Wolf Fang
Encyclopedia
, known outside of Japan as Rohga: Armor Force, is a 1991
run and gun
/platform
hybrid arcade game
developed and published by Data East
. It is the sequel to Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation
and was followed by Skull Fang Kuhga Gaiden.
in 1999 and since then Ragnarok (aka: DAGGER) - the organization responsible for the events - have disappeared following their air borne destruction.
During that time, mech technology has been the boom of future military projects worldwide with the biggest factories residing in Oceania
. These mechs become the main target of Ragnarok when it resurfaces and claims the military factories and cities of Australia
and New Zealand
. Their plan is to apparently use any and all of the deadliest mechs that have not yet reached completion to their chaotic liking.
The USAF and RAAF organize a strike force to reclaim major attacked points in the two countries with the assistance of the best mech operators they can find. Players then assume the role of mech-fighters who aim to liberate Australia or, depending on the player's actions, New Zealand.
Players start along the shores of Australia and proceed to Sydney
before being allowed to choose where to go from there. If players continue to explore Australia, then they will have a variety of places to choose from while if they pick New Zealand then they will have even more, different levels to choose from with different settings.
Players choose from a similar line-up of weapons from Vapor Trail including the following:
Vulcan: A rapid-fire, spread-shot auto-cannon.
Cluster shot: A weapon consisting of green circulating shots that proffer a 'shot-gun effect' type of fire in that it spreads the further it travels.
Grenade gun: A slow firing, but thoroughly powerful grenade launcher that has the unique ability to destroy most enemy shots.
Laser gun: A straight firing laser weapon that increases in strength with upgrades, but does not cover a wide range of fire.
Players can also pick-up friendly Oceanic defense force members equipped with semi-automatic rifles and jet packs that mount themselves on the player's mech. Their job is to fire in the player's blind-spots such as from behind and around the mech. Players can hold up to four members at a time, but if hit once by an enemy will lose all of them temporarily.
The player's mech has up to eight points of health that when completed depleted, forces the player's mech operator to eject safely. While the operator is still armed with the weapon pick-ups the player received, they are reduced to a one-hit kill state.
PlayStation
and Sega Saturn
in 1996 and 1997 respectively by conversion company Xing
(famous for the arcade port collection known as Arcade Gears).
The console versions have added features such as a new title screen, new introduction, an arranged soundtrack and a staff roll after the endings. The arcade versions outside Japan however, have a number of things cut. There is no story intermissions between the stages and there is no stage selection leading to 4 different endings found on the Japanese version, but the game cycles through all 12 stages like in the Japanese version's expert mode.
1991 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Microprose creates Civilization, Sid Meier's most successful game .*Electronic Arts releases James Pond 2 and Road Rash for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, starting a series of games that were popular in the 1990s....
run and gun
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...
/platform
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
hybrid arcade game
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...
developed and published by 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...
. It is the sequel to Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation
Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation
Vapor Trail: Hyper Offense Formation, known in Japan as and usually simply referred to as Vapor Trail, is a 1989 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East...
and was followed by Skull Fang Kuhga Gaiden.
Plot
Two years have passed since the military occupation of New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1999 and since then Ragnarok (aka: DAGGER) - the organization responsible for the events - have disappeared following their air borne destruction.
During that time, mech technology has been the boom of future military projects worldwide with the biggest factories residing in Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. These mechs become the main target of Ragnarok when it resurfaces and claims the military factories and cities of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Their plan is to apparently use any and all of the deadliest mechs that have not yet reached completion to their chaotic liking.
The USAF and RAAF organize a strike force to reclaim major attacked points in the two countries with the assistance of the best mech operators they can find. Players then assume the role of mech-fighters who aim to liberate Australia or, depending on the player's actions, New Zealand.
Gameplay
Wolf Fang plays very much like a scrolling horizontal shooter in which players are set on a scrolling background and must destroy every enemy in their path. However, because the players control a mech, the players can hover against slanted walls in the back ground and occasionally land on higher platforms. Players are set with 2D controls much like a platformer as they face whichever horizontal direction they choose, can duck, aim their gun upwards by a 45 degree angle and jump. Players can also move and aim their gun in different directions by holding a certain button down.Players start along the shores of Australia and proceed to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
before being allowed to choose where to go from there. If players continue to explore Australia, then they will have a variety of places to choose from while if they pick New Zealand then they will have even more, different levels to choose from with different settings.
Armaments and Weapons
As the players control a mech, they have the opportunity to arm the mech with different weapons. There are four types of mechs they can choose from, each one offering different attacks and stage of mobility as they can choose a standard walking mech, a hovering mech a four legged mech and a six wheeled mech. They can however assemble a mech according to armaments and features of their choosing.Players choose from a similar line-up of weapons from Vapor Trail including the following:
Vulcan: A rapid-fire, spread-shot auto-cannon.
Cluster shot: A weapon consisting of green circulating shots that proffer a 'shot-gun effect' type of fire in that it spreads the further it travels.
Grenade gun: A slow firing, but thoroughly powerful grenade launcher that has the unique ability to destroy most enemy shots.
Laser gun: A straight firing laser weapon that increases in strength with upgrades, but does not cover a wide range of fire.
Players can also pick-up friendly Oceanic defense force members equipped with semi-automatic rifles and jet packs that mount themselves on the player's mech. Their job is to fire in the player's blind-spots such as from behind and around the mech. Players can hold up to four members at a time, but if hit once by an enemy will lose all of them temporarily.
The player's mech has up to eight points of health that when completed depleted, forces the player's mech operator to eject safely. While the operator is still armed with the weapon pick-ups the player received, they are reduced to a one-hit kill state.
Ports and related releases
Wolf Fang was ported to the SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
and Sega Saturn
Sega 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 1996 and 1997 respectively by conversion company Xing
Xing
Xing may refer to:* an abbreviation for crossing, primarily used in North America* Qiao Xing Universal Telephone Inc. * XING, a social network platform* Xing County, in Shanxi, China* Xing - A Korean boyband...
(famous for the arcade port collection known as Arcade Gears).
The console versions have added features such as a new title screen, new introduction, an arranged soundtrack and a staff roll after the endings. The arcade versions outside Japan however, have a number of things cut. There is no story intermissions between the stages and there is no stage selection leading to 4 different endings found on the Japanese version, but the game cycles through all 12 stages like in the Japanese version's expert mode.