Star Force
 |
| Star Force | |
|---|---|
 European arcade flyer of Star Force. | |
| Developer(s) | Tehkan |
| Publisher(s) | Tehkan |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, NES, MSX, Sega SG-1000, Sharp X68000, Mobile phones |
| Release | 1984 , 2000 = Paramount Corporation Virtual Console |
| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Two players, alternating turns |
Star Force (スターフォース) (released in North America by Video Ware in the arcades as Mega Force) is a vertical shoot 'em up arcade video game made in 1984 by Tehkan (now known as Tecmo). In Japan, users considered it to be a monumental work among shooting games, because it revolutionized the world of shooting by showing the exciting sensation of shooting as much as users wanted in rapid-fire, which quietly settled into users' hearts. Unaware of that passion, caravan tournaments occurred around Japan, and created a stir in society. In North America, it didn't catch much attention due to the effects of the North American video game crash of 1983. Also, most people thought it was just another space shooter.
Gameplay
In the game, the player pilots a starship called the Final Star, while shooting various enemies and destroying enemy structures for points. Unlike later vertical scrolling shooters, like Twin Cobra, the Final Star had only two levels of weapon power, and no secondary weapons like missiles and/or bombs. Each stage in the game was named after a letter of the Greek alphabet. At least in certain versions of the game, players got level "infinity" after Omega, after which the game repeats indefinitely.
Legacy
- Super Star Force: Jikuureki no Himitsu: Released in 1986 for the Japanese Nintendo Famicom.
- Final Star Force: Released for the Arcades in 1992.
Ports and related releases
Star Force was ported in 1985 to the Famicom and MSX home computer by Hudson Soft themselves (likely because Tecmo would become a licensee of Nintendo only in 1986). The North American version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was published in 1987 by Tecmo with modified graphics, music, and control over the Famicom version. Despite the U.S. arcade version being titled Mega Force, Tecmo decided to release the NES version under the name Star Force. It was also ported to the Sega SG-1000, Sharp X68000 and mobile phones. In 1995, along with two other NES shooters, Star Force was remade with very little upgrade, for the Super Nintendo in the Japan-only release of the Caravan Shooting Collection. It was also included in Hudson's compilation of NES shooters in 2006 in Hudson Best Collection Vol. 5. In 2009, Star Force was made available for download on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console for 500 points.
This game is freaking awesome :D
External links
- Template:StrategyWiki
- Star Force at the Killer List of Videogames
- Star Force at MAWS
- Star Force at arcade-history
- Star Force fan page at Galaga Manix (Japanese)
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