Strikers 1999



Strikers 1999 (ストライカーズ1999), released internationally as Strikers 1945 III, is a vertical shooting game developed and published in 1999 by Psikyo. The game was ported to Android in 2015 and to the Switch in 2018 as part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha collection.

The game is a direct sequel to Strikers 1945 II, and is set 54 years after it's predecessor. The game deviates from the WWII aesthetic of previous Strikers titles, and incorporates more sci-fi elements. The game introduces the Technical Bonus scoring mechanic, which was later adopted by Dragon Blaze.

Gameplay Overview
Strikers 1999 is a 2 button game and consists of 8 stages. As with previous Psikyo titles, the order of the first 4 stages is randomised with each credit. The difficulty of these stages varies depending on how late they appear in the stage order. After clearing all 8 stages, the player automatically enters a second loop, which features significantly denser bullet patterns.

Controls

 * A Button (Press): Shot
 * A Button (Hold): Super Shot (depletes Super Gauge)
 * B Button: Bomb (depletes bomb stock)

Weapons
Main Shot

Basic attack performed by pressing the shot button. This attack is upgraded by collecting Power-Up items, and reaches max power after 3 items have been collected. After collecting two Power-Up items the shot is supplemented by a secondary attack, or sub-shot, which offers some additional screen coverage. Colliding with an enemy will reduce the shot power by one level, and losing a life will reduce the shot to its base level.

Super Shot

The super gauge is located at the bottom left of the screen, and is filled by killing enemies. Holding the A button releases a powerful attack which depletes the gauge. Super attacks are character-specific, and can be charged up to 3 levels.

Bomb

Bombs do not grant invincibility, but instantly clear enemy bullets and deal damage within specific areas of the screen. The precise effects of bombs are character-specific.

Ships
Strikers 1999 offers 5 playable ships by default, each with their own playstyle and unique advantages. A 6th ship, the X-36, can be unlocked by entering the code 01999 in Maintenance Mode. After this, the ship becomes selectable by pressing UP on the random ship on the ship select screen.

F/A-18 Super Hornet

F-117 Stealth

F-22 Raptor

AV-8 Harrier

F-4 Phantom II

X-36

Loops
After clearing all 8 regular stages, the player automatically enters a second loop. The second loop features significantly denser bullet patterns, and bosses have all-new patterns.

Scoring
Scoring in Strikers 1999 is relatively straightforward. Certain enemies, when destroyed, will leave behind gold medals that rotate on the spot. These medals will reward the player with 200, 500, 1000 or 2000 points, depending on when they are collected during their spin animation. To achieve the max score of 2000 points, medals must be collected specifically when they flash brightly.

If two 2000pt medals are collected consecutively, the player is awarded a chain bonus of 200 points.

Technical Bonus


This mechanic made its debut in Strikers 1999, and was later featured in Psikyo's 2000 title Dragon Blaze. At specific points during the second phase of each boss fight, bosses will temporarily expose a blue weak point for you to destroy. By default these weak points are invulnerable, but moving within close proximity will cause them to turn red, and dealing any damage to the red core will instantly kill the boss, and award you a Technical Bonus of 40,000 points.

Bosses will only expose their weak point once per fight, and will usually release a barrage of bullets at the same time, so careful positioning is needed to take advantage of this opportunity. Note that the stage 8 boss does not have a weak point, so a Technical Bonus is not possible on this stage.

Endgame Bonus
Clearing both loops rewards the player with an endgame bonus as follows:
 * Lives Remaining x 100,000
 * Bomb Stock x 50,000
 * Power Level x 10,000

Strategy
See Strikers 1999/Strategy for secrets and advanced play strategies.

Ports
Following its original arcade release in 1999, Strikers 1999 received an Android port in 2015. The game was ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2018 by Zerodiv. After initially only being available on the Nintendo eShop, the game was later released physically as part of the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha compilation.

On June 30th 2020, the game was released on Steam by Zerodiv and City Connection.

Maintenance Codes
By using Dipswitches, the player can access different features. The codes are:

81650-Maintenance Mode: Makes more options in the main Operator Test Menu available, including a stage select option, rank select, and different levels of powerup.

81630-Secret Random Enabled: The X-36 is available in the "?" Random Selector.

81620-Secret All Disabled:

12345-Reset Scores:

81610-All Data Erased: Includes bookkeeping records and extended play information.

01999-Secret Command Enabled: Press Up on the Joystick after selecting the "?" Random Selector to select the X-36.

Video References
Video index for Strikers 1999