Star Gladiator

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Star Gladiator

Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Designer(s)	Akiman
Platform(s)	Arcade,PlayStation
Release date	^JP 1996-10-25 ^NA 1996-10-31 ^PAL December, 1996
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	System 11
Sound	Stereo

Star Gladiator (スターグラディエイター suta guradieta) was Capcom's first attempt at an arcade 3D fighting game, which was well received by many Capcom fighting fans as several castmembers from the game bore some resemblance to the characters of Star Wars. The System 11 hardware this game ran on allowed an easy home translation to the PlayStation, and it received a better, widespread reception there. Still, Star Gladiator was hardly the smash hit Capcom may have hoped for, and their future forays into the 3D fighting genre (Rival Schools series, Street Fighter EX franchise) seldom fared much better. Eventually, the game was released for PlayStation in November 1996 and followed by the sequel, Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein (Star Gladiator 2 in Japan) which was only ported to the Sega Dreamcast despite much speculation of a PlayStation conversion.

[edit] Story

In the year 2348, humans have been exploring space for the past four centuries, and have established contact with various alien civilizations. People now emigrate from one planet to another, and life is generally good. In steps Edward Bilstein. A Nobel prize-winning physicist, he uncovers the secret to humanity's "sixth sense," and discovers how to use it as an energy source he calls, "Plasma Power." After failed attempts to coerce other Plasma fighters to join him in taking over Earth, Dr. Bilstein is captured by authorities and imprisoned in a satellite orbiting planet Zeta. Six years later, Bilstein has built himself a powerful cyborg body, and has managed to escape from his cell, gathering a cadre of Plasma mercenaries at his side. After making quick work of Zeta's defenses, Bilstein again sets his eyes on Earth. A panicked Earth Federation has only one recourse: to find people who could utilize the Plasma weapons against their own creator in a last, desperate hope to stop the mad genius before he can invade Earth with his nascent Fourth Empire.

[edit] Characters

Hayato Kanzaki: The main character of the series. He is a rebellious young Japanese man living on his own and caring about others - especially the children living in the orphanage in which he was raised, and his close friends June, Saturn and Gamof. This care for people is the driving force that prompts him to go against Bilstein. He is the only character in the series to cross it over in another Capcom game; in this case, Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
June Lin Milliam: One of the most talented gymnasts in the world, a British girl that battles to avenge her parents' death by Bilstein's hands (she is unaware that her father is, in fact, Rimgal). Though having a happy-go-lucky outlook, she hides deep within her soul the pain of losing the people she loved the most. She tried to commit suicide, but Hayato stopped her.
Saturn Dyer: He is somewhat of the comic relief in the hero group, with a clown-like attitude and a perennial ten-mile-wide smile on his face. Is named after the planet where he came from (but not the one present in this Solar System).
Gamof Gohgry: He hails from the forest planet De Rosa, where he leads a tribe of his kindred. Decides to join the battle after one of his fellows, coerced by Bilstein, threatens to destroy the woodlands.
Franco Gerelt: A forced ally of Bilstein. He abducted Gerelt and implanted a bomb in him, forcing him to commit horrible crimes against mankind for if he refuses, the bomb would be triggered and go off. All that Gerelt wants is to be free to return to his family.
Vector: A killer robot, whose only directive is to seek and destroy every single human being.
Rimgal: June's father, turned into a dinosaur after Bilstein experimented on him. He fights to try and control his transformation. However, he ultimately fails and, fearing his primal instincts will overtake his human sensitivity and end up having him kill his daughter, he kills himself. He is the only regular character not to return in Plasma Sword (along with Kappah, who is a secret character).
Zelkin Fiskekrogen: Comes from the planet Klondike, and fights alongside Bilstein because of his loath of humans, who nearly destroyed his humanoid bird race in war. He also is an old acquaintance of Hayato.
Gore Gajah: A member of an unspecified race, Gore has no side in this battle, thanks to his twisted and deranged desires of overtaking Earth and destroying its people. It is to be noted that his profile states he hails from Indonesia, even though he is clearly not an Earthling.
Dr. Edward Bilstein: The villain of the series. He once stumbled upon a research document left behind by one of his ancestors. It described Plasma Power and how it could be derived from human emotions. Bilstein was driven by his ancestor's evil will because they were unable to complete the project and build the Plasma weapon, yet before he could realize his evil plot he was detected by the Earth Federation and was then arrested for violating human rights, using actual human bodies in his experiments.
Kappah Nosuke: Comes from planet Kappa. He has a belligerent nature, that leads him to join Bilstein, who in turn would promise to defend his home planet. Sub-boss and secret character.
Blood Barbarians: He was taken in by Bilstein very young, his parents killed by the villain, because Blood is the person with the highest amount of Plasma Power stored in his body, in the world, and Bilstein wanted to use his potential on his Plasma research. Also a sub-boss and a secret character.