Verytex

Last updated
Verytex
Verytex cover.jpg
Developer(s) Opera House [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Asmik Ace Entertainment
Producer(s) Toshiyuki Futamura
Designer(s) Hidefumi Ohara
Satoru Ichihara
Shinji Nakamura
Programmer(s) Hideki Tanji
Hiroyuki Fujiwara
Satoru Miki
Artist(s) Atsuhiro Gunji
Hiroshi Akagi
Ken Takagi
Composer(s) Hitoshi Sakimoto
Masaharu Iwata
Yoshio Furukawa
Platform(s) Mega Drive
Release
  • JP: 5 April 1991
Genre(s) Scrolling shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

Verytex [lower-alpha 2] is a vertically scrolling shooter video game developed by Opera House, with the assistance of ISCO, and published by Asmik Ace Entertainment exclusively for the Mega Drive in Japan on 5 April 1991. [1] [2] Taking place on the colonized fictional planet of Syracuse in a futuristic sci-fi setting, where its military force initiated a violent coup d'état against the inhabitants for unknown reasons, players take control of the titular space fighter craft in an attempt to overthrow the enemies, protect civilization and discover the true cause for the rebellion.

Contents

Headed by Air Diver producer Toshiyuki Futamura, Verytex was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects such as the Mega Drive conversion of Master of Monsters . [3] Despite being exclusive to Japan, the game has received mixed reviews from critics and from reviewers that reviewed it as an import title, who felt divided in regards to several areas of the title such as the presentation, graphics, sound design, controls and gameplay, although the music was noted by some people as a positive point.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot MD Verytex.png
Gameplay screenshot

Verytex is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game similar to Raiden Trad and Twin Cobra , where players take control of the titular space fighter craft through six stages in order protect civilization by defeating the rebellious military force of planet Syracuse and discover the true reason for their cause as the main objective. [4] The game has an easy to learn weapon system with three weapons and three power-up levels for each, shield pick-up icons and the option to shift the ship's speed to three levels. Players have to fight multiple types of enemies across each stage and face a boss at the end of each one with the occasional mini-boss between. It is known among players for its particularly infamous and difficult final boss. [1]

Among the pick-up icons, the players have a choice of only three weapons, a side-weapon and a shield. The ship's default weapon is the Normal Shot, a basic straight-firing Vulcan weapon that spread-out in five directions with part of the spread coming from behind the ship, as well as the Beam Shot that doubles in shot-count and grows in size once upgraded and the Boomerang Shot, a wave-type weapon that fires from the side of the ship once fully upgraded. [4] The stages are long and all of them have a checkpoint system involved when losing a live, where players are sent to the last checkpoint reached. The game also gives a limited number of lives at the beginning with no extend bonuses and once all lives are lost, the game is over but a continue option is available on the main menu.

Synopsis

Verytex takes place in a futuristic sci-fi setting, where mankind has finally developed the technology necessary to advance from Earth and maintain numerous colonies to great success across various planets, none of which had any established extraterrestrial existence prior to colonization. The most prosperous planet colony had been set on the planet Syracuse, where human technology (and apparently linguistics) flourished. However, a distress signal coming from the location claiming that the flagship of their army, the Aphrodite, initiated a violent rebellion against the people and its passengers refused to make any demands or reason was received, with the player being dispatched from headquarters in the middle of outer space to Syracuse in the titular space fighter craft to stop the battle and find its true cause. [4]

Development and release

Verytex was created by most of the same staff who previously worked on Air Diver and Master of Monsters for Mega Drive. Sega-Mega-Drive-JP-Mk1-Console-Set.jpg
Verytex was created by most of the same staff who previously worked on Air Diver and Master of Monsters for Mega Drive.

Verytex was developed by Opera House, with additional work assistance from ISCO, and its creation was handled by most of the same team that worked on several projects such as the Mega Drive conversion of Master of Monsters, although the former developer is not credited as such in the credits of the game, nor in the instruction manual. [1] [3] [5] [6] The production was headed by Air Diver producer Toshiyuki Futamura alongside Hiroshi Jimbo and Shigeki Saka, the latter of which previously served as director on Midnight Resistance for Mega Drive. [3] Hidefumi Ohara, Satoru Ichihara and Shinji Nakamura served as its designers while artists Atsuhiro Gunji, Hiroshi Akagi and Ken Takagi were responsible for the pixel art in addition of Hideki Tanji, Hiroyuki Fujiwara and Satoru Miki, who worked as the game's programmers. [3]

