Under Defeat

Under Defeat

Game title screen

Developer:	G.rev
Music:	Shinji Hosoe
Program:	Masakazu Takeda
Art:	Nanashiki Yamamoto
Release date:	Oct 27, 2005
Previous game:	Senko no Ronde
Next game:	Mamorukun Curse!

Under Defeat is a 2005 vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up developed by G.Rev for the Sega NAOMI arcade board. In 2012, Under Defeat HD was released for PS3 and Xbox 360, featuring a 16:9 mode and updated graphics. Yet another revision, Under Defeat HD+ is available on most modern platforms.

The game is set in an alternate history WWII where two powers, the Empire and the Union are at war. You play as two German helicopter pilots in service to the Empire, fighting back against the Union.

Gameplay Overview

Like G.Rev's other titles, Under Defeat uses a 3D engine. The entire screen is on a slight tilt, and bullets can be intercepted by buildings depending on the player's position relative to the target. Your helicopter fires three streams of bullets. Only the center stream is capable of hitting grounded targets.

The game features two aiming styles, Normal and Reverse. Normal aims in the direction of movement, and Reverse aims in the direction opposite to movement.

Controls

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• A: Shoot
• A (Charged): The Option meter charges when you aren't shooting. Press A while fully charged to release your Option.
• B: Bomb

Ships

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NOTE: The original arcade and Dreamcast versions only include the VKL 5.03.

Name	Desc
VKL 5.03	Fires two streams of bullets directly forward. Option must be charged.
VKL 7.04	Fires two streams of bullets in a wider angle. No Option; the Option projectile is included with your primary shot.
VKL 6.02	Fires two homing rockets. Option must be charged.

Weapons

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There are three Option types. You start the game with the Vulcan and switch out your Option type by grabbing the Option item, which continuously cycles through the three types as it bounces around the screen. Picking up an Option while your meter is on cooldown will automatically reset the cooldown, allowing you to charge again immediately.

Option	Pickup	Power	Charge Speed	Delay	Duration	Cooldown
Vulcan		Weak	0.5	0	7	1.5
Cannon		Medium	0.83	0.5	8	3
Rocket		Strong	1.37	1	2	5.44

The player can collect up to a maximum of 6 Bombs. Bombs render the player invincible for a short period of time while also damaging everything on screen.

Rank

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The game features a rank system, but it has little bearing on strategy. Each stage has a base rank value. Your rank is calculated by adding the base value to a "rank offset", which can increase or decrease depending on your actions.

Rank offset increases at the end of each stage when no-missing and/or no-bombing the stage. Dying decreases the rank offset by 1. Because the game has no extends (score-based or otherwise), there is no reasonable way to mitigate rank, nor is it worth doing so.

Rank primarily affects the speed of enemy bullets. This is especially pronounced on the second loop, where base rank is dramatically increased.

When practicing stages, it is advisable to set rank offset to +10 in order to simulate the worst-case scenario.

Scoring

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Enemies destroyed by the Option grant double the points. Picking up the same type of option grants a flat 5000. Tick points are gained by shooting both destructible and indestructible objects. You also receive the following bonuses at the end of each stage:

• Skill Assessment - Proportional to Contribution Percentage. Doubled if 100% and also increases the less lives you have.
• Fuel Conservation- The amount of time left on the boss timer multiplied by 1000.
• Ammo Conservation - The number of bombs left over at the end of a stage multiplied by 10000.

Your Contribution Percentage is the percentage of "contribution targets" that were destroyed during the stage. Many high-health enemies such as large tanks and turrets are fixed contribution targets, and background elements such as the howitzers in stage 1 can also be contribution targets. Random enemies can also be marked as contribution targets with striped paint.

Loops

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The game features a second loop with increased difficulty. In order to reach the second loop, one must clear the game with an average Contribution Percentage of >95%. The base rank value of stage 2-1 is +19, which is double that of stage 1-5, so bullets are noticeably faster. The screen is tinted a different color, the stages are mirrored, and certain enemies have new behaviors.

Strategy

See (Template Page)/Strategy for stage maps, enemy and boss descriptions, walkthroughs, and advanced play strategies.

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Target prioritization and screen management are highly important due to your narrow primary shot. If too many enemies clump up on screen, it's easy to get overwhelmed by intersecting bullet patterns. The game rarely requires micro-dodging if you route correctly.

The Option is key to both scoring and survival. The Rocket does massive damage against bosses and can one-shot large groups of enemies, while the Vulcan and Cannon can supplement your DPS and/or cover blind spots. The Option is immune to bullets, but can be destroyed if it collides with an enemy.

When scoring, large enemies with high score values are priority targets.

Version Differences

The arcade and Dreamcast ports are identical. The HD version has slowdown when played in TATE mode that trivializes the final boss. HD+ fixes the slowdown issues.

Trivia

• The cows at the beginning of stage 1 are possibly a reference to the background cows that appear in every Yagawa shoot 'em up (Battle Garegga, Ibara, etc.)

References & Contributors

1. Page text, info, and formatting by Reflector88