Shmups Wiki -- The Digital Library of Shooting Games - User contributions [en]

Darius

2025-10-02T21:35:41Z

Darker Falcon: The Japanese version has a small difference compared to the western releases.

[[File:Darius logo.png|500px|center]]

{{GameInfobox
|bordercolor = #238DEC
|innerbordercolor = #238DEC
|title = Darius
|background = #8FE2FF
|image = DariusExtralogoscreen.webp
|width = 324px;
|imagecaption = Title screen for Darius Extra, a revised version released shortly after the release of the original Darius
|imagescalepx = 180px

|developer = [[Taito]]
|music = Zuntata
|program =
|art =
|design =
|releasedate = '''Arcade JP''': 1986 <br> '''Arcade NA''': 1987
|previousgame = [[G-Darius]] (Chronology)
|nextgame = [[Darius II]] (Release) <br> [[Darius Gaiden]] (Chronology)
}}

==Darius==
Darius is a horizontal side-scrolling arcade shoot-em-up developed and released by Taito in 1986. The game is widely known for its branching paths, colossal 3-screen arcade cabinets and boss designs based off of aquatic life (such as the iconic Great Thing, which is based on the Sperm Whale). Chronologically, the game takes place between G-Darius and Darius Gaiden, and is the second game in the series (although it was the first to be released).

{{VideoIndex}}
__TOC__
{{clear}}

==Gameplay Overview==
In the game, the player pilots the Silver Hawk fighter craft, which can fire either its primary Shot or its secondary Bomb. The Shot changes between Missile, Laser and Wave depending on tier and fires a forward projectile to do damage. The Bomb drops a number of small explosives in front of the Silver Hawk depending on upgrade tier. Additionally, the craft has an Arm unit that acts as a shield protecting the Silver Hawk from most forms of damage.
*'''<font color="#ff0000">Red</font>''' orbs upgrade the Shot. After being upgraded 6 times, the Shot increases a tier, changing what kind of attack it is. It starts with Tier 1 (Missile), a standard small round pellet-like shot. Tier 2 (Laser) exhibits a longer piercing shot, and Tier 3 (Wave) is a wide and highly-damaging projectile capable of damaging several enemies at once.
*'''<font color="#00c000">Green</font>''' orbs upgrade the Bomb. Like with the Shot, the Bomb increases a tier every 6 upgrades. Tier 1 fires a single bomb down in front of the player. Tier 2 fires two bombs in front of the player, one down and one up, and Tier 3 fires 4 bombs: 2 down (behind and in front), and 2 up (behind and in front again).
*'''<font color="#0000ff">Blue</font>''' orbs upgrade the Arm. The Arm is separated into its upgrades and strength, with strength simply being how many shots the Arm can take before it runs out, and upgrades being how many upgrades it has received. Tier 1 is regular green Arm, Tier 2 is silver Super Arm, and Tier 3 is golden Hyper Arm. Blue orbs grant 1 Arm strength with regular arm, and 2 with Super or Hyper arm. Additionally, Hyper arm will protect the Silver Hawk against normally lethal terrain collision; when bumping into obstacles, instead of exploding, the Silver Hawk will instead bounce back at two times the regular movement speed.

==Scoring==
Placeholder

==Stages==
Establishing a trend that would persist throughout the rest of the series, Darius allows you to choose the stages you wish to fight through. After defeating the boss in each zone, the boss tunnel splits into a fork and the player must fly into one of the forked paths to choose the next zone. However, most of the zones are the same, and every stage has the same boss for all of its respective zones (except for Stage 7, where the boss is different for most of the zones).

Additionally, there is no Zone Z' or Zone V' (unlike in Darius II and Gaiden). Instead, going all the way to the top sends the player to Zone Z, and going all the way to the bottom sends the player to Zone V. There is no difference between getting there by going all in one direction, and getting there the normal way.

Below is a list of stages and their respective zones.

===Stage 1===
*'''Zone A:''' Takes place in a green cave, an iconic first stage.
King Fossil is the boss for every Stage 1 zone.

===Stage 2===
*'''Zone B:''' Takes place in a large factory.
*'''Zone C:''' Takes place in a mountain range.
Electric Fan is the boss for every Stage 2 zone.

===Stage 3===
*'''Zone D:''' Takes place in a mountain range.
*'''Zone E:''' Takes place undersea near a reef.
*'''Zone F:''' Takes place near a rocky moon-like surface.
Dual Shears is the boss for every Stage 3 zone.

===Stage 4===
*'''Zone G:''' Takes place near a rocky moon-like surface.
*'''Zone H:''' Takes place in a beige cave.
*'''Zone I:''' Takes place in a large factory.
*'''Zone J:''' Takes place undersea near a base.
Fatty Glutton is the boss for every Stage 4 zone.

===Stage 5===
*'''Zone K:''' Takes place undersea near a reef.
*'''Zone L:''' Takes place in a large factory.
*'''Zone M:''' Takes place near a smooth moon-like surface.
*'''Zone N:''' Takes place in an orange cave.
*'''Zone O:''' Takes place in a volcanic region.
Keen Bayonet is the boss for every Stage 5 zone.

===Stage 6===
*'''Zone P:''' Takes place in a pink cave.
*'''Zone Q:''' Takes place in a mountain range.
*'''Zone R:''' Takes place undersea near a base.
*'''Zone S:''' Takes place near some undersea ruins.
*'''Zone T:''' Takes place near an uncanny moon-like surface.
*'''Zone U:''' Takes place in a large factory.
Iron Hammer is the boss for every Stage 6 zone.

