Terra Diver
 Soukyugurentai Terra Driver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Raizing |
| Publisher(s) | Raizing (arcade) Electronic Arts (Saturn) |
| Composer(s) | Hitoshi Sakimoto |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, EZweb, i-mode, Yahoo Mobile |
| Release | 1996 (arcade) 1997-02-07 (Saturn) |
| Genre(s) | Vertical scrolling shooter, Manic shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, 2 player Co-op |
| Arcade system | Sega Titan Video |
Terra Diver (Soukyugurentai (蒼穹紅蓮隊, Blue Heavens Red Lotus Team) in Japanese) is a vertically scrolling shooter game released by Raizing in 1996. It is often considered to be one of the finest shooters on the Saturn.[citation needed] The game is unusual in that, rather than using a 3:4 aspect ratio to simulate the arcade feel of other shooters, it uses a horizontal monitor (4:3) in the style of Giga Wing and Radiant Silvergun.
Gameplay
Soukyugurentai is a vertical side-scrolling shooter. The player picks one of three different ships - red, green or blue - each with their own pilot, fire pattern and laser web. Each ship has a standard gun and a bomb, but the most distinctive of these aspects is the laser-web: holding down the button for the standard gun will release a lock-on laser-web traditionally shaped as a cone or semicircle, which will destroy the enemies it locks onto after releasing the buttons.
Each ship has two different lock-on weapons that function as web-designed laser targets.[clarification needed] Once an enemy enters the web's range, the player can destroy the enemy or multiple enemies can be destroyed via homing lasers or multiple fire-balls.
The game is not as hard as other shooters such as Radiant Silvergun, but the amount of enemies and fast pace make for a very hectic experience.{{Fact}
Story
After exhausting the Earth’s resources, particularly fossil fuel, innumerable trade companies team up with NASA and begin initiating space programs dedicated to finding resources outside the planet Earth. Mining facilities are established in different areas outside of Earth, particularly on large asteroids near the Moon and most especially on Mars. Various resources are found from these areas and distributed to Earth which aid in the world economy. The largest company that is established from this is the Jin-Sei (Exhausting Star) Corporation set in Japan which is worth 1 trillion in New Yen investments, founded by the Miama family.
However, after years of space resource distribution, the separate companies started initiating attacks that would dominate other company’s resources. Coupled with this, eco-terrorism was on the rise as out-spoken ecosystem protectionism groups opposed the company's outsourcing of materials. The strongest of these attacks started on Martian colonies established by the second largest company on Earth, Eight Luck Interstellar Development Inc. which banded with smaller companies across Earth including ones in China, England and America. Eight Luck planned on claiming Mars for its own so as to monopolize on the outsourcing of minerals as well as developing terra-formed areas.
In response to these attacks, the Jin-Sei formed a union with the JSDF (known in the future as JDF) and began working on a space fighter program organized by the Defensive Section 2 of the JDF known as the Red Lotus Team (SOQ for short) which utilized a unique laser technology fighting system known as NALS (Non-blind spot All range Laser System) in combat.
Made up of the best fighters adapted to this combat system as well as innumerable stamina strengthening tests for space travel, the SOQ are sent in to defend company territory from rival companies on Earth and space at all costs.
Ships and pilots
In addition to these three pilots, a fourth playable yellow fighter was added to the original three ship, RGB colored cast, as part of the PlayStation release.[citation needed]
SOQ 004 - Toryu (Dragon Slayer)
Color: Red
Speed: Quick
Shot pattern: Straight + Diagonal Angle fire
NALS Webs:
Ei-Dou: semi-circle web, laser fire
Pin-Point: cone web, incendiary fire
Pilot: Kaoru Yoshida
Department manager of the Defensive Section 2 and one of the most talented SOQ fighters in the line. Though being the oldest and most experienced of her team-mates, she is also the most advanced member of her team in regards to bone strengthening and neurological enhancements, making her the optimum fighter pilot in deep-space combat. Despite facing social nuances such as a bitter divorce and starting a new family, she is a confident woman who forgets her worries in her work.
SOQ 010 - Shien (Purple Lightning)
Color: Blue
Speed: Average
Shot pattern: Wide-Spread fire + Miniature-Homing Missile launchers
NALS webs:
All Range: full circle web, centralised electric fire
Bou-Ryu: semi-circle web, laser fire
Pilot: Ryota Mikazuki
The newest and youngest member of the SOQ Defensive Section 2 and has been with the Jin-Sei’s defense program for a year. Has excelled in physical training as well as the NALS fighting system, proving to be an excellent pilot with a strong and boisterous spirit under a moody facade. What few people know about him however is that he is one of President Miama’s sons; he went into hiding years ago for being unable to ventilate his feelings and emotions about the family company which he could not confront his father with.
SOQ 025 - Houga (Fang)
Color: Green
Speed: Slow
Shot pattern: Heavy fire + Dual Directional guns
NALS webs:
Random: multi-directional cone web, incendiary fire
Mu-Sou: cone web, laser fire
Pilot: Rika Kunimura
Her primary role in the Jin-Sei is Defense Plans & Operations chief assistant. She has had previous experience with the NALS fighting system since her school days, but because of her quarrelsome and independent nature she was issued to the Lunar surface mining facility for the company. During an attack on the facility, she was called into action by the main office and because of her excellent combat skills during a time of emergency was promoted to the SOQ. Her argumentative and liberal views are rooted in the fact that she is partly Swedish on her mother's side and was raised that way, which may explain why her speech and behavioral patterns are misinterpreted by her companions, but deep down she is a very compassionate woman.
Bosses
- YF-152 'Kokobetsu' - US Air Force owned jet bomber with a great bomb and fire capacity. It was the strongest fighter responsible for an attack against the Jin-Sei main office districts of Tokyo.
- Anti-Space Anti-Ground satellite Shin-Sen - Eight Luck owned satellite that serves as a mutli-attack unit against space and ground forces on Earth. The satellite was actually used to organise the prior surprise attack on Tokyo.
- Grapple Strategy Attack tank 'Don-Ryu' (Storm Dragon) - An alarmingly fast and destructive Chinese military owned tank armed with various guns and dual flame-throwers shaped like dragon heads (hence the Japanese name).
- General Purpose Strategy Aggressive space craft 'Akitaka' - A massive mech that is armed with innumerous guns, particularly two frontal cannons that can fire up to three different weapons. This mech was stationed at the Jin-Sei owned lunar asteroid satellite Heaven Source.
- Polar Region Strategic Transport attack plane 'Kaihou' - Royal airforce owned amphibious battle plane stationed at the Jin-Sei south pole mining facility.
- High Altitude Relay and Attack plane 'Bakuzan' - A massive secret weapon stationed at Eight Luck attack HQ on Mars capable of multiple attack directions.
Releases
Soukyugurentai was originally an ST-V arcade game, so it received a near-perfect Sega Saturn release. It also received a PlayStation port, which was nearly perfect (it had a slight loss of graphical clarity and some additional slowdown).
Later on in the system's lifetime Soukyugurentai Otokuyo was released, which was a slightly enhanced port that fixed up some bugs when playing the game on an American unit with the Pro Action Replay, and included a playable demo of Battle Garegga.