Gunbird

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Gunbird Logo.png
Gunbird
Gunbird Promotional Poster.jpg

Arcade flyer

Developer: Psikyo
Official site: X-Nauts
Program: Toshinori Sugita
Seiki 'SSS' Saito
Shiori Saito (Shiori.)
Keisuke Takagi
Art: Hirofumi Nakamura
Release date: Arcade: Mar 22nd, 1993 (Jaleco)

Saturn: Dec 15th, 1995

PSX:

  • JP:Dec 15th, 1995
  • NA:Mar 19th, 2003 (Mobile Light Force)
  • EU:2003 (Mobile Light Force)

Switch: Feb 08th, 2018 (Zerodiv),Store Page

Steam: May 10th, 2020 (City Connection, Zero Div), Store Page
Previous game: Sengoku Ace
Next game: Strikers 1945

Gunbird (or Mobile Light Force in some western ports), is the first game in the Gunbird series and the second game that was developed by Psikyo. The game has been ported to multiple platforms across the years, including the Saturn, the PSX, and also modern devices like Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Internationally, on 2003, it received a now infamous port on the PSX with the title Mobile Light Force, accompanied with a legendary bad cover that looks more like a Charlie Angels tie-in game than Gunbird. While it does play fine, the cover has to this day still confused people what the name of this game even is. It's Gunbird, no questions asked, but the cover has to be seen to be believed (Seriously, google it, you will wonder how did it get past Quality Assurance)

The game puts the player in a mix-and-match setting taking inspiration from Steampunk, Medieval, and Treasure Hunting tropes and designs, with a search for the McGuffin as the main plot. The game doesn't take itself very seriously and leans toward the tropes from the genres it takes from.

Gameplay Overview

Gunbird is vertically scrolling shooter with 8-way movement and two buttons. There are four levels of shot power-up: at full power. When the player is hit, the power level will drop down to minimum, but a power item will drop. By holding down the fire button, your character will stop shooting and begin charging their Charge Attack, which varies from character to character. There is no Melee Charge Attack like in Gunbird 2. Unlike later Psikyo titles, this Charge Attacks take much longer to finish charging on average, forcing the player to find spots where they can be used safely.

For each life, a player will have access to 2 bombs, with a maximum number of 8, which the player can get to by collecting the bomb icons some enemies drop. Bombs act like your average screen nuke. Some characters become inmeditealy vulnerable when pressing the bomb button, making them especially good as a defensive mechanic in those instances.

Some enemies won't cause a Miss on contact, but will instead drop down a shot level, or a bomb if the player was already at minimum power.

Each game loop consists of seven stages, with the first three stages being randomly chosen from a possible four. After defeating the last boss the player automatically enters a second loop. The second loop features remixed enemy and bullet patterns which are much more difficult.

The player starts with 3 total lives. There is one extend at 400,000 points. Both can be changed on the Dipswitches menu.

Characters


Note: Character stats are rough guesstimates until more concrete data is found. Research needed.

Ash Power Charge Bomb Movement
Ash GB1.png High Slow Vulnerable Fastest

Main Shot: Fires a straight shot.

Sub Shot: Fires energy rings that have a wider arc the long er they travel.

Charge Attack Shoots an energy sphere

Bomb: Drops an explosive cannon-ball to the ground, with a giant explosion afterwards.

Ash is an all-rounder with great movement. His charge and main shot deal good damage, and his sub shot has a decent enough spread. He has the fastest movement in the game, which is very useful to players that know what dodges become available to him. While he has a high skill ceiling, he is also easy to play, without many weaknesses aside from slow charge shots and weak bomb which can be annoying in bosses.


Marion Power Charge Bomb Movement
Marion GB1.png Low Average Invulnerable Medium

Main Shot: Fires a wide shot with spread

Sub Shot: Fires star-shaped bullets that home on enemies

Charge Shot: Fires her rabbit companion surrounded with magical energy.

Bomb: Releases multiple arc-shaped magic shots at all sides

Marion is a beginner-friendly character, with a Main and Sub shot that have great coverage to hit all enemies on the screen, which allows the player to focus on dodging, while also having good single target damage with her charge shot. Her homing and invulnerable bomb makes her very recommended to players new to the game or the genre as a whole. However, her damage without charge is really low, and more experienced players may become frustrated due to her low damage making it harder to kill enemies as easily as they can with other shot-types.


Valnus Power Charge Bomb Movement
300p Medium Fast Invulnerable Slow

Main Shot: Fires a wide shot with no spread

Sub Shot: Fires laser beams with a slight angle that cover the sides of Valnus. Pierces enemies.

Charge Shot: Valnus does the Mecha staple Rocket Punch with both arms.

Bomb: Releases a giant energy emission at all sides of the screen.

Valnus is a fairly balanced character, with good screen coverage and an invincible bomb. While he is slow, his sub shots can pierce enemies while having a piercing effect that can be useful for damaging rows of enemies or multiple boss parts at a time. His charge attack has low range but fairly fast activation time. His slow nature an unimpressive damage can make it hard to fight bosses however. A decent pick for all skill levels, and a great one for Mecha fans.


Yuan-Nang Power Charge Bomb Movement
Yuan-Nang GB1.png Medium Fastest Vulnerable Fast

Main Shot: Fires a straight shot.

Sub Shot: Fires blue colored swords at a periodic rate

Charge Shot: Extends her weapon at Melee range

Bomb: Summons multiple clones of herself that move forward.

Yuan-Nang is a high risk, high reward character. Her charge shot is by far the fastest of the cast, but also the tiniest and least long-lasting. This makes her gameplay all about charging her attack, releasing and weaving through bullets in the top side of the screen while speed-killing every large enemy. She is best used by players that already know bullet patterns of enemies, and want to try a more aggressive, mobile play-style.


Tetsu Power Charge Bomb Movement
Tetsu GB1.png Very High Slowest Vulnerable Slowest

Main Shot: Fires a wide shot with no spread.

Sub Shot: Fires missiles in front of Tetsu at periodic rates

Charge Shot: Tetsu releases a barrage of missiles in a straigth line

Bomb: Drops multiple napalm strikes that slowly travel the screen.

Tetsu is all about raw fire power. His normal and charge shot deal very high damage, but his movement is slow, and his bomb is neither invulnerable nor reaches enemies fast enough to be used on reaction to bad spots. He can deal very good damage and speed kill enemies while as far away as he can, and his bomb does deal very good damage, even if it's a bit sluggish. If all you want is pure strenght, give him a try, although, just like Yuan-Nang, he is best reserved by players that already know enemy patterns.

Items


Gunbird2 p.png
Power Up
Increases your shot power (max power after the 3rd item)
Gunbird b.png
Bomb
Increases your bomb stock by 1. With all bombs stocked, grabbing a new one will increase the score by 10.000 points
Gunbird coin.png
Gold Coin
200 point score item.

Loops


After clearing 7 stages and defeating the last boss, the player automatically enters a second loop. The second loop features significantly denser bullet patterns, and enemies will now release revenge bullets on death. Stage 2-1 takes place in the stage that was not selected in the first loop.