===Stage 7===
*Going above Zone V teleports you to Zone Z.
*'''Zone V:''' Takes place near an uncanny moon-like surface. Strong Shell is the final boss.
*'''Zone W:''' Takes place in an arctic cavern. Green Coronatus is the final boss.
*'''Zone X:''' Takes place in an arctic mountain range. Octopus is the final boss.
*'''Zone Y:''' Takes place in a large factory. Cuttle Fish is the final boss.
*'''Zone Z:''' Takes place near some undersea ruins. Great Thing is the final boss.
*Going below Zone Z teleports you to Zone V.

==Story==
Darius is canonically the second game in the Darius series, taking place many hundreds of years after G-Darius. In it, humanity has peacefully settled on Darius and established their presence as the dominant civilization. However, an alien race known as the Belsar have invaded Darius, and threaten to wipe out humanity. In response, the pilots Proco and Tiat must fight through the enemy-controlled zones and clear a path from which the survivors of the invasion can escape Darius and find sanctuary elsewhere.

Below is a list of endings. Note that unlike Darius Gaiden, the duplicates of Zone Z and V are literally identical to Zone Z and V, and contain the same ending.
*'''Zone V''': Every single enemy has been destroyed and the war is over. Congratulations!
*'''Zone W''': Proco lands in a green field on an unnamed planet (presumably either Darius, Olga or Vadis) and gets out of his craft to look at the sunset.
*'''Zone X''': Proco and Tiat dock with a large craft (likely a human transport here to evacuate Proco and Tiat) and are beamed up onto its bridge.
*'''Zone Y''': Identical to Zone V's ending, except it has a massive arcade cabinet shown on the left of the screen.
*'''Zone Z''': The lights in a city on Darius' surface turn back on, and before the credits roll, Proco and Tiat can be seen flying above the skyline.

==Version Differences==
The Japanese version does not allow continues at all. If you lose your last life, no matter in which zone you are, it's game over and you have to restart the game back from Zone A.

The US and World versions allow continues, until you reach one of the final zones (V, W, X, Y, Z) where continues (and second player join-ins) are disabled.

[[Category:Horizontal orientation]]

Raiden

2025-10-02T21:28:34Z

Darker Falcon: added European, Korean and Taiwanese publishers

[[File:Raiden_logo.png|center]]
----
{{GameInfobox
|bordercolor = #FF0000
|title = Raiden
|background = #E3E3E3
|innerbordercolor = #000000
|image = Raiden_title_screen.png
|width = 324px;
|imagecaption = Title screen.
|imagescalepx = 180px
|developer = [[Seibu Kaihatsu]]
|publisher = Tecmo '''(JP)''' <br> Fabtek '''(US)''' <br> Seibu Kaihatsu '''(EU)''' <br> I.B.L. Corporation '''(KR)''' <br> Liang HWA Electronics '''(TW)'''
|producer = Hitoshi Hamada
|designer = Tetsuya Kawaguchi
|music = Akira Satou
|program = K. Kondo <br> Tetsuya Kawaguchi <br> S. Mori
|art = T. Wada <br> H. Matsuo <br> Toshinobu Komazawa <br> T. Matsuzawa
|releasedate = April 1990<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n35/mode/1up?view=theater Domestic and Overseas Arcade Game List 1971-2005]</ref>
|previousgame = [[Scion]]
|nextgame = [[Raiden II]]
}}
'''Raiden''' (JP: 雷電) is a vertical scrolling shoot em' up developed by [[Seibu Kaihatsu]] in 1990. The game is well known for its detailed spritework, two-player cooperative gameplay and high difficulty inspired by [[Toaplan]] games such as '''[[Same! Same! Same!]]''', becoming a financial success the year it was released. Raiden was then followed up with the release of '''[[Raiden II]]''' and '''[[Raiden DX]]''', alongside the ''Raiden Fighters'' series before Seibu closed its doors in 1999, though sequels continued to be released under development at [[MOSS]].

The original Raiden has been ported several times to different platforms such as the PC-Engine, Super Nintendo, Sega Megadrive/Genesis, Atari Jaguar and PlayStation just to name a few. Most recently, it has been rereleased under the ''Arcade Archives'' series by Hamster.

__TOC__

{{clear}}

== Gameplay Overview ==

Raiden has 8 stages and [[Help:Glossary#Loop|infinite loops]]. Finishing a loop will grant a '''1,000,000 points''' bonus, it increases by an extra million with each subsequent loop finished. Extends are granted at '''150,000 points''' and '''400,000 points''', plus a '''hidden extend'''.

=== Controls ===
* '''A button (Press):''' Fires the player's main weapon and missiles.
* '''B button (Press):''' Deploys a bomb if one is in stock.

===Weapons===
====Main weapon====

There are two different weapons the player can use:
*'''Vulcan:''' Regular shot that becomes increasingly wider with each power up collected, remarkably strong when pointblanking. By default, this is the weapon the player starts with.
*'''Laser:''' A beam with concentrated damage, while it is stronger than the Vulcan from far away the coverage is much more narrow.

====Missiles====

These are the player's secondary weapons obtained by collecting the <span style="color:#FFFF00">'''M'''</span> and <span style="color:#00FF00">'''H'''</span> letters.

*'''Nuclear:''' Missiles fired forward dealing heavy damage to its target.
*'''Homing:''' Missiles fired in multiple directions that automatically tracks enemies.

