Hellfire



Hellfire is a horizontally scrolling shoot-em-up developed by Toaplan and published by Taito in 1989. It is notable for being one of the only two horizontal shooters ever developed by the company, and unlike most of Toaplan's other shooters, doesn't use bombs. Despite the game's struggled development, it was still well-received by critics, enough so that it received localization and home console ports.

Gameplay Overview
Hellfire is only 6 stages long, but features various different types of stages, with enemies coming from all directions. To counter this, the ship has the unique ability to change it's firing direction with the press of a button. The power-up variety is limited, only featuring pickups that either power-up the main shot, increase speed, or just give a point bonus. The end of each stage has a boss, which requires the player to utilize their shot direction in order to destroy their weak spot. Death results in the loss of all power-ups and being sent back to the nearest checkpoint.

Controls
Starting from the first, pressing button B cycles the shot direction in the following order: Forward , Backward , Vertical , Diagonal .
 * A: Fire shot
 * B: Cycle shot direction.

When firing bullets, up to 4 shots or pairs of shots can be on screen at a time, with lasers, it is reduced to 2.

Loops
Hellfire loops indefinitely. After completing the final stage, the game restarts back to the first stage with increased difficulty.

Revisional Differences
When the game was localized, a new, 2-player version was created. This new version makes several changes to the gameplay:
 * The ship's color no longer represents the direction they're shooting, only what player they are.
 * The shot limit is altered. When firing vertically or diagonally with lasers, only 1 pair is allowed on screen.
 * Checkpoints are replaced with respawns. This in turn makes the game much harder than normal, making it possible to chain-death in specific sections.

Ports
Hellfire saw ports on fourth-generation consoles after the arcade release, with both making their own unique changes.

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Version
Released in 1990, this version is based on the original singleplayer version of the game. It introduces a one-hit shield, a helper ship that rams into enemies, and a special weapon that fires a large shot. Regular shooting functions differently, in that they travel faster and allow more shots on screen when upgraded. Bonus pickups are worth more the more are collected, up to 10,000 points. The difficulty is similar to the arcade original, but is slightly toned down. Certain sections of Stage 6 were cut from the game, and replaced with a unique high-speed section.

PC Engine CD Version
Came out after the Genesis/Mega Drive version a year later in 1991, it is based on the 2-player version. Being a PC Engine CD title, it includes cutscenes and an arranged soundtrack by T's Music. Gameplay-wise, the port acts more faithfully to the Arcade original, only including a shield power-up that lasts 2 hits. The difficulty is far easier compared to the Arcade, with all bosses having little HP and overall low enemy count in most sections.