Both the music and sound effects were created by composers Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata and Yoshio Furukawa, using a proprietary sound driver written by the former called "Terpsichorean" that was implemented in subsequent Mega Drive releases like Devilish . [3] [5] [6] Verytex was published by Asmik Ace Entertainment exclusively in Japan on 5 April 1991. [2]

Reception

Verytex received mixed reception since its release. In retrospective reviews, the reviews have also been mixed. [1] [12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional work by ISCO.
  2. ↑ Japanese: ヴェリテックス, Hepburn: Vu~eritekkusu

Related Research Articles

<i>Zero Wing</i> 1989 arcade video game

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asmik Ace</span> Japanese film production and distribution company

Asmik Ace, Inc., formerly Asmik Ace Entertainment, Inc. is a Japanese film production and distribution company. In the past, the company has distributed video games. It was formed in 1997 through a merger between the Asmik Corporation and Ace Entertainment, both in Japan. The name Asmik comes from its three founding companies: Ask, Sumitomo and Kodansha. The company is headquartered on the third floor of the Lapiross Roppongi building in Minato, Tokyo, and is a wholly owned division of Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM).

<i>Raiden</i> (video game) Vertically scrolling shooter arcade game released in 1990

Raiden is a 1990 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and published by Tecmo in Japan. The game's story takes place in the year 2090, when an alien species known as the Crystals invaded Earth. Players assume the roles of the Vanquish Crystal Defense pilot duo, taking control of two state of the art Fighting Thunders aircraft to defeat the Crystals and save the Earth.

<i>Truxton</i> (video game) 1988 video game

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.

<i>Thunder Force II</i> 1988 video game

Thunder Force II is a scrolling shooter developed by Technosoft. It was first released in Japan on October 15, 1988 for the X68000 computer. A year later, it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game console and released in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Thunder Force II was one of the six launch titles for the U.S. Genesis release. The Genesis port was later included in Thunder Force Gold Pack Volume 1 for the Sega Saturn. It was also re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on December 16, 2021. It is the second chapter of the Thunder Force series.

<i>Thunder Force III</i> 1990 video game

Thunder Force III (サンダーフォースIII) is a 1990 scrolling shooter game developed by Technosoft for the Sega Genesis. It is the third chapter in the Thunder Force series. It was then retooled into an arcade game named Thunder Force AC. In 1991, Thunder Force AC was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System under the title Thunder Spirits.

<i>Light Crusader</i> 1995 RPG video game

Light Crusader is an action-adventure game developed by Treasure and published by Sega for their Sega Genesis console in 1995. The game was included in the Sega Genesis Classics collections on Steam and other platforms in 2011. It was also included on the Sega Genesis Mini in North America and Sega Mega Drive Mini in PAL regions.

<i>Fighting Masters</i> 1991 video game

Fighting Masters is a 1991 fighting video game developed by Aicom and ALU, and published for the Sega Genesis in Japan and later in North America by Treco. In the game, players assume the role of a hero to fight against an assortment of opponents on an apocalyptic setting to face against an entity known as Lord Valgasu. Co-directed by Hajime Kusano and Ramō Kobayashi, the title was created by some of the same team that would later work on various projects at Almanic Corporation such as E.V.O.: Search for Eden. It was met with mixed reception from critics since its release.

<i>Hellfire</i> (video game) 1989 video game

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.

<i>Wardner</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Wardner is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Toaplan and published in arcades worldwide by Taito in 1987.

<i>Tommy Lasorda Baseball</i> 1989 video game

Tommy Lasorda Baseball is a 1989 baseball video game developed and published by Sega as one of the six launch titles for the Sega Genesis in the North America and for the Sega Mega-Tech arcade system. It is a follow-up to the arcade game Super League (1987). It prominently features former MLB player Tommy Lasorda, who was manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time. In the game, players compete with either AI-controlled opponents or against other players across single exhibitions, open matches or a 30-game season.

<i>MUSHA</i> 1990 video game

MUSHA is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Compile and released for the Sega Genesis in 1990. An entry in Compile's shooter series, Aleste, MUSHA places the player in the role of a flying mecha pilot who must destroy a large super intelligent computer threatening planet Earth. The game had a working title of Aleste 2 and originally featured a style similar to the first game, but this was changed to a more original Japanese aesthetic and speed metal soundtrack.

<i>Fire Shark</i> 1989 video game

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.