====Bombs====

Bombs are used by pressing the B button. They will detonate in a circular area-of-effect in front of the player. Bombs are quite delayed and don't grant full invincibility, they also aren't very strong on their own.

=== Items ===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Icon || Description
|-
| [[File:Raiden_red_powerup.png]] || '''Red''' <br> Powers up the Vulcan shot.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_blue_powerup.png]] || '''Blue''' <br> Powers up the Laser.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_nuclear_missile.png]] || '''Nuclear missiles''' <br> Powers up the nuclear missiles.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_homing_missile.png]] || '''Homing missiles'''<br> Powers up the homing missiles.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_bomb.png]] || '''Bomb''' <br> Adds an extra bomb up to a maximum of 7.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_fairy.png]] || '''Fairy''' <br> Found hidden in stages. Releases several power ups once the player dies.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_P_powerup.png]] || '''P''' <br> Instantly maxes out the main weapon and missiles.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_1up.png]] || '''1UP''' <br> Grants an extra life.
|}

==Loops==

Higher loops considerably increase enemy bullet speed.

==Scoring==

The best way to reach a high score is to simply finish as many loops as possible, collect medals and surplus items.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Icon || Description
|-
| [[File:Raiden_red_powerup.png]] [[File:Raiden_blue_powerup.png]] || '''Power ups''' <br> '''5,000 points surplus.'''
|-
| [[File:Raiden_nuclear_missile.png]] [[File:Raiden_homing_missile.png]] || '''Missiles''' <br> '''5,000 points surplus.'''
|-
| [[File:Raiden_bomb.png|center]] || '''Bomb''' <br> '''5,000 points surplus''', contribute toward the end of stage bonus.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_P_powerup.png|center]] || '''P''' <br> '''10,000 points surplus.'''
|-
| [[File:Raiden_medal.png|center]] || '''Medal''' <br> '''500 points''' when collected during stages, contribute toward the end of stage bonus.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_miclus.png|center]] || '''Miclus''' <br> '''3,000 points.'''
|-
|}

The end of stage bonus is calculated with the following formula:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|
'''1,000 points * Bomb stock * Collected medals'''
|-
|}
'''Collected medals''' only takes into account the medals collected during the current stage. After a death, the medal counter will be reset to 0, and only the medals collected after this point will count toward the bonus. In the event of one, or both of these values being equal to zero, they are replaced by 1 for the calculation, meaning that the player is guaranteed at least '''1,000 points''' from the end of stage bonus.

== Strategy ==
<div style='text-align: center;'>
''See [[Raiden/Strategy]] for '''enemy and boss descriptions''', '''walkthroughs''', and '''advanced play strategies'''.'' </br>
''See [[Raiden/Stages]] for a detailed information on the stages in Raiden.'' </br>
''See [[Raiden/Bosses]] for a detailed discussion on the boss fights in Raiden.''
</div>
----
===Player side differences===

Besides the different color scheme, the 2P side ship in this game has '''lower difficulty'''. Furthermore, rank increases when using '''Laser''' and '''Nuclear missiles''' but decreases with '''Vulcan''' and '''Homing missiles'''<ref name="lower-rank">[https://twitter.com/Plasmo_STG/status/1410705815233781767 Tweets by TZW-ART?, translations by ASE-Plasmo]</ref>, while this works the opposite way with 1P{{unconfirmed}}.

===Starting rank===

There are 4 different starting ranks depending on when a coin is inserted during the demo cycle. For the lowest rank, enter a coin during the stage 7 demo after the first boot up of the machine<ref>[https://twitter.com/Plasmo_STG/status/1410711958588960770 Tweets by TZW-ART?, translations by ASE-Plasmo]</ref>.

===Boss HP===

Having the lower-rank Vulcan equipped when approaching a boss area (more specifically, when the Boss BGM starts) will spawn the stage boss with lower HP. You can then switch to Laser to attack the weaker boss with a more powerful weapon.<ref name="lower-rank" />

== Story ==
Basic story breakdowns, plot information, and endings are included here.

If there is no story at all, or any information about the setting, then this section can be omitted. Try to include at least small things here when you can.
----

== Development History ==
If available, you can include information here about the hardware, the development of the game, and its general reception. ''Try to have as much information in this section cited as possible.''
----

== Version Differences ==

The Japanese and Taiwanese versions, during a solo fighter gameplay, have a checkpoint system after the player dies, while the other versions (e.g. Europe/World and US) changed this in favor of instant respawns after dying and checkpoints are preserved upon continuing the game after getting a game over. During a dual fighter gameplay, every version have instant respawns after dying.

''Editor's note: There are probably a ton more differences with all the ROMsets but I haven't really investigated.''

The Super Nintendo Version (Trad), would have its stage 6 boss replaced.

The Japanese PC Engine version (as well ''Super Raiden'') has three continues, while the US TurboGrafx-16 version increses the amount to six.

The three new bosses and stages in the ports being the Great Spider, Shadow Janet and Nova, with the first two being in the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version (''Super Raiden'') and the third in the Mega Drive Version of Trad respectively.

== Trivia ==
* Cool facts and random tidbits go here!
----

== Gallery ==
<div style='text-align: center;'>
''See [[(Template Page)/Gallery]] for our collection of images and scans for the game.''
</div>
----

== Video References ==

If the game already has an existing entry in the [[:Category:Video Index|Video Index]], please link to the page here. If you want to link to smaller clips perhaps not included in the Index, you can also leave them here.

