Time Gal

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Time Gal, is an animated interactive movie video game (similar to Dragon's Lair) with anime drawings. It was first released as an early laser-disc arcade title in 1985 by Taito in Japan only. A conversion for the PlayStation was developed and released by Telenet Japan's subsidiary Wolfteam) as part of a double bill with Ninja Hayate, another animated laserdisc arcade game conversion made by Taito (the package was released as "Time Gal and Ninja Hayate"). The best known version of the game and the only one that was released in North America, was the Sega CD version, published by Renovation Products, Telenet's North American subsidiary.

[edit] Story

The year is 4001. The evil Luda has stolen a time machine and plans to use it to take over the world. The heroine, Time Gal (also known as Reika), a skillful and pretty scientist, is on a mission to chase Luda through different time periods, and stop him from assuming control of all history. In this globe-trotting FMV adventure, she must cross 16 stages that take her from prehistoric times to future realms and even to historical events such as World War II. She must get the time machine back, and save the world!

[edit] Gameplay

The player watches animations of the heroine while she travels through levels, and overcome obstacles by pushing the correct button at the right moment (as one would in the aforementioned Dragon's Lair). The player can change directions, jump, shoot, etc., but everything is controlled during the never-ending fluent motion of Reika. Unique to this particular game, at certain points, Reika would call for a "time stop," and the player would be confronted with three choices, only one of which allowed them to continue onward (the other two would result in a "miss" animation playing attributed to the incorrect choice).

[edit] Miscellaneous

Many (though not all) of the game's "miss" sequences involve Reika becoming super deformed.

One miss scene was cut from the Mega and Sega CD versions. It involves one of the future stages where Reika is chased by a "biker gang". The miss sequence in question involves one of the bikers slicing part of her top, "compromising" her. Although the sequence is non-explicit (i.e., no one ever sees anything), it was nonetheless "suggestive", and was replaced by the "slash" miss (usually occuring when she gets attacked by an opponent with a "bladed" weapon) in order to keep the game "family-friendly". A similar "miss" scene, however, was kept, where a dinosaur rips off her bikini with its teeth, although nothing inappropriate is seen.

The game has two opening sequences: one for the arcade version, and one for the home console versions. The arcade opening features an instrumental theme, while the home console versions feature a variation of the arcade opening, but with an original "vocal theme" (i.e.: with lyrics). The North American Sega CD version uses the latter theme, but removes the vocals.

The Sega CD version has a "closing credit" sequence that originally did not appear in the arcade version. In the higher difficulty levels, one can see all the "miss" sequences, followed by the "VICTORY!" screen (where Reika is blowing a kiss).

The game was also ported to the Pioneer LaserActive in 1995.