Space Griffon VF-9

Last updated
Space Griffon VF-9
PS1 Space Griffon VF-9 cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Panther Software
Publisher(s) Panther Software
Atlus USA (PS)
Producer(s) Kenji Satō
Designer(s) Reisuke Kanda
Programmer(s) Shingo Kozono
Takashi Sasaki
Artist(s) Ayabumi Shimamura
Hiroyuki Suzuki
Minoru Komatsubara
Writer(s) Kenji Kamio
Composer(s) Tetsuya Iizuka
Platform(s) PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation
  • JP: 27 January 1995 [1]
  • NA: 25 November 1995 [2]
Dreamcast
  • JP: 3 November 1999 [3]
Windows
  • JP: 8 December 2000
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

Space Griffon VF-9 [lower-alpha 1] is a video game developed by Panther Software for the PlayStation in 1995. An enhanced remake was released on the Dreamcast in 1999.

Contents

Gameplay

The player controls James "Jim" Billington (Codename: "Kid"), a mech pilot investigating a space colony on the Moon where something has gone wrong.

The game has typical mech game elements such as equipping items and character inventories. If Kid's life reaches zero, the game is over.

Plot

Setting

On October 17, 2148, Earth loses communications with the Moon's largest man made structure called HAMLET, a highly classified facility owned by conglomerate A-MAX Factories containing arms development, mining, exports and laboratory research for the military.  A-MAX sends in their own private military arm A-MAX Cleaners (AMC) to investigate the cause behind the incident.

Characters

Piloting VF mechs, the AMC team consists of Konrad Von Eibol (“Boss”), captain of the squad; Oreag Arnderson (“Killer”), the team's tough guy; Maria Hansfield (“Stormy”), a moody and quick tempered woman; Rauzein Shizevinov (“Bighorn”), a skilled mechanic and information backer; Mark Smiley (“Thief”), whose prized possession is a popular good luck charm called Lunar Tears; and James “Jim” Billington (“Kid”), the newest member of the team piloting the VF-9 Griffon which the player controls.

Story

Upon the team's arrival at HAMLET, they encounter no signs of life other than hostile guard robots, auto-noids and bio-organisms, including a large and intelligent bio-monster that frequently eludes them. A data disk containing a researcher's diary explains that a viral outbreak of research ordered by A-MAX caused infected individuals to attack non-infected ones, killing most of the residents including lead researcher Professor Mabel, who was absorbed by an organism. The virus also has the ability to reanimate the dead into zombies.

While the team explores the mines where Lunar Tears are extracted, Jim locates a crazed Smiley whose mind is now infected by the virus. When the bio-monster attacks, Oreag sacrifices himself by detonating his VF to defeat the creature; Smiley is caught in the blast. Jim and Konrad discover Francis Lakewood, a surviving researcher that is taken to medical to recover. Near Mabel's laboratory, Jim discovers a cryogenic sleep facility where he thaws out a young girl named Mary, the sister of Francis whom Mary warns not to trust. Francis's motives are later revealed: she intends to spread the virus to Earth in an act of revenge on A-MAX for confining the scientists to the facility to work on the virus.

Konrad, Maria and Jim ambush the bio-monster in a cross-fire, but Konrad is cornered and forfeits his life by ordering Jim and Maria to open fire and kill the creature. During Francis's interrogation, she recognizes Jim and Maria’s recent symptoms as signs of early infection. She notes that possession of Lunar Tears accelerates the process (explaining Smiley's rapid infection), which would be dire for an outbreak on Earth as Lunar Tears are a popular fad there. Convinced of the error of her ways, Francis agrees to help the team contain the outbreak and provides a vaccine that treats Jim and Maria’s infection.

Sensors discover that the bio-monster is still alive and evolves into a stronger form following a mitosis state; Francis explains that the organism assimilated with Mabel and assumed his identity and will to destroy Earth. Francis is critically injured while administering a weaponized vaccine to defeat the bio-monster / Mabel organism; Maria sedates her and places her into the cargo hold for transportation back to Earth. Still persisting, Mabel then sends a zombified Oreag and Smiley to attack Jim; the former is defeated by Jim while the latter is eliminated by Maria who dies in the confrontation.

Discovering that Mabel's weakness is fire, Jim and Rauzein plant a series of bombs on oxygen supply pipes to lure it into a trap. Rauzein shuts himself in with Mabel to take out the creature, ordering Jim and Mary to return to Earth without him. When Mary stops by her room before leaving, Rauzein breaks the wall down and reveals himself to be an android under control of AMC official Brigadier Lukesonoff. Brigadier orders Rauzein to wipe out all remaining survivors to conceal knowledge of A-MAX's activities within the facility; Jim disables Rauzein with his firearm and returns to the shuttle where Francis is resting.