== References & Contributors ==
<small>
*Page creation and primary info provided by [[User:ADR|Andrew98]]
<references/>
</small>

[[Category:Vertical_orientation]]
[[Category:Bomb_mechanic]]

Raiden

2025-10-02T15:42:55Z

Darker Falcon: /* Version Differences */ Text re-write

[[File:Raiden_logo.png|center]]
----
{{GameInfobox
|bordercolor = #FF0000
|title = Raiden
|background = #E3E3E3
|innerbordercolor = #000000
|image = Raiden_title_screen.png
|width = 324px;
|imagecaption = Title screen.
|imagescalepx = 180px
|developer = [[Seibu Kaihatsu]]
|publisher = Tecmo '''(JP)''' <br> Fabtek '''(US)'''
|producer = Hitoshi Hamada
|designer = Tetsuya Kawaguchi
|music = Akira Satou
|program = K. Kondo <br> Tetsuya Kawaguchi <br> S. Mori
|art = T. Wada <br> H. Matsuo <br> Toshinobu Komazawa <br> T. Matsuzawa
|releasedate = April 1990<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n35/mode/1up?view=theater Domestic and Overseas Arcade Game List 1971-2005]</ref>
|previousgame = [[Scion]]
|nextgame = [[Raiden II]]
}}
'''Raiden''' (JP: 雷電) is a vertical scrolling shoot em' up developed by [[Seibu Kaihatsu]] in 1990. The game is well known for its detailed spritework, two-player cooperative gameplay and high difficulty inspired by [[Toaplan]] games such as '''[[Same! Same! Same!]]''', becoming a financial success the year it was released. Raiden was then followed up with the release of '''[[Raiden II]]''' and '''[[Raiden DX]]''', alongside the ''Raiden Fighters'' series before Seibu closed its doors in 1999, though sequels continued to be released under development at [[MOSS]].

The original Raiden has been ported several times to different platforms such as the PC-Engine, Super Nintendo, Sega Megadrive/Genesis, Atari Jaguar and PlayStation just to name a few. Most recently, it has been rereleased under the ''Arcade Archives'' series by Hamster.

__TOC__

{{clear}}

== Gameplay Overview ==

Raiden has 8 stages and [[Help:Glossary#Loop|infinite loops]]. Finishing a loop will grant a '''1,000,000 points''' bonus, it increases by an extra million with each subsequent loop finished. Extends are granted at '''150,000 points''' and '''400,000 points''', plus a '''hidden extend'''.

=== Controls ===
* '''A button (Press):''' Fires the player's main weapon and missiles.
* '''B button (Press):''' Deploys a bomb if one is in stock.

===Weapons===
====Main weapon====

There are two different weapons the player can use:
*'''Vulcan:''' Regular shot that becomes increasingly wider with each power up collected, remarkably strong when pointblanking. By default, this is the weapon the player starts with.
*'''Laser:''' A beam with concentrated damage, while it is stronger than the Vulcan from far away the coverage is much more narrow.

====Missiles====

These are the player's secondary weapons obtained by collecting the <span style="color:#FFFF00">'''M'''</span> and <span style="color:#00FF00">'''H'''</span> letters.

*'''Nuclear:''' Missiles fired forward dealing heavy damage to its target.
*'''Homing:''' Missiles fired in multiple directions that automatically tracks enemies.

====Bombs====

Bombs are used by pressing the B button. They will detonate in a circular area-of-effect in front of the player. Bombs are quite delayed and don't grant full invincibility, they also aren't very strong on their own.

=== Items ===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Icon || Description
|-
| [[File:Raiden_red_powerup.png]] || '''Red''' <br> Powers up the Vulcan shot.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_blue_powerup.png]] || '''Blue''' <br> Powers up the Laser.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_nuclear_missile.png]] || '''Nuclear missiles''' <br> Powers up the nuclear missiles.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_homing_missile.png]] || '''Homing missiles'''<br> Powers up the homing missiles.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_bomb.png]] || '''Bomb''' <br> Adds an extra bomb up to a maximum of 7.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_fairy.png]] || '''Fairy''' <br> Found hidden in stages. Releases several power ups once the player dies.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_P_powerup.png]] || '''P''' <br> Instantly maxes out the main weapon and missiles.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_1up.png]] || '''1UP''' <br> Grants an extra life.
|}

==Loops==

Higher loops considerably increase enemy bullet speed.

==Scoring==

The best way to reach a high score is to simply finish as many loops as possible, collect medals and surplus items.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Icon || Description
|-
| [[File:Raiden_red_powerup.png]] [[File:Raiden_blue_powerup.png]] || '''Power ups''' <br> '''5,000 points surplus.'''
|-
| [[File:Raiden_nuclear_missile.png]] [[File:Raiden_homing_missile.png]] || '''Missiles''' <br> '''5,000 points surplus.'''
|-
| [[File:Raiden_bomb.png|center]] || '''Bomb''' <br> '''5,000 points surplus''', contribute toward the end of stage bonus.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_P_powerup.png|center]] || '''P''' <br> '''10,000 points surplus.'''
|-
| [[File:Raiden_medal.png|center]] || '''Medal''' <br> '''500 points''' when collected during stages, contribute toward the end of stage bonus.
|-
| [[File:Raiden_miclus.png|center]] || '''Miclus''' <br> '''3,000 points.'''
|-
|}

The end of stage bonus is calculated with the following formula:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|
'''1,000 points * Bomb stock * Collected medals'''
|-
|}
'''Collected medals''' only takes into account the medals collected during the current stage. After a death, the medal counter will be reset to 0, and only the medals collected after this point will count toward the bonus. In the event of one, or both of these values being equal to zero, they are replaced by 1 for the calculation, meaning that the player is guaranteed at least '''1,000 points''' from the end of stage bonus.

