conjunction with Truxton , Hellfire served as an experiment to translate the company's shoot 'em up gameplay style in a horizontal format but faced a problematic development cycle and went through various changes before its eventual launch to the market. Initially launched for the arcades, the game was then ported to the Sega Genesis by NCS Corporation and published worldwide by Masaya, Seismic, Tectoy and Sega between 1990 and 1992, while a PC Engine CD-ROM² conversion by NEC Avenue was also published exclusively in Japan on 12 April 1991. Each version of the title features various additions and changes compared with the original release.
Hellfire was met with positive reception from video game magazines since its release in arcades, though some critics drew comparison with Irem's R-Type due to its gameplay style. The Genesis port was also met with positive response from reviewers, while the PC Engine CD-ROM² was received with similar response. Its engine would later be repurposed into Zero Wing . As of 2019, the rights to the title is owned by Tatsujin, a company founded in 2017 by former Toaplan member Masahiro Yuge and now-affiliate of Japanese arcade manufacturer exA-Arcadia alongside many other Toaplan IPs.
Hellfire is a science fiction-themed horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up game, where players assume the role of Captain Lancer taking control of the CNCS1 space fighter craft through six increasingly difficult levels, each with a boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further, in a surprise attack effort to overthrow Super Mech, his army and the Black Nebula space matter as the main objective. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] As far as horizontal scrolling shooters go, the title initially appears to be very standard, as players control their craft over a constantly scrolling background and the scenery never stops moving until the stage boss is reached. [4] [6]
A unique gameplay feature is the weapon system; [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] players are equipped with four main weapons at the beginning that can be upgraded by picking up "P" icons and switch between them by pressing the change button, with each one shooting at a fixed direction no matter which way players move. Other items can also be picked up along the way such as speed increasers and "B" icons that grants a number of points, which are crucial for reaching high-scores to obtain extra lives. [2] [4] [5] [6] The Genesis version introduces the titular main weapon as a bomb capable of obliterating any enemy caught within its blast radius, as well as a shield and a satellite "option". [4] [6] [7]
Depending on the settings in the arcade version, the title uses either a checkpoint system in which a downed single player will start off at the beginning of the checkpoint they managed to reach before dying, or a respawn system where their ship immediately starts at the location they died at. [6] Getting hit by enemy fire or colliding against solid stage obstacles will result in losing a life, as well as a penalty of decreasing the ship's firepower and speed to his original state and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless the players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing. Although there is an ending, the game loops back to the first stage after completing the last stage as with previous titles from Toaplan, with each one increasing the difficulty and enemies fire denser bullet patterns.
The plot summary of Hellfire varies between each version. [2] [4] [6] The story takes place in 2998, where humankind has reached a great point in intergalactic travel and space colonization with the help of a peaceful society, however a mysterious space matter known as Black Nebula appeared and begins engulfing different stars before reaching latest colonized galaxy by humans. It is eventually revealed that the force behind this matter is Super Mech, a mysterious robot dictator from the farthest regions of space with the only intention to destroy any resistance that it and its massive space armada faces. A Space Federation member, Captain Lancer, decides to initiate a surprise attack against Super Mech by piloting the only available space fighter craft, the CNCS1, loaded with Hellfire, the strongest weapon available in the galaxy. In the arcade and Genesis versions, Lancer returns safely to Earth after having defeated the Black Nebula, while the PC Engine CD-ROM² version features a more poignant ending where the character Kaoru takes her own life in a heroic act of self-sacrifice in order to save the Earth.
