Valtric

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Valtric logo.png

Valtric
Valtric title screen.png

Title screen

Developer: NMK
Publisher: Jaleco
Music: Shinichi Sakamoto[1]
Program: Satoshi Nakamura[1]
Tamio Nakasato[1]
Release date: November 1986[2]
Previous game: Argus
Next game: P-47

Valtric (JP: バルトリック) is a vertical scrolling shoot em' up developed by NMK and published by Jaleco released in 1986. The game features 8-way movement, non-automatic scrolling and projectiles aimed with a reticle similar to the likes of Xevious.

It never received any rereleases.

Gameplay Overview

Valtric is a 2-buttons shooter with 4 stages (called Areas in-game). Finishing all of them will send the player back to Area 1 as the game has infinite loops. Extends are granted at 30,000 points and then every 100,000 points. Every stage has a mid-boss and a boss at the end of it.

Controls

  • A button: Fires the player's main shot and bombs.
  • B button: Activates the Jump if there is one in stock.

Weapons

Shot

This is the player's primary weapon, it can defeat regular enemies and turrets, but not the ones high above. The shot can be upgraded by collecting red colored power ups.

Bomb

These are thrown automatically at a fixed distance (as shown by the reticle) when firing the shot. Bombs are the only way to destroy turrets high above and uncovering ? spots in the ground. Unlike the shot, bombs cannot be upgraded.

Jump

The player starts with 3 of them available. Using a Jump will propel the player into the air for a few seconds, unable to be killed by enemies. In some cases, they are mandatory for progressing further into a stage. Each Jump in stock will grant 1,000 points at the end of stages. The player can have up to 5 Jumps.

Dying with extra Jumps unused won't revert back to 3.

Items

These are found during stages by throwing bombs into the ? spots in the ground.

Note that the Red and Purple items stop appearing when their respective upgrades are maxed out.

Item Description
Valtric red powerup.png Red
Powers up the player's shot.
Valtric green powerup.png Green
Destroys all small enemies, flying enemies and erases bullets currently on the screen.
Valtric purple powerup.png Purple
Adds a Jump.
Valtric blue powerup.png Blue
Grants temporary invincibility.
Valtric shield.png Shield
Adds a shield pod that can withstand 1 hit. It fires in the direction it was attached to.
Grants 1,000 points when picked up with both shields.
Valtric warp.png Warp
Sends the player to the end of the stage for a limited time (30 seconds).

Loops

Valtric loops infinitely. Enemies' bullet speed and aggressiveness is drastically increased during the loops.

Strategy

Time-out enemies

Valtric timeout enemies.png

Due to the non-autoscroll nature of this game, to prevent the player from endlessly milking sections there are flying enemies that appear when the screen hasn't scrolled for a while (though they also appear in fixed spots), who will drop several missiles and bullets. As they are flying enemies they cannot be destroyed Green items, therefore it's important to anticipate their appearance, especially after dying since the player will be uncovering items and not advancing the scroll. Furthermore, the time it takes for them to spawn is shorter in the latter stages.

Warps

While it is not doable to defeat a boss under the 30 seconds time limit given by the warps, they provide a good opportunity to destroy smaller parts of them (like turrets) before being warped back, allowing for a slightly easier fight when the player reaches the boss the regular way.

Stage 2 Jump

Near the beginning of stage 2 there is a section that -normally- would require a Jump to make it across as trying to go over water is fatal. However, because dying by falling onto water doesn't happen immediately it's possible to go through it unharmed by sticking to the narrow gaps, not having to use a Jump.

Push forward in this spot and you won't have to use a Jump.

Terrain changes

During stages 2 and 3, there are specific turrets that will turn water into regular terrain upon being destroyed.

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.

Trivia

  • Cool facts and random tidbits go here!

References & Contributors

  • Page creation and primary info provided by Andrew98.