== Strategy ==
<div style='text-align: center;'>
''See [[Raiden/Strategy]] for '''enemy and boss descriptions''', '''walkthroughs''', and '''advanced play strategies'''.'' </br>
''See [[Raiden/Stages]] for a detailed information on the stages in Raiden.'' </br>
''See [[Raiden/Bosses]] for a detailed discussion on the boss fights in Raiden.''
</div>
----
===Player side differences===

Besides the different color scheme, the 2P side ship in this game has '''lower difficulty'''. Furthermore, rank increases when using '''Laser''' and '''Nuclear missiles''' but decreases with '''Vulcan''' and '''Homing missiles'''<ref name="lower-rank">[https://twitter.com/Plasmo_STG/status/1410705815233781767 Tweets by TZW-ART?, translations by ASE-Plasmo]</ref>, while this works the opposite way with 1P{{unconfirmed}}.

===Starting rank===

There are 4 different starting ranks depending on when a coin is inserted during the demo cycle. For the lowest rank, enter a coin during the stage 7 demo after the first boot up of the machine<ref>[https://twitter.com/Plasmo_STG/status/1410711958588960770 Tweets by TZW-ART?, translations by ASE-Plasmo]</ref>.

===Boss HP===

Having the lower-rank Vulcan equipped when approaching a boss area (more specifically, when the Boss BGM starts) will spawn the stage boss with lower HP. You can then switch to Laser to attack the weaker boss with a more powerful weapon.<ref name="lower-rank" />

== Story ==
Basic story breakdowns, plot information, and endings are included here.

If there is no story at all, or any information about the setting, then this section can be omitted. Try to include at least small things here when you can.
----

== Development History ==
If available, you can include information here about the hardware, the development of the game, and its general reception. ''Try to have as much information in this section cited as possible.''
----

== Version Differences ==

The Japanese and Taiwanese versions, during a solo fighter gameplay, have a checkpoint system after the player dies, while the other versions (e.g. Europe/World and US) changed this in favor of instant respawns after dying and checkpoints are preserved upon continuing the game after getting a game over. During a dual fighter gameplay, every version have instant respawns after dying.

''Editor's note: There are probably a ton more differences with all the ROMsets but I haven't really investigated.''

The Super Nintendo Version (Trad), would have its stage 6 boss replaced.

The Japanese PC Engine version (as well ''Super Raiden'') has three continues, while the US TurboGrafx-16 version increses the amount to six.

The three new bosses and stages in the ports being the Great Spider, Shadow Janet and Nova, with the first two being in the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version (''Super Raiden'') and the third in the Mega Drive Version of Trad respectively.

== Trivia ==
* Cool facts and random tidbits go here!
----

== Gallery ==
<div style='text-align: center;'>
''See [[(Template Page)/Gallery]] for our collection of images and scans for the game.''
</div>
----

== Video References ==

If the game already has an existing entry in the [[:Category:Video Index|Video Index]], please link to the page here. If you want to link to smaller clips perhaps not included in the Index, you can also leave them here.

== References & Contributors ==
<small>
*Page creation and primary info provided by [[User:ADR|Andrew98]]
<references/>
</small>

[[Category:Vertical_orientation]]
[[Category:Bomb_mechanic]]

Hacha Mecha Fighter

2025-10-02T15:33:41Z

Darker Falcon: /* Version Differences */ Another bootleg was founded so i inserted info about it

{{GameInfobox
| bordercolor = #2943FF
| innerbordercolor = #2943FF
| title = {{PAGENAME}}
| background = #B8FF89
| image = Hacha Mecha Fighter Title Screen.png
| width = 324px;
| imagecaption = Title screen
| imagescalepx = 180px

|developer = [[NMK]]
|planning = Saburou Yotsuya {{alias}}<br/>(and others?)
|music = H. Mizushima<br/>Kazunori Hideya
|program = Youichi Koyama<br/>Tamio Nakasato
|art = Naoko Nagamine<br/>Akemi Tsunoda<br/>Kenji Yokoyama
|releasedate = '''Arcade:''' 1991<br/>'''PS4:''' June 3, 2021 <br/>'''Switch:''' June 3, 2021
|previousgame = [[Thunder Dragon]]
|nextgame = [[Choujikuu Yousai Macross]]
}}

'''Hacha Mecha Fighter''' (Japanese: ''Hacha Mecha Faitā'' はちゃめちゃファイター "Nonsense Fighter") is a shmup developed and published by [[NMK]] in 1991. The cute and colorful theme of the game stands in stark contrast to its high difficulty. As the game makes several references to [[P-47]] (NMK, 1988) and [[USAAF Mustang]] (NMK, 1990), it can be considered to be somewhat of a parody shmup in NMK's catalogue.

As part of the Arcade Archives series by Hamster Corporation, Hacha Mecha Fighter was ported to PS4 and Switch and thereby received a home console release for the first time ever.

{{VideoIndex}}
__TOC__
{{clear}}

== Gameplay Overview ==

=== Controls ===
----
Hacha Mecha Fighter is a two-button game.

[[File:Joystick (Two Buttons).png|frameless|none|upright]]

* '''A:''' Shot (with internal autofire)
* '''B:''' Bomb

It's worthwhile to have an autofire A button at 30Hz, as it is much faster than the internal autofire.

