Gun Frontier (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
Gun Frontier is a vertical scrolling shooter
developed by Taito
for the arcade
and released in 1990.
. Though poor, the gold trade aided the Glorian's in advancing technology and knowledge, so much that among the inhabitants lived talented inventors and engineers.
However, the Glorian's were not the only ones who were tempted by the planet's gold: Space pirates known as the Wild Lizards quickly invade Gloria and decimate the towns of the people and enslave those who survived in an attempt to deplete the planet's gold supply. Two inventors of Gloria who were a part of the planet's development teams decide to strike back at their invaders using two fighter jets in the shape of giant revolvers with plane wings.
The players can also pick up spinning coins with two different sides: a silver side and a gold side. If the player collects the coin on the silver side, then the player merely gains another coin for their guns. However, if the player collects the coin on the gold side, then the player's guns and bomb supply is maximized to full power.
A unique feature to the player's bombs is that the direction of the bomb's blast can be determined by the player's movement. If the player moves their plane to the lower right of the screen and launches their bombs, then the direction the bomb will travel in the opposite direction the plane's movement. This feature can only be used however when a player has a large bomb count as only having one or two bombs will result in a small directionless explosion. Like most bombs in shoot 'em up
s, the bombs also work as a shield against enemy fire.
The game uses a check-point system in which a downed single player will start off at the beginning of the check-point they died at.
Gun Frontier also employs an anti-autofire mechanism where the difficulty will max out by the second stage if the player is sustaining too fast of a fire rate.
in 1997 (as volume 2 of the Arcade Gears series)http://www.segagagadomain.com/saturn15/arcade_gunfrontier.htm; in 2006, it was included in the compilation Taito Legends 2
for Windows
, Xbox
, and PlayStation 2
.
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
developed by Taito
Taito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
for the arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
and released in 1990.
Story
The year is 2120: Earthlings have spread beyond their galaxy and have started to colonize uninhabited planets in different solar systems. One such planet to be colonized was the Earth-like planet Gloria which happened to have an enormous natural supply of gold. This discovery became pivotal to Gloria's emigration, so much that emigrators would be impoverished by the cost of reaching the planet. Because of this, life on the planet thrived in a setting similar to the American Old WestAmerican Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
. Though poor, the gold trade aided the Glorian's in advancing technology and knowledge, so much that among the inhabitants lived talented inventors and engineers.
However, the Glorian's were not the only ones who were tempted by the planet's gold: Space pirates known as the Wild Lizards quickly invade Gloria and decimate the towns of the people and enslave those who survived in an attempt to deplete the planet's gold supply. Two inventors of Gloria who were a part of the planet's development teams decide to strike back at their invaders using two fighter jets in the shape of giant revolvers with plane wings.
Gameplay
As far as vertical scrolling shooters go, Gun Frontier is very standard. Players start with dual machine guns which are strengthened and multiplied by upgrades that come in the shape of US dimes taken from buffalo shaped enemies and every five dimes empowers the ship's guns. Players also start with a bomb supply which is upgraded to further destruction by collecting gold bars from destroyed ground forces. Once a player accumulates 25 bombs, they are granted access to the Bomber Max, the strongest of the player's bombs.The players can also pick up spinning coins with two different sides: a silver side and a gold side. If the player collects the coin on the silver side, then the player merely gains another coin for their guns. However, if the player collects the coin on the gold side, then the player's guns and bomb supply is maximized to full power.
A unique feature to the player's bombs is that the direction of the bomb's blast can be determined by the player's movement. If the player moves their plane to the lower right of the screen and launches their bombs, then the direction the bomb will travel in the opposite direction the plane's movement. This feature can only be used however when a player has a large bomb count as only having one or two bombs will result in a small directionless explosion. Like most bombs in shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
s, the bombs also work as a shield against enemy fire.
The game uses a check-point system in which a downed single player will start off at the beginning of the check-point they died at.
Gun Frontier also employs an anti-autofire mechanism where the difficulty will max out by the second stage if the player is sustaining too fast of a fire rate.
Home releases
Gun Frontier was ported to the Sega SaturnSega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
in 1997 (as volume 2 of the Arcade Gears series)http://www.segagagadomain.com/saturn15/arcade_gunfrontier.htm; in 2006, it was included in the compilation Taito Legends 2
Taito Legends 2
Taito Legends 2 is the sequel to Taito Legends and is a follow-up collection of 39 Taito arcade games for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC....
for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
.