Mabel reappears aboard a VF and attacks; Mary preps the shuttle for takeoff as Jim battles the bio-monster. Rauzein arrives and blows open Mabel's cockpit, leaving the organism vulnerable for a final defeat. Having regained control of his senses, Rauzein reveals he was aware of Brigadier's final programming all along and intended to die with the monster before his order could be executed against his will. Triggering the station for detonation to prevent further incident, Rauzein remains behind as Jim, Mary and Francis escape in the shuttle. As a commercial for Lunar Tears airs on the monitor in the cockpit, remains from the bio-monster are shown affixed to the VF Griffon, pulsating as the shuttle descends towards Earth.

Releases

Space Griffin VF-9 was released in a long box case and was localized in North America with both English vocals and English voice acting, but the vocals were cut before release, leaving a purely instrumental soundtrack. The Dreamcast version was a graphically enhanced remake which featured a heavier anime style and newly animated cutscenes; this version was released only in Japan. [4]

Reception

Space Griffon VF-9. [6] [7] [13] Readers of the Japanese Dreamcast Magazine voted to give the Dreamcast remake a 6.7209 out of 10 score, ranking at the number 350 spot, indicating a middling following. [15] Consoles +' François Garnier and Marc Menier reviewed the PlayStation original, praising the fast and fluid visuals, sound effects, and overall longevity compared to Kileak: The Blood . However, both Garnier and Menier noted that the player must get used to the game's combat management, while they also felt the music was not varied enough and expressed disappointment with its presentation. [5] GameFan 's three writers reviewed the PlayStation release, commending its intriguing storyline, roleplaying-esque action gameplay, 3D graphics, the ability to transform on the fly, and English translation. Nevertheless, they noted the lack of in-game music and found its monocromatic environments repetitive. [8] VideoGames magazine also analyzed the PlayStation version, comparing the game with both Kileak and Robotica (1995), finding the visuals to be crisp but bland and its movement average. [14] Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation original as well, calling it "A nice idea. Badly done." [11]

Video Games' Jan Schweinitz gave mixed thoughts when reviewing the PlayStation original regarding its visuals and gameplay, but negatively noted the lack of music during gameplay. [12] In their brief review of the PlayStation release, GamePro stated that "Respectable graphics and sounds fashion convincing sci-fi environments, and your cool mech suit fights viciously. Space Griffon's addictive, intriguing combination of mech combat and strategic exploration isn't for everyone, though." [16] Reviewing the PlayStation version, IGN compared the game unfavorably with Doom , criticizing its slow action. [10] Writing for IGN, Colin Williamson reviewed the Dreamcast remake and was critical of its underwhelming plot, monotonous level design and thick fog covering the areas. [9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: スペース グリフォン VF-9, Hepburn: Supēsu Gurifon VF - 9

Related Research Articles

<i>ChuChu Rocket!</i> 1999 video game

ChuChu Rocket! is a 1999 action puzzle game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The objective is for the player to place arrows on a board to lead mice into escape rockets while avoiding cats. The game features single-player modes in which a player must save all the mice on a board, and a multiplayer mode in which players battle to collect the most mice.

<i>Tech Romancer</i> 1998 video game

Tech Romancer is a 1998 3D fighting arcade game by Capcom that draws heavily from the various subgenres of mecha anime. It was later ported to the Dreamcast console. The player controls a giant robot which is used to fight another robot in one-on-one combat. Studio Nue designed the robots in this game.

<i>Flag to Flag</i> 1999 video game

CART: Flag to Flag, known as Super Speed Racing in Japan, is a racing video game developed by ZOOM Inc. and published by Sega for the Dreamcast console.

<i>Millennium Soldier: Expendable</i> 1999 video game

Millennium Soldier: Expendable, known in Japan as Seitai Heiki Expendable, and in North America as just Expendable, is a run and gun video game that was released by Rage Software for Microsoft Windows in 1999. It was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation consoles. A remake of the game, entitled Expendable: Rearmed, was released for Android in 2012. It is in the format of a modern arcade game. The player starts with 7 "credits" and can continue until running out of credits. A second player can join the game at any time by pressing start.