=== Characters ===
----
[[File:Hacha Mecha Fighter Hitbox.jpg|thumb|Hitbox: the lower part of the sprite is safe|right]]
The player can choose between an otter (game start on 1p side) or an aardvark (game start on 2p side). These two characters are sometimes referred to by their Japanese designations ''Kawauso'' and ''Tsuchibuta'' respectively. There are no gameplay differences between the two so the choice can be made purely on visual preferences. All shot levels of the otter are sea animals while the aardvark has a vegetable/fruit theme.

{{clear}}

=== Weapons ===
----
[[File:Hmfshot.jpg|thumb|From Gamest issue #68 (February 1992)|left]]
The shot power starts at level 1 and can be gradually increased by picking up Power Up items up to level 7 (1p side: sunfish; 2p side: daikon radish).

The game starts with 1 option accompanying the player sprite up to a maximum of 4 options. The options follow the player along and fire the same shot as the main sprite.

Using a bomb temporarily increases the size of the character sprite and hitbox. For the duration of the bomb the player becomes invincible and the shot power jumps to level 7.

{{clear}}

=== Items ===
----

Depending on the language version chosen, some items look differently. This is a purely visual effect.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| [[File:HMF Jp pow.png|center|100px]] || [[File:HMF En pow.png|center|100px]] || '''Power Up'''<br/>Increases your shot level by 1 (max power is shot level 7)
|-
| [[File:HMF Jp big.png|center|75px]] || [[File:HMF En big.png|center|75px]] || '''Bomb'''<br/>Increases your bomb stock by 1 (max number of bombs is 8)
|-
| [[File:HMF Jp option.png|center|75px]] || [[File:HMF En option.png|center|75px]] || '''Option'''<br/>Adds an option to your ship (max number of options is 4)
|-
| colspan="2" | [[File:HMF Flower.png|center|50px]] || '''Flower'''<br/>Score item. The value starts at 1,000 and then gradually increases up to 10,000. The value resets to 1,000 after a death. Picking up five Flower items (regardless of point value) makes a Bomb item appear
|-
| [[File: HMF SuperPowJP.png|center|75px]] || [[File: HMF SuperPowEN.png|center|75px]]|| '''Max Power Up'''<br/>Grants max power and max options (only appears after losing the last life)
|}

When the player picks up any excess item, the item is worth 10,000.

After a death, either a Power Up or an Option item will spawn on screen. Since this is decided on alternating frames, it is essentially random which one you get.

Flowers are dropped by specific enemies, and the player also gets a certain number of them after beating the midboss of each stage, depending on their rank. At low rank, the player will get 2 or 4 flowers, and at high rank the player will get 8 of them.

=== Extra Lives ===
----
There are no item pick ups to gain extra lives. The player is awarded with an extra live once for reaching 1,000,000 points and a second time for reaching 77,777,777 points (effectively 77,777,780 points).

=== Rank ===
----
Rank in Hacha Mecha Fighter is tied to survival time and increases by +1 every 17 seconds. It mainly affects the number and the speed of enemy bullets. Dying reduces rank by -4. After the 1st loop, rank is fixed at 15 (maximum rank) and cannot be lowered again.

The following table gives an overview of how rank works depending on the difficulty selected in the DIP switch settings.

{| class="wikitable" style="border: none; background: none; text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="border: none; background: none;"|
! rowspan="2" | Game Start
! rowspan="2" | Stage Clear
! colspan="8" | Minimum Rank
|-
! Stage 1 !! Stage 2 !! Stage 3 !! Stage 4 !! Stage 5 !! Stage 6 !! Stage 7 !! Stage 8
|-
! colspan="2" | Easy
| 0 || +2 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7
|-
! colspan="2" | Normal (Default)
| 4 || +4 || 0 || 2 || 4 || 6 || 8 || 10 || 12 || 14
|-
! colspan="2" | Hard
| 6 || +5 || 2 || 4 || 8 || 10 || 13 || 14 || 15 || 15
|-
! colspan="2" | Hardest
| 7 || +6 || 5 || 9 || 11 || 12 || 15 || 15 || 15 || 15
|}

On low rank, the midboss of stage 1 will only drop 4 flower items. However, when the destruction of the midboss is delayed for long enough, it will drop 8 flower items instead due to the higher rank resulting from the increased survival time.

=== Loops ===
----
Hacha Mecha Fighter loops infinitely. Any loop after the first one is a simple repetition of the second loop. Therefore, the difficulty stays the same.

There are only two changes from the first to the second loop

# All enemy HP values are increased by x4.
# The rank is fixed at maximum value and cannot be decreased again.

These two changes lead to a drastically different approach to the game. For instance, from 2-4 onwards a more pacifist play, leaving certain enemies behind is the only viable way to survive.

=== Scoring ===
----

Apart from obvious scoring sources such as destroying enemies, the scoring system revolves around two main mechanics: Wall hugging and fruit items.

Pressing into the right edge of the screen makes the player earn 100 points per frame, which is pretty significant, but also hard to leverage. For example, on a lot of (mid)bosses this can be exploited and the player can spend the majority of the fights hugging the edge instead of fighting the bosses. Moreover, on stages with a floor (except stage 8), touching the ground will trigger a walking animation (pushing into it is not required, just touching it is enough) for 10 points per frame. These two things can be combined in the bottom right corner of stages with a floor for a total of 110 points per frame.

Fruit items are worth 1,000 points each on pick up and result in an additional 10,000 bonus for every fruit collected at the end of one stage. The end of stage bonus for number of fruits is capped at 99 fruits. Every additional fruit item beyond that is only worth the 1,000 on pick up. There is also a special bonus of 1,000,000 points when the player manages to not pick up a single fruit during a stage.