Hellfire's creation was helmed by Tatsuya Uemura, former video game composer whose previous development works at Toaplan included Tiger-Heli , Flying Shark and Twin Cobra , becoming his first original project under the role of both producer and composer. [8] [9] [10] [11] Serving as their first horizontal shoot 'em up game, the project was developed in conjunction with Truxton as an experiment to translate Toaplan's vertical shoot 'em up gameplay in a Gradius -style format, however the team faced several issues during the development cycle due to lack of experience, among other factors. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Uemura and members of the team struggled with various aspects of designing a horizontal shoot 'em up title that proved to be frustrating for them like the terrain and collision detection, as their previous experience with vertical shoot 'em up did not carried over a horizontal format. [9] [10] [11] [12] Artist Kōetsu Iwabuchi, who previously worked on Twin Cobra, was responsible for the artwork, stating in a 1990 interview with Gamest that he had no limitation when creating the designs. [13] Uemura also requested for the project to have a puzzle element to be integrated. [9] [11] Both the single-player and co-op versions were also created from the beginning of development due to pressure to make two-player games at the time. [12] Despite the difficulties and changes during the creation process, the team managed to finish the project. [12]
The Sega Genesis version of Hellfire was developed by most of the same staff from the original arcade release. [9] [14] [15] In a 1990 interview with Japanese game magazine Beep! MegaDrive, designer Yuko Tataka stated that working with the Genesis proved to be equally difficult due to restrictions imposed by the hardware. [14] The PC Engine CD-ROM² conversion was solely developed by NEC Avenue. [9] [11]
Hellfire was released in arcades across Japan and North America in October 1989 by Taito and U.S.A. Games, becoming one of first releases from Toaplan to prominently feature their name in public. [12] [1] On 25 June 1989, an album containing music from the title and other Toaplan games was published exclusively in Japan by Datam Polystar. [16] [17]
On 28 September 1990, Hellfire was ported to the Sega Genesis by NCS Corporation and first released in Japan by Masaya. [18] It was then released in North America by Seismic on November of the same year, while Tectoy and Sega also distributed the title across Brazil and Europe respectively. [19] Both the original arcade version and the later Genesis port are similar but have a number of key differences between each other such as the latter having a smaller color palette and lower screen resolution that led to sprites being recolored and the graphics redrawn in different ways, an arranged soundtrack, new items, among other changes. [6] The Genesis port was later re-released by independent publisher Retro-Bit in 2020. [20]
On 12 April 1991, a version developed by NEC Avenue for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² was released under the name Hellfire S, [lower-alpha 2] containing notable differences from the other versions, including a remixed, more orchestral soundtrack, animated cutscenes and the replacement of the leading male character Lancer with a female character called Kaoru (voiced by seiyū Yumi Tōma). [6] [21] [22]
In Japan, Game Machine listed Hellfire on their June 15, 1989 issue as being the fourteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles such as Wrestle War and Strider . [63] Den of Geek noted it to be "a rare foray into the world of horizontally-scrolling shooters" for Toaplan. [64] The Genesis version was well received. [65] MegaTech magazine said it was "a slick and very good looking blaster which oozes playability". Mega placed the game at #4 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time. [62]
After the initial release of Hellfire in arcades, Toaplan would go on to develop their second and last horizontal shoot 'em up project Zero Wing, which was released during the same year and shared the same game engine. [9] [11] In more recent years, 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 former Toaplan employee Masahiro Yuge, who are now affiliated with arcade manufacturer exA-Arcadia. [66] [67] [68] [69] [70]
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.
Out Zone is a run and gun arcade video game developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Tecmo, North America by Romstar and Europe in August 1990. Set in a future where an alien race from the fictional planet Owagira are threatening to wipe out humanity after multiple failed attempts to defend Earth against their attacks, players assume the role of cyborg mercenaries recruited by the United Nations in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the invaders.
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.
Snow Bros. is a 1990 platform arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan first published in Japan, then in North America by Romstar and later in Europe. Starring the eponymous snowmen twins Nick and Tom, players are tasked with travelling through 50 stages, throwing and building snowballs, jumping on and off platforms to navigate level obstacles while dodging and defeating monsters in order to rescue the princesses Puripuri and Puchipuchi from captivity. Although first launched in arcades, the game was later ported across multiple platforms, each one being created by different third-party developers and featuring several changes or additions compared with the original version. Conversions for various microcomputers were in development but none were officially released to the public.
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.
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.
Grind Stormer 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.
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 a revenge attempt to overthrow the invaders and free the surviving colonists after their comrade 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.
{{cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (help)