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Gunbird

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Gunbird
Developer(s)Psikyo
Publisher(s)Arcade
Psikyo
Jaleco (USA)
Saturn
Atlus
PlayStation
XS Games
Yahoo Mobile
Cave
Windows (Steam)[2]
Console Classics (expired), City Connection[3]
PS4, Xbox One, Switch
City Connection
Director(s)Naozumi Yorichika
Producer(s)Junichi Niwa
Shinsuke Nakamura
Designer(s)Emi Taniguchi
Wataru Yamazaki
Hyoue Ogawa
Hideyuki Oda
Yoko Tsukagoshi
Ikuya Yoshida
Norikazu Takemori
Hidenori Kamioka
Programmer(s)Toshinori Sugita
Seiki "SSS" Sato
Shiori Saito
Keisuke Takagi
Artist(s)Hirofumi Nakamura
Writer(s)Hiroshi Yamada
Composer(s)Masaki Izutani
SeriesGunbird
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation, Saturn, Yahoo Mobile, PlayStation Network, Nintendo Switch, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
ReleaseArcade
Saturn
  • JP: December 15, 1995
PlayStation
  • JP: December 15, 1995
  • EU: 2002
  • NA: March 19, 2003
Yahoo Mobile
2002
PlayStation Network
  • NA: June 25, 2009
Steam[1]
  • NA: July 17, 2015
(Mobile Light Force)
  • WW: May 11, 2020
(Gunbird)
Switch
  • NA: December 7, 2017
PS4, Xbox One
  • WW: July 27, 2022
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, two-player co-op
Arcade systemPsikyo 1st Generation[4]

Gunbird (ガンバード) is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by Psikyo and released as an arcade video game in 1994. In the US, it was published by Jaleco. It has been re-released multiple times, including on the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. When originally localized outside Japan by XS Games, Gunbird was retitled Mobile Light Force. The game was followed by Gunbird 2 in 1998 and was included in Gunbird Special Edition for PlayStation 2.

Gameplay

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Marion battling the castle stage boss (arcade).

When a player collides with the body of an enemy unit, the player loses a shot power level, and a power up flies around the screen and disappears as soon as it reaches the edge. If a player is at the lowest level of shot, the player loses a bomb instead.

There are seven stages in each of the game's two loops. The first three stages are randomly chosen from possible four. In the second loop enemies fire denser bullet patterns moving at faster speeds. Stage 2-1 takes place at the only stage not available on the first loop, instead of the 1-1 counterpart. The remaining two stages are chosen at random, but does not include the replaced stage. After completing first loop with only one player, the player can choose one of two choices for a wish with a magic potion, with unique endings for each choice. If the first loop is completed with two players, a combination-specific ending is played. Each game (on default settings) begins with three lives, and an extra life is earned at 400,000 (or 600,000).

The cutscenes between the battles with two players fighting cooperatively are frequently packed with hilarious dialogue and situations. This is often a recurring theme with Psikyo games, the Gunbird games being no exception. There are no cutscenes when playing second loop stages. The Korean arcade version contains English dialog but some sound samples are missing during play.

Plot and characters

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Gunbird uses manga-styled character as the player's chosen craft. A story plays out in between levels and before boss fights, telling a tale of how the protagonists are trying to collect pieces of a magic mirror to make a wish.

  • Ash (アッシュ): A 28-year-old German man with a jet pack on his back, who in some of the scenes between battles is discovered to be an inventor, and when two players choose Marion and Ash as cooperative partners, he takes an unhealthy interest in her. Voiced by Ryōtarō Okiayu.
  • Marion (マリオン): A 13-year-old witch from England who flies on a broomstick. She is accompanied by her talking pet rabbit, Pom-Pom, and frequently abuses the poor creature verbally and physically. Marion is fun-loving and thrill-seeking but also selfish, and has a mean streak (which Pom-Pom is often witness to). Voiced by Chiharu Tanaka.
  • Valnus (バルナス): A big robot created in Russia six months ago that has some of the best firepower in the game. Secretly wishes to be human. Voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe.
  • Yuan Nang (ヤンニャン): A strong-willed and courageous woman whose character design is highly influenced by that of Sun Wukong from the Chinese classical story Journey to the West, including a cloud-somersault parody, Ruyi Jingu Bang, and the size-changing headband that was used by the monk Tang Sanzang. Voiced by Naoko Matsui.
  • Tetsu (鉄): A strong, white-haired old man of 60 years. He is homosexual in a rather uncloseted manner and rides in a man-powered helicopter. Voiced by Sakunosuke Maya.
  • The Trump (トランプ): A group of sky pirates consist of Ace (voiced by Jōji Yanami), Claud (voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe), and their female leader Rouge (voiced by Noriko Ohara). They are not playable and serve as the players' rivals in the story.

Development and release

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The game was displayed at the PlayStation Expo '96 in Tokyo. There it was shown off alongside another vertically scrolling shooting game, Stahlfeder by developer Santos.[5]

The game was released in Japan for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn on December 15, 1995.[6][7]

The game was released in North America as Mobile Light Force for the PlayStation. All in-game plot in this version, including the game's ending, was removed and character names were changed to those of XS Games employees. The game featured a Charlie's Angels-style cover picture, completely unrelated to the original characters or the game's theme. The original's fan art gallery was also removed from the game, although the directories are still intact on the disc if inserted into a PC.

Gunbird Special Edition was a version of the game was based on an arcade version, and included the sequel, Gunbird 2. It was released only for the PlayStation 2 in 2004–2005.[8]

Gunbird was included in Psikyo Collection Vol. 1 for Nintendo Switch along with Strikers 1945, Samurai Aces and Sol Divide in 2018.[9]

In 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically-oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.[10]

Reception

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In Japan, Game Machine listed Gunbird on their November 15, 1994 issue as being the ninth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[11]

Gunbird received mostly positive reviews. Weekly Famitsu gave the PlayStation version a 29 out of 40 score.[6] An import version for the Sega Saturn earned good scores of 82% from and 80% from French magazines Consoles and Mega Force.[12][13] The three reviewers from the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine rated it 6, 8 and 9 out of 10.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Mobile Light Force (AKA GunBird) Released on Steam! | Console Classics". Consoleclassics.co. 2015-07-17. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  2. ^ "Mobile Light Force (aka Gunbird) on Steam". Store.steampowered.com. 2015-07-17. Archived from the original on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  3. ^ "GUNBIRD on Steam".
  4. ^ "Psikyo 1st Generation Hardware (Other)". System 16. 2016-03-31. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  5. ^ Official UK PlayStation Magazine writers (January 1996). "News: PlayStation Expo 96 - The First dedicated PlayStation expo". Official UK PlayStation Magazine. No. 2. p. 11.
  6. ^ a b "ガンバード [PS] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  7. ^ "ガンバード [セガサターン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  8. ^ Schmid, Matthias (2005-09-30). "Gunbird Special Edition - im Test (PS2)". MANIAC.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  9. ^ Schmid, Matthias (2019-03-29). "Psikyo Collection Vol. 1 - im Import-Test (Switch)". MANIAC.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  10. ^ McFerran, Damien (December 17, 2021). "Sega's Astro City Mini Is Getting A 'TATE' Version Packed With Shmup Goodness". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  11. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 484. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 November 1994. p. 25.
  12. ^ "Saturn Review : Gunbird : photographic image of magazine" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org (in French). Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  13. ^ "Saturn Review : Gunbird : photographic image of magazine" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org (in French). Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  14. ^ "File:SSM JP 19951222 1995-14.pdf". Sega Retro. 2016-01-01. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
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