As one fruit item is essentially worth 11,000 (1,000 on pick up and 10,000 end of stage bonus), going for fruit collection is preferred for scoring from 91 fruits onwards (total gain 1,001,000). Otherwise, obtaining the special no fruit bonus is better for scoring.

The game can be counterstopped at 99,999,999 points.

==== End of Loop Bonus ====

After defeating the last boss at the end of every loop the player is awarded with a bonus that is tied to the best score counter (top center of the screen; not the present score of the current run). The bonus consists of 1,000,000 + the last six digits of the score counter. For example, if the final score is 20,000,100 the bonus is 1,000,100, but if the score counter is at 19,999,900 the bonus is 1,999,900 instead. This bonus is distinct from the no fruit bonus, which is also awarded after the last stage and which consistently is 1,000,000 points.
{{clear}}
[[File:HMF end bonus plan.jpg|right]]
Due to this great fluctuation in score, advanced players want to plan ahead to get the maximum number of points from this bonus. [[Hacha_Mecha_Fighter#Going_Behind_the_Big_Wheel|As explained below,]] you gain about 1.4 million points from wall hugging when timing out the last boss. Moreover, you can get an additional 200,000 points from wall hugging before and after the boss, totalling to 1.6 million points to work with when planning ahead for the end bonus.

As the table on the right shows, the ideal score before the wall hugging milk is between x,400,000-x,000,000, which would then essentially result in the same bonus and even out the scores when a partial wall milk as close to the next x,999,990 as possible is performed. If the score before the milk is between x,000,000-x,400,000 instead, a full wall milk is the best option while inevitably also losing a couple of points.
{{clear}}

==== Death Animation Points ====

When the player loses a life in stages with water (stage 2 and stage 5), 300 points per frame are awarded for every option after they have dropped into the water for a total duration of 66 frames. This means that a death with 4 options yields 79,200 points.

The same 300 points per frame are awarded when an option falls on the ground and runs away to the left side of the screen. This animation takes longer depending on how far to the right the player has died (vertical position does not matter), resulting in a maximum run animation of 87 frames for a straight run to the escape point. As the options sometimes slip in their running animation, the time frame the player is awarded with points extends to 96 or 97 frames, which is particularly prone to happen with 3 or 4 options. This results in a maximum point gain of about 115,000~116,000 points.

If the options neither fall into water nor drop to the ground (e.g. in stage 1 or the beginning of stage 3), no such points are awarded after a death.

All things considered, these points are negligible in the main game but they can become crucial for scoring high in the Caravan mode of the port.

== Strategy ==

=== Preemptive Bombing ===

As a general approach to the game, it is highly advisable to make active use of all bombs available. As early as in the last part of stage 3 with the ring-tailed lemurs, the game starts to throw almost impossible bullet patterns at the player. Due to the many Flower items, the player gets several bombs back in every stage. Particularly the midpoint section of stage 5 almost guarantees a large refill of the bombstock. This is essential for the second half of stage 5 and both stages 6 and 7, as all of them are very resource-heavy. Progressing far in Hacha Mecha Fighter means to have a solid plan when to use your bombs preemptively.

=== Bomb pointblanking ===
This point goes hand in hand with the previous one, "preemptive bombing". Starting with the stage 5 one, all bosses will have extremely large HP pools that would normally take a large amount of time to deplete. While bombs offer protection, they deal very little damage by themselves. However, bombing, then using the very generous invincibility window to go on top of enemies with all 4 options, while firing with high autofire rates, will deal very large amount of damage, much more than when fighting enemies at a safe distance. Using one or two well timed bombs with such an approach would allow the player to beat the bosses in stages 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the first loop with relative ease.

<div style='text-align: center;'>[[File:HMF_pointblank.png]]</div>

This approach can also be used against mid-sized enemies during stages.

=== Multi Object Enemies ===

Bosses and some midsize enemies commonly consist of a vehicle (e.g. submarine, train, tank) and an animal controling it. Both are two separate objects and can sometimes move independently as well. However, they share the same underlying HP value. In the majority of these cases, the animal is considered the main object and the vehicle a child object. While the main object always takes the expected damage depending on the power level your shot has, the child objects only take 1 damage point per shot ''regardless of your power level''. Essentially, this means that shooting the child objects on max power does the same amount of damage as if you would be on the lowest power level. Therefore, it is always crucial to target the animal whenever possible which in some cases requires very specific aim.

<div style='text-align: center;'>[[File:HMF boss2.png]] [[File:HMF tank.png]]</div>

As a case in point, the submarine bosses in stages 2 and 5 can be destroyed much faster when shooting the controlling sea otter that enters and leaves the submarine and always stays in the center of the group shooting a 3-way pattern. The other two sea otters are distinct enemies with their own HP values each and can be destroyed merely for extra points.

Likewise, the midsize tanks in stages 3 and 6 can be taken out much quicker with carefully targeting the driving animal when it peeks out of the vehicle.

There are two important exceptions to the otherwise prevalent rule that the animal is the main object.

# Stage 1 & 7 boss
# Stage 2 midboss

In both of these cases, the two pigs flying the plane and the sloth rope hanging down from the helicopter midboss are considered child objects taking less damage and the vehicle is the main object instead.

=== Keeping the Midboss Off Screen (stages 2 & 5) ===

The helicopter midboss of stage 2 (ditto for its return in stage 5) can be prevented from fully entering the screen. This is done by dealing enough damage the very moment it comes on screen. To do this, place your options in front of you and stay close to the right edge of the screen as shown in the image below.

