One Must Fall: 2097
Encyclopedia
One Must Fall: 2097 is a combat-oriented
computer game for all IBM-compatible computers
, programmed by Diversions Entertainment. It has a sequel, One Must Fall: Battlegrounds
.
Originally released in beta form on May 18, 1993, while later released in full form a few times sometime in 1994 by Epic MegaGames
, One Must Fall: 2097 replaces the human combatants typical of contemporary fighter video games with large Human Assisted Robots (HAR). These HARs are piloted through a physical and mental link to the human pilots; however, this is merely a plot concept, and it is never shown on-screen, neither does it factor in to gameplay. Eleven HARs and ten customizable pilots are available for play, along with five arenas and four tournaments. The pilots vary in strength, speed and endurance, thus the many HAR/pilot combinations allow for large replay value.
Unlike in most fighting games of its time, the arenas (except one, the Stadium) contain hazards. For instance, one arena features spikes coming out of the wall that can damage your robot, and one has a floating sphere that, when struck, triggers a fireball from the floor under your opponent.
The game has two main play modes: One-Player Mode, in which the company that markets the robots, World Aeronautics and Robotics (WAR), is holding a competition among its employees to decide who will be selected to oversee the establishment of the first Earth base on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede
. The second mode is Tournament Mode, set three years after the first tournament, where HAR battles have become the premier source of entertainment for Earth and you, a new competitor, must win prize money to improve your machine and ultimately become the World Champion.
The game was later patched to include multiplayer support. On February 10, 1999, the game was declared freeware
by the developers.
The ten pilots available in Story Mode are:
The ten main HARs and their features are:
The eleventh HAR, the Nova, is the final battle in story mode, and is only playable in tournament mode (or through a special cheat on the player selection screen in story mode). It is equipped with heavy missiles and grenades, and is by far the tallest of the available robots. Each HAR has three special attacks that can be discovered (except for Shadow and Nova, who both have four), along with a "scrap" and "destruction" move (similar to fatalities in Mortal Kombat) that can earn bonus points and, in some cases, unlock secrets.
Using destruction moves in the tournament mode in the higher difficulty levels sometimes results in the player being challenged by an unranked opponent. Defeating that opponent and using a destruction move on their robot occasionally yields secret components which can be installed on the players HAR, significantly improving the effectiveness of certain special moves and sometimes adding new ones.
Secret challengers include Jazz Jackrabbit
, Devan Shell, and Eva Earlong, the hero, villain, and damsel-in-distress respectively, of the Jazz Jackrabbit
videogames, also published by Epic Games around the same time.
In the full version:
Credits as shown from the Outro
:
(Kenny Chou was also known as CCCatch from the demoscene
http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,131551/).
, who was a member of the group Renaissance
. The music was done with Scream Tracker
3.0.
An early freeware beta was released of this game simply titled One Must Fall
, featuring two characters who greatly resembled Ryu
and Ken
of the Street Fighter series.
Different versions of the game had varying CPU AI flaws. Example: certain versions had all AI opponents not guarding themselves against a Shadow's or Thorn's special moves.
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
computer game for all IBM-compatible computers
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, programmed by Diversions Entertainment. It has a sequel, One Must Fall: Battlegrounds
One Must Fall: Battlegrounds
One Must Fall: Battlegrounds is a fighting game for Microsoft Windows. Developed by Diversions Entertainment and co-published in December 2003 by Diversions Publishing and Trisynergy Inc...
.
Background
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
, One Must Fall: 2097 replaces the human combatants typical of contemporary fighter video games with large Human Assisted Robots (HAR). These HARs are piloted through a physical and mental link to the human pilots; however, this is merely a plot concept, and it is never shown on-screen, neither does it factor in to gameplay. Eleven HARs and ten customizable pilots are available for play, along with five arenas and four tournaments. The pilots vary in strength, speed and endurance, thus the many HAR/pilot combinations allow for large replay value.
Unlike in most fighting games of its time, the arenas (except one, the Stadium) contain hazards. For instance, one arena features spikes coming out of the wall that can damage your robot, and one has a floating sphere that, when struck, triggers a fireball from the floor under your opponent.
The game has two main play modes: One-Player Mode, in which the company that markets the robots, World Aeronautics and Robotics (WAR), is holding a competition among its employees to decide who will be selected to oversee the establishment of the first Earth base on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede
Ganymede (moon)
Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
. The second mode is Tournament Mode, set three years after the first tournament, where HAR battles have become the premier source of entertainment for Earth and you, a new competitor, must win prize money to improve your machine and ultimately become the World Champion.
The game was later patched to include multiplayer support. On February 10, 1999, the game was declared freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
by the developers.
The ten pilots available in Story Mode are:
- Crystal Devroe - A genetic engineer trying to uncover the truth about her father's mysterious death.
- Steffan Tommas - A young sales representative who aspires to become the new president of WAR.
- Milano Steele - The only son of WAR's founder who wants to take back the company and restore its former glory.
- Christian Devroe - Crystal's twin brother who is convinced their father was murdered by WAR and is out for revenge.
- Shirro - WAR's Public Relations Director who planned the competition and wants to ensure its success.
- Jean-Paul - A brilliant market analyst with a bitter grudge against WAR president Major Kreissack.
