Gain Ground
| Gain Ground | |
|---|---|
| Screenshot of the Sega Master System version of Gain Ground Screenshot from the Sega Master System version | |
| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Sega System 24, Sega Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis, TurboGrafx-16 CD, Virtual Console |
| Release | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Up to 3 players |
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Gain Ground is an arcade game that was ported to the Sega Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis and PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16). In 2004, it was re-released in Radica Games' TVPlay Legends Vol. II TV Games compilation. It was remade in the PlayStation 2 title Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 9: Gain Ground, which was released only in Japan. The Mega Drive/Genesis version was made available on the European and Australian Virtual Console on February 2, 2007, and was made available in North America on February 5, 2007.
Gameplay
In Gain Ground, players control one of a set of characters at a time. There are twenty characters, each with different weapons. To beat a level, players must reach the exit point with at least one character or destroy all enemies on the level before time runs out.
Littered across the level are captive characters, which can be rescued by walking over, then escorting the controlled character to the exit point. If a player controlled character is killed, that character turns into a captive, except that they will disappear if the next active player controlled character dies, exits the level without them, or the player has no characters left in their party.
The game is over when all controlled characters in the party are killed without any reaching the exit. However, there are three continues which allow a player to restart the level with their original three characters.
There are 40 levels in the arcade version of the game. The Master System and the Genesis/MegaDrive have 50 levels in the game. The last level has been known for requiring suicide tactics and the wasting of one's character stock, rather than actual skill.
Characters
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There are twenty playable characters in Gain Ground, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Each character has a minor, weak weapon which can be fired in any direction, and a special weapon which has different capabilities from the normal attack, and which vary between characters.
The characters in Gain Ground also vary in which hand they hold their weapons. This was originally done purely for cosmetic purposes[citation needed], but it was very soon discovered that this feature made it easier for some characters to shoot around certain walls and obstacles than others. When selecting a character for a situation, one must consider the character's speed, weapon type and range, and with which hands they hold their weapons.
| Name | Hand, walking speed | Normal weapon | Special weapon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athra | Athra
(アスラ Asura) |
Right-handed, quick | Spear, short range | Arcing spear, short range
All directions |
| Betty | Betty
(ベティ Beti) |
Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, short range (left hand) | Grenade, short range
North only (right hand) |
| Cyber | Cyber
(サイバー Saibaa) |
Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range (right hand) | Spread missiles, long range
North only (left hand) |
| Fire Knight | Fire Knight
(ファイアーナイト Faiaanaito) |
Center, slow | Magic missile, medium range | Fireball, short range
North only |
| Gascon | Gascon
(ガスコン Gasucon) |
Right-handed, quick | Spear, short range | Arcing spear, short range
North only |
| General | General
(ジェネラル Jeneraru) |
Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range
(right hand) |
Flamethrower, short range
All directions (left hand) |
| Glow Knight | Glow Knight
(グロウナイト Guronaito) |
Center, slow | Magic missile, medium range | Orbiting balls of light |
| Honey | Honey
(ハニー Hanii) |
Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range
(left hand) |
Grenades, short range
All directions (right hand) |
| Johnny | Johnny
(ジョニー Jonii) |
Right-handed, quick | Rifle, medium range | Rifle, medium range
North only |
| Kid | Kid
(キッド Kiddo) |
Left-handed, slow | SMG, medium range | SMG, medium range
East/West simultaneously |
| Kou | Kou
(コウ Kou) |
Left-handed, slow | SMG, medium range | SMG, medium range
North only |
| Mam | Mam
(マム Mamu) |
Ambidextrous, quick | Pistol, medium range
(left hand) |
Boomerang, medium range
North only (right hand) |
| Mars | Mars
(マース Maasu) |
Right-handed, quick | Arrow, medium range | Arcing arrow, medium range
North only |
| Mud Puppy | Mud Puppy
(マッドパピー Maddopapii) |
Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range
(right hand) |
Laser cannon, long range
North only (left hand) |
| Professor | Professor
(教授 Kyoju) |
Left-handed, quick | Rifle, long range | Rifle, long range
East/West simultaneously |
| Robby | Robby
(ロビー Robii) |
Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range
(right hand) |
SAM, long range
All directions (left hand) |
| Valkyrie | Valkyrie
(バルキリー Barukirii) |
Ambidextrous, quick | Pistol, medium range
(left hand) |
Boomerang, medium range
All directions (right hand) |
| Verbal | Verbal
(バーバル Baabaru) |
Right-handed, quick | Arrow, medium range | Arcing arrow, medium range
All directions |
| Water Knight | Water Knight
(ウォーターナイト Wootaanaito) |
Center, slow | Magic missile, medium range | Water spout, short range
All directions (stuns enemies) |
| Zaemon | Zaemon
(ザエモン Zaemon) |
Center, slow | Magic missile, medium range | Tornado, short range
(Spirals outward, bounces off enemies & walls) |
History
Gain Ground started off as an arcade game. Released in Japan and America in 1988, Gain Ground ran on the Sega System 24 architecture. It supported up to three players at once. Each player had an 8-direction controller and two buttons.
Gain Ground was ported to the Sega Master System in 1990 and the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991. Renovation Products released the game in the United States. Both coversions were handled by Sanritsu. In 1992, a PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version (Gain Ground SX) was released by NEC Avenue. In 2004, the game was remade for a modern audience on the PlayStation 2 as part of Sega's Sega Ages 2500 series. It's now been ported onto the Wii's Virtual Console for download.
Storyline
From a Gain Ground flyer:
A long period of peace has deprived the earthlings of their instinct to wage war. The Federated Government, greatly concerned regarding this ever increasing dangerous situation, developed a GAIN GROUND simulation system in the year 2348 in an effort to instigate their ever waning fighting spirit. However, suddenly without warning, the Supercomputer went berserk and took many of the citizens as hostages. In order to rescue the POWs, three of the bravest warriors were urgently dispatched to go forth into the deadly GAIN GROUND.
Trivia
- One of the characters in Gain Ground has the same name as a Namco character; Valkyrie. She is the main antagonist of the game The Legend of Valkyrie.
External links
- Gain Ground at the Killer List of Videogames
- Translation of an interview with Yoshiki Ohka, one of the programmers for Gain Ground, via the Internet Archive.