<div style='text-align: center;'>[[File:HMF stage 2 mid.png]]</div>

This is only really feasible with a high autofire frequency such as 30Hz. If you have the resources to spare, a setup with a bomb is making this even more lenient. Having succeeded, the majority of the bullets fired from the sloth rope will not spawn, making this midboss much easier to deal with. Moreover, this trick can be exploited for scoring as you can wall hug easily for the whole duration of the fight as long as the sloths are off screen for well over 600,000 points.

=== Stalling the Screen (stage 6) ===

In stage 6 right before the train is rolling in at the midpoint section, two warthogs will enter the screen. If you manage to push one warthog off screen without actually killing it, the screen will continue scrolling but no new enemies enter the screen for a while. As the section right before these warthogs is very busy, it is best to use a bomb and hit either of the warthogs the exact moment they enter the screen.

<div style='text-align: center;'>[[File:HMF stage 6a.png]] [[File:HMF stage 6b.png]]</div>

If done correctly, the screen keeps scrolling but the train will not enter the screen for little bit over 2 minutes. This can be exploited for scoring by staying in the lower right corner and wall hugging for about 800,000 points. Moreover, it can be used as a break before the hectic latter half of the stage starts and also gives you enough time to find the right option placement setup for the train. By counting the clouds in the background graphics you can anticipate when the enemies enter the screen again.

The exact same trick can be performed again during the fight against the train. Another warthog will appear as the second locomotive leaves the screen. If you manage to push it off screen without killing it, like the one before the train, the screen will keep scrolling but the "half time" bonus won't appear for a little bit over 2 minutes, allowing you to wall hug for another 800,000 points.

<div style='text-align: center;'>[[File:HMF_stage_6c.png]]</div>

This requires good positioning near the right edge of the screen, as this warthog doesn't have a lot of HP in the first loop and the screen is busy. While using a bomb greatly helps, this trick can be done without using any resources.

=== Going Behind the Big Wheel ===

The final boss can be very difficult due to the high number of bullets appearing relatively late on screen and the homing orb constantly chasing the player around. Fortunantely, the boss can be completely trivialized by going behind him.

<div style='text-align: center;'>[[File:HMF stage 8a.png]] [[File:HMF stage 8b.png]]</div>

In order to go behind the boss, you simply have to use a bomb and then push yourself into the right edge of the screen. When the bomb effect wears off you will find the player sprite to be half off screen as you can move further to the right during the bomb animation than normally possible. Now you simply have to evade the homing orb by moving up and down but will be safe from everything else as long as your sprite stays half off screen. The boss will eventually time out after some time. This trick is not only useful for survival alone but is also very lucrative for scoring as you can get about 1.4 million points from wall hugging during the whole fight.

== Version Differences ==

There are two different versions of Hacha Mecha Fighter. Those can be distinguished by the size of the NMK logo on the title screen. Besides these two, a bootleg and a prototype have also been documented but they seem to be identical or at least similar to the version with the small logo. Due to the internal changes it can be hypothesized that the version with the small logo was produced first. Therefore the labels Old Version and New Version can be applied accordingly. Recently, another bootleg was found and dumped in MAME. Said bootleg (identical to the old version) replaces the soundtrack and sound effects with the ones from [[Raiden]] (although the soundtrack is sped up). It also have two fatal glitches (that probably will have to be fixed):
* It doesn't respond to any DIP Switches (e.g. setting the language to Japanese, the game will always be in English).
* Due to the glitch mentioned above, no matter how many starting lives you set, you always start with just one life.

Additionally, a PCB used for the location test of the game has been documented.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rhxL6Gjino YouTube] (uploaded by user "higenekodo" on August 24, 2012)</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="width:80%;"
|-
! style="width:10%;" | [[File:Hacha Mecha Fighter Title Screen.png|200px]] <br>"New Version"
| style="width:30%;" | This is considered to be the standard version of the game. It is the only version found on the console ports and the one used for competitive play.
|-
! style="width:10%;" | [[File:Hacha Mecha Fighter Other Version Title Screen.png|200px]] <br>"Old Version"
| style="width:30%;" | Rank increases at a slower rate in this version (every 34 seconds) compared to the standard version (every 17 seconds). This is indicated by the fact that no matter how long the destruction of the midboss in stage 1 is delayed, it won't drop more than 4 Flower Items, and may even drop only 2 Flower Items if killed too quickly.
Other changes include a shorter distance of the left side enemy kill point from the left edge of the screen (Old Version: -4px; New Version: -20px). This results in objects despawning on the left side of the screen slightly earlier in Old Version.
|-
! style="width:10%;" | [[File:Hacha Mecha Fighter loketest title screen.png|200px]] <br>"Location Test Version"
| style="width:30%;" | Used during the initial location test of the game
|}

== References & Contributors ==
<small>
# Page created and written by [[User:Plasmo|Plasmo]].
# Information on version differences provided by [[User:trap15|trap15]] based on messages posted on Discord dated February 7th, 2021.
# Indepth information on multi object enemies and rank provided by [[User:trap15|trap15]] based on messages posted on Discord dated June 17th, 2021.
</small>

[[Category:Horizontal orientation]]

File:Hacha Mecha Fighter loketest title screen.png

2025-10-02T14:19:18Z

Darker Falcon: Darker Falcon uploaded a new version of File:Hacha Mecha Fighter loketest title screen.png

Hacha Mecha Fighter loketest title screen