- Ibrahim Hothe - A robotics engineer seeking inspiration for new HAR designs on Ganymede.
- Angel - A mysterious competitor with no known past or history with the company, later revealed to be a Ganymedian.
- Cossette Akira - A space station designer and paraplegic, wanting to develop technology to walk again.
- Raven - Major Kreissack's bodyguard who has his own visions for the company's future.
The ten main HARs and their features are:
- Jaguar - concussion cannons
- Shadow - creates duplicates of itself
- Thorn - monomolecular spikes
- Pyros - flamethrowers
- Electra - electric bolts
- Katana - monomolecular blades
- Shredder - detachable magnetic hands
- Flail - two swinging chains, wheels
- Gargoyle - wings, air dominance
- Chronos - teleportation, time manipulation
The eleventh HAR, the Nova, is the final battle in story mode, and is only playable in tournament mode (or through a special cheat on the player selection screen in story mode). It is equipped with heavy missiles and grenades, and is by far the tallest of the available robots. Each HAR has three special attacks that can be discovered (except for Shadow and Nova, who both have four), along with a "scrap" and "destruction" move (similar to fatalities in Mortal Kombat) that can earn bonus points and, in some cases, unlock secrets.
Using destruction moves in the tournament mode in the higher difficulty levels sometimes results in the player being challenged by an unranked opponent. Defeating that opponent and using a destruction move on their robot occasionally yields secret components which can be installed on the players HAR, significantly improving the effectiveness of certain special moves and sometimes adding new ones.
Jazz Jackrabbit (character)
Jazz Jackrabbit is a series of video games featuring the titular character of Jazz Jackrabbit, a green anthropomorphic hare, who fights with his turtle nemesis, Devan Shell, in a science fiction parody of the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare. Created by Cliff Bleszinski and developed by Epic...
, Devan Shell, and Eva Earlong, the hero, villain, and damsel-in-distress respectively, of the Jazz Jackrabbit
Jazz Jackrabbit (computer game)
Jazz Jackrabbit is a platform game developed and published by Epic MegaGames. It was released in 1994 for PCs operating DOS, with subsequent Macintosh and Microsoft Windows releases in 1995 and 1996....
videogames, also published by Epic Games around the same time.
Differences between the shareware and full versions
In the shareware version:- The Ordering Info screen is different from that in the full version.
- Only a portion of the soundtrack (three songs in all) is included, and two of the songs differ from their full game versions.
- Raven, in the Pyros HAR, is the boss, and in order to fight him, the difficulty level must be ROOKIE or higher.
- The Power Plant is the only playable arena.
- North American Open is the only available tournament.
- Crystal, Steffan, Milano, Christian, and Shirro are the only playable pilots in story mode.
- Jaguar, Shadow, and Thorn are the only robots playable in both story mode and tournament mode. Pyros is playable, too, but in tournament mode only.
- HYPER mode is unavailable.
- The button-input sequences for each HAR's Scrap and Destruction moves are different (only in previous versions of OMF)
In the full version:
- Major Kreissack, in the Nova robot, is the boss, and in order to fight him, the difficulty level must be VETERAN or higher.
Credits
Rob Elam, and his brother Ryan Elam http://www.sigilgames.com/team/ryanelam.html, developed the entire video game, with exception to the sound system and the music. Even the sound effects were created by Ryan Elam.Credits as shown from the Outro
Outro (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, the term "outro" refers to a sequence of graphics and music presented to the player as a reward for successful completion of the entire game. Outros are also commonly referred to as the game's ending...
:
- game design - Rob Elam
- programming - Rob Elam
- artwork - Rob Elam
- animation - Rob Elam
- game design - Ryan Elam
- programming assistance - Ryan Elam
- sound effects - Ryan Elam
- sound system - Joshua Jensen
- musician - Kenny Chou
(Kenny Chou was also known as CCCatch from the demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,131551/).
Production
The music was created by Kenny Chou (a.k.a. C.C.Catch) from the PC demosceneDemoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
, who was a member of the group Renaissance
Renaissance (demogroup)
Renaissance was an American PC demo group started in 1991-1992 by founding members Mosaic, C.C. Catch, Daredevil, and Tran.- History and contributions :...
. The music was done with Scream Tracker
Scream Tracker
Scream Tracker is a tracker . It was created by Psi of Finland's Future Crew It was coded in C and assembly language. The first popular version of Scream Tracker, version 2.2, was published in 1990...
3.0.
An early freeware beta was released of this game simply titled One Must Fall
One Must Fall
One Must Fall is a fighting game series for the IBM PC compatible, programmed by Diversions Entertainment.-One Must Fall:...
, featuring two characters who greatly resembled Ryu
Ryu (Street Fighter)
is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament...
and Ken
Ken Masters
, originally spelled in Japanese as , is a video game character created by Capcom. As a main character, he has appeared in all of the Street Fighter games along with his best friend and rival, Ryu...
of the Street Fighter series.
Different versions of the game had varying CPU AI flaws. Example: certain versions had all AI opponents not guarding themselves against a Shadow's or Thorn's special moves.
External links
- OMF2097.com — A fansite for One Must Fall: 2097
- OMF Universe — A fansite for One Must Fall
- One Must Fall Release Information for GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...