Vertical Force
Encyclopedia
Vertical Force is a vertically-scrolling shooter, with two layers (to utilize the 3-D features of the system) for Nintendo
's Virtual Boy
video game system. It was developed by Hudson Soft and released in 1995.
s, the player controls a ship whose purpose is to shoot any enemy that enters the screen. Collecting powerups will change the weapon used. By pressing a button, the ship can move into the foreground to avoid or shoot enemies or collect powerups that lie on the ground below, similar to Data East
's arcade version of Battle Wings
. Some boss enemies can only be defeated by cycling between the two fields. An additional gameplay element is the ability to use "drones"; AI-controlled smaller spaceships that assist the player's starfighter. The game has a high-score board, but no battery-powered memory with which to save those scores, so they are lost when the player turns off the Virtual Boy unit.
, perhaps?) that renders all Earth starfighters useless. Fortunately, an archaeology team has found an ancient starfighter on the planet Ragnarok that is fortuitously impervious to the drones' signal. Naturally, it is up to the player to command this starship and destroy all the alien drones.
The game includes several references to Norse mythology
. The planet where the player's starfighter is found is called Ragnarok, which is in Norse mythology the large battle at the end of the world. The giant, corrupted computer that is the villain of the game calls itself Mittgard, a play on words for Midgard, which was said to be where all humans lived and in the middle of the tree of life. The name of the human colony is Odin, the name of the Norse supreme god or "all father".
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy
The was a video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying "true 3D graphics" out of the box. Whereas most video games use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional...
video game system. It was developed by Hudson Soft and released in 1995.
Gameplay
Like in most vertical shoot 'em upShoot '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 player controls a ship whose purpose is to shoot any enemy that enters the screen. Collecting powerups will change the weapon used. By pressing a button, the ship can move into the foreground to avoid or shoot enemies or collect powerups that lie on the ground below, similar to Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
's arcade version of Battle Wings
Battle Wings
Battle Wings is a vertically scrolling shooter first released as an arcade game by Data East in 1984. The game was ported to the Family Computer in 1986.-Gameplay:...
. Some boss enemies can only be defeated by cycling between the two fields. An additional gameplay element is the ability to use "drones"; AI-controlled smaller spaceships that assist the player's starfighter. The game has a high-score board, but no battery-powered memory with which to save those scores, so they are lost when the player turns off the Virtual Boy unit.
Plot
The game takes place in "Space Era 210." The giant computer that takes care of a human colony planet named Odin suddenly malfunctions and decides to send an army of drone starfighters to destroy Earth. These drones emit a signal (an Electromagnetic pulseElectromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
, perhaps?) that renders all Earth starfighters useless. Fortunately, an archaeology team has found an ancient starfighter on the planet Ragnarok that is fortuitously impervious to the drones' signal. Naturally, it is up to the player to command this starship and destroy all the alien drones.
The game includes several references to Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. The planet where the player's starfighter is found is called Ragnarok, which is in Norse mythology the large battle at the end of the world. The giant, corrupted computer that is the villain of the game calls itself Mittgard, a play on words for Midgard, which was said to be where all humans lived and in the middle of the tree of life. The name of the human colony is Odin, the name of the Norse supreme god or "all father".