<i>Granada</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Granada is a shooter video game developed and originally published by Wolf Team exclusively for the X68000 in Japan on 20 April 1990. The ninth title to be created and released by Wolf Team for the X68000 platform, the game is set on a futuristic Africa in 2016 where a war erupted over mining rights towards rare metals and has quickly escalated due to newly-introduced weapons called Maneuver Cepters, as players assume the role of mercenary Leon Todo piloting the titular Maneuver Cepter tank unit in an attempt to stop the conflict once and for all. Its gameplay mainly consists of action and shooting mixed with mission-based exploration using a main two-button configuration.

<i>Twin Hawk</i> 1989 video game

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.

<i>Grind Stormer</i> 1993 video game

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.

<i>Ranger X</i> 1993 video game

Ranger X is a side scrolling run and gun video game for the Sega Genesis. Developed by GAU Entertainment and published by Sega, the game was released in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sega Genesis Mini</span> Home video game console

The Sega Genesis Mini, known as the Mega Drive Mini in regions outside of North America, is a dedicated console modeled on the Sega Genesis. The Mini emulates the original console's 16-bit hardware, and includes 42 games made available through emulation software by M2. It was released in North America and Japan in September 2019 and in Europe and the Middle East in October 2019. A follow-up, Sega Genesis Mini 2, was released in October 2022 and includes 60 games from the Genesis and Sega CD.

<i>Twinkle Tale</i> 1992 video game

Twinkle Tale is a run and gun video game developed by ZAP Corporation and published by Wonder Amusement Studio exclusively for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan on 24 July 1992. It was both the last project created by ZAP, as well as the only title to be released by Wonder Amusement Studio, which was a subsidiary of Japanese record label company Toyo Recording.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Seesing, Mark (February 6, 2006). "Genesis Reviews - Verytex". sega-16.com. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  2. 1 2 "MEGA DRIVE Soft > 1991" (in Japanese). GAME Data Room. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 ISCO, Opera House (5 April 1991). Verytex (Sega Mega Drive). Asmik Ace Entertainment. Level/area: Staff.
  4. 1 2 3 Verytex 取扱説明書 (Sega Mega Drive, JP)
  5. 1 2 Greening, Chris (July 4, 2008). "Hitoshi Sakimoto :: Biography". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  6. 1 2 Kalata, Kurt (August 7, 2017). "Revolter". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  7. ↑ "Verytex for Genesis". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  8. ↑ Suck, Michael (July 1991). "Konsolen - Ballern ohne hinzuschauen - Verytex". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). No. 54. Tronic Verlag. p. 113.
  9. ↑ "BEメガ•ドッグレース - ヴェリテックス". Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). No. 19. SoftBank Creative. April 1991. p. 25.
  10. ↑ Robinton; Damon (July 1991). "Megadrive Review - Verytex". Consoles + (in French). M.E.R.7. pp. 25–27.
  11. ↑ "ヴェリテックス (メガドライブ) - ファミ通.com". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 129. ASCII. April 19, 1991. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  12. 1 2 Golding, Marc (February 10, 2004). "Verytex (Genesis) review". HonestGamers. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  13. ↑ Demoly, Jean-Marc; Huygues Lacour, Alain (May 1991). "Tests - Megadrive - Verytex". Joystick (in French). No. 16. Anuman Interactive. p. 174.
  14. ↑ "Console News - Megadrive: Verytex". Joystick (in French). No. Hors-Serie 3. Anuman Interactive. July–August 1991. p. 136.
  15. ↑ "Review: Verytex". Mega Drive Advanced Gaming . No. 5. Maverick Magazines. January 1993. p. 95.
  16. ↑ "Game Index - Verytex". MegaTech . No. 1. EMAP. December 1991. p. 81.
  17. ↑ Forster, Winfried (July 1991). "Videospiele / Tests - Verytex". Power Play (in German). No. 39. Future Verlag. p. 127.
  18. ↑ "Import - Verytex". Raze . No. 9. Newsfield. July 1991. p. 58.
  19. ↑ Jarratt, Steve (October 1991). "The Hard Line - Verytex (Import)". Sega Power . No. 23. Future plc. p. 55.
  20. ↑ "Mega Drive - ProReview: Verytex". Sega Pro . No. 18. Paragon Publishing. April 1993. p. 68.
  21. ↑ Harbonn, Jacques (June 1991). "Hits - Verytex -- Megadrive". Tilt (in French). No. 91. Editions Mondiales S.A. pp. 57–58.
  22. ↑ Gaksch, Martin (February 1991). "Test - In Cosmo Veritas - Verytex". Video Games (in German). No. 2. Future-Verlag. p. 90.
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.