<i>Giga Wing</i> 1999 Video game

Giga Wing is a 1999 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Takumi Corporation and published by Capcom on their CPS-2 arcade system board and ported later that year to the Dreamcast console. The arcade version is notable for using a horizontally aligned monitor, something that is considered rare for a vertical shooter. The Dreamcast version had been scheduled to be released in the U.S. in April 2000, before it was delayed to July 18, 2000.

<i>Virtua Tennis 2</i> 2001 sports video game

Virtua Tennis 2, known as Tennis 2K2 in North America and Power Smash 2 in Japan, is a sequel to Virtua Tennis that was released for the Sega Dreamcast, Sega NAOMI arcade unit and Sony's PlayStation 2 in 2001–2002. New features included the ability to slice and play as female players such as Monica Seles, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport and the males such as Patrick Rafter, Magnus Norman, Thomas Enqvist and Carlos Moyá and mixed doubles matches. The game was created and produced by Hitmaker, with Acclaim Entertainment publishing it in Europe for the PS2. This was the last Virtua Tennis game to be released for the Dreamcast following its discontinuation.

<i>MDK2</i> 2000 video game

MDK2 is a 2000 third-person shooter, action-adventure video game developed by BioWare and published by Interplay Entertainment for the Dreamcast, Windows and PlayStation 2. It is a sequel to the 1997 game MDK. First released for the Dreamcast in March 2000, it was later released for Windows in May, with newly selectable difficulty levels and the ability to manually save. In March 2001, a slightly reworked version, featuring level design modifications and gameplay tweaks, was released for the PlayStation 2 as MDK 2: Armageddon. The PC version was released on GOG.com in September 2008, and on Steam in September 2009. A port of the PlayStation 2 version was released for Wii via WiiWare in 2011. Also in 2011, a HD remastered version was released for Windows. Called MDK2 HD, this version features new 3D models, textures, improved lighting, and remastered music, and was released on Beamdog in October, and on Steam in July 2012.

<i>NFL 2K2</i> 2001 video game

NFL 2K2 is a 2001 video game for Dreamcast by Sega and developed by Visual Concepts. It is the last game for the Sega Dreamcast in the series after being discontinued before Sega shifted to a third party publisher. Because of this shift, it was released later for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is also the first Xbox game published by Sega, and the last game in the NFL 2K series to feature Randy Moss as a cover athlete.

<i>Dead or Alive 2</i> 1999 Video game

Dead or Alive 2 is a 1999 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo. It debuted in arcades in 1999 and was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 home systems in 2000. It is the second main entry in the Dead or Alive fighting series. Several enhanced editions of the game were released, including the updates Dead or Alive 2 Millennium and Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore.

<i>Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram</i> 1999 video game

Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram is a 1998 arcade action game from Sega, a 3D fighting game where the player assumes control of a giant humanoid robot. It was developed initially on the Sega Model 3 arcade hardware and an updated version (Ver.5.4/5.45) was ported to the Dreamcast home console in 1999 and in North America in 2000. A third update (Ver.5.66) was developed on the NAOMI board in 2000 and was ported later in 2009 worldwide for Xbox 360. Ortario Tangram is part of the Virtual On series and is the sequel to Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (1995); it was followed by the Japan-exclusive Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force (2001).

<i>Sega GT</i> 2000 video game

Sega GT, released in Japan as Sega GT: Homologation Special, is a sim racing video game co-developed by Wow Entertainment and TOSE, and published by Sega for their Dreamcast home console. The game was released in 2000. A Microsoft Windows version was published the following year—in Japan by Sega, in North America by Activision Value, and in Europe by Empire Interactive.

<i>AeroWings</i> 1999 video game

AeroWings, known in Japan as Aero Dancing featuring Blue Impulse, is a flight simulator for Sega's Dreamcast video game console. The player can train with squads, learn the ropes of handling the aircraft, and doing tricks after mastering the different stunts.

<i>Super Robot Wars Alpha</i> 2000s video game

Super Robot Taisen Alpha, known as Super Robot Wars Alpha outside Japan, is a 2000 tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Banpresto for the PlayStation. A version for the Dreamcast, Super Robot Wars for Dreamcast, was released a year later.

<i>Seventh Cross: Evolution</i> 1998 video game

Seventh Cross: Evolution, known in Japan as simply Seventh Cross, is a video game for the Sega Dreamcast video game console. It was released in Japan on December 23, 1998. A sequel titled Ninth Will was announced shortly after the game's North American release, but it was apparently cancelled.

<i>Hundred Swords</i> 2001 video game

Hundred Swords is a real-time strategy video game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega in Japan for the Dreamcast and on the PC in the US by Activision Value. The PC release was compatible with Windows 95, 98, and Me.

<i>Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower</i> 2000 video game

Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, known in Japan as Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, is a fighting game by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable. It was released on December 11, 2004, alongside the PSP at launch in Japan, and was also a launch title in North America and PAL regions in 2005. It is a port of the Japan-only Dreamcast game Vampire Chronicle for Matching Service, which in turn is a title that allows players to choose their fighting style from all five Darkstalkers/Vampire arcade games that were released in the 1990s.

Takeshi Miyaji was a Japanese video game developer who founded the development companies Game Arts and G-Mode. He was best known as the creator of the Silpheed, GunGriffon, Lunar and Grandia video game series. His work on the Lunar and Grandia series in particular had a major influence on the development of role-playing video games. He was the younger brother of Game Arts' CEO Yoichi Miyaji.

Panther Software (パンサーソフトウェア) is a Japanese video game and software company. Founded in 1987 as Panther Studios Ltd., the company changed its name to Panther Software in 1991. They produced video games for the MSX, Sharp X68000, PlayStation, Dreamcast and Xbox.

<i>UEFA Striker</i> 1999 video game

UEFA Striker, known in North America as Striker Pro 2000, is a sports video game developed by Rage Software and published by Infogrames in 1999-2000. It is the final game in the Striker series following the cancellation of its sequel, UEFA 2001, the following year.

<i>Charge n Blast</i> 2000 shooter video game

Charge 'n Blast is a video game developed by Sims for Dreamcast in 2000.

References

  1. ↑ "PlayStation Soft > 1994-1995". GAME Data Room. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  2. ↑ "Sony PlayStation Available Software sorted by Release Date @ www.vidgames.com". 1998-06-11. Archived from the original on 1998-06-11. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  3. ↑ "Dreamcast Soft > 1998-1999". GAME Data Room. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  4. ↑ "［SEGA］家庭用ソフト：ソフトデータベース：ドリームキャスト：発売ソフト検索：蒼鋼の騎兵 -SPACE GRIFFON- | ドリームキャスト | 家庭用ゲーム | セガ 製品情報" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2014-08-06. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  5. 1 2 Garnier, François; Menier, Marc (March 1995). "CD+ - PlayStation Review: Space Griffon VF-9". Consoles +  [ fr ] (in French). No. 41. EM-Images SA. pp. 122–123.
  6. 1 2 "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: 蒼鋼の騎兵 -SPACE GRIFFON- (ドリームキャスト)". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 569. ASCII Corporation. November 12, 1999. p. 30.
  7. 1 2 "PlayStation Reviews: Space Griffon VF-9". Game Informer . No. 33. Sunrine Publications. January 1996.
  8. 1 2 Rickards, Kelly; Des Barres, Nicholas; Halverson, Dave (November 1995). "Viewpoint: Space Griffon (PlayStation); PlayStation Nation: Black Fire". GameFan . Vol. 3, no. 11. Metropolis Media. pp. 21, 33.
  9. 1 2 Williamson, Colin (November 13, 1999). "Space Griffon — MechWarrior meets Doom in this wretched abomination of gameplay. This is why the DC has a bad rep". IGN . IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2005-12-14. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  10. 1 2 "Space Griffon — It's just like Doom, only not fun". IGN . Ziff Davis. November 26, 1996. Archived from the original on 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  11. 1 2 "Finals - PlayStation: Space Griffon". Next Generation . No. 14. Imagine Media. February 1996. p. 157.
  12. 1 2 Schweinitz, Jan (February 1996). "Reviews - Sony PlayStation: Oiner isch ämmr dr A... - Space Griffon". Video Games  [ de ] (in German). No. 51. Magna Media. p. 75.
  13. 1 2 "Weekly Dreamcast Soft Review: 蒼鋼の騎兵 -SPACE GRIFFON- (スペース グリフォン)". Dreamcast Magazine (in Japanese). No. 41. SoftBank Creative. November 12, 1999. p. 20.
  14. 1 2 "Reviews - PlayStation: Space Griffon". VideoGames . No. 84. Larry Flynt Publications. January 1996. p. 81.
  15. ↑ "ドリマガ 読者しース (Part2) for ドリームキャスト (期開限定)". Dorimaga (in Japanese). No. 36. SoftBank Creative. 11 October 2002. pp. 30–33.
  16. ↑ "Quick Hits: Space Griffon (PlayStation)". GamePro . No. 91. IDG. April 1996. p. 88.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.