| Gunbird | |
|---|---|
The title screen |
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| Developer(s) | Psikyo |
| Publisher(s) | Arcade Psikyo Sega Saturn Atlus PlayStation XS Games Yahoo Mobile Cave |
| Designer(s) | Hirofumi Nakamura (characters) |
| Series | Gunbird |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Yahoo Mobile, PlayStation Network |
| Release date(s) | Arcade
2002 PlayStation Network
|
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, 2 player Co-op |
| Rating(s) |
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| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Psikyo 1st Generation[1] |
| CPU | Motorola 68EC020, PIC16C57 |
| Display | Raster, 224 x 320 pixels (Vertical), 4096 colors |
Gunbird (ガンバード), retitled Mobile Light Force for the European and U.S. PlayStation releases, is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up released in 1994 by Japanese company Psikyo. It was followed by a sequel, Gunbird 2, in 1998.
Contents |
Gunbird uses anime-styled character as the player's chosen craft. A story plays out in between levels and before boss fights, telling a tale of how the protagonists are trying to collect pieces of a magic mirror to make a wish.
Marion and Valnus also appear as selectable characters in the sequel, though Valnus is renamed Valpiro.
When a player collides with the body of an enemy unit, the player loses a shot power level, and a power up flies around the screen and disappears as soon as it reaches the edge. If a player is at the lowest level of shot, the player loses a bomb instead.
There are seven stages in each of the game's two loops. The first four stages are randomly chosen from possible five. In the second loop enemies fire denser bullet patterns moving at faster speeds. Stage 2-1 takes place at the only stage not available in first loop, instead of the 1-1 counterpart. The remaining three stages are chosen in random, but does not include the replaced stage. After completing first loop with only one player, player can choose one of two choices for a wish with magic potion, with unique ending for each choice. If first loop is completed with two players, a combination-specific ending is played.
The cutscenes between the battles with two players fighting cooperatively are frequently packed with hilarious dialogue and situations. This is often a recurring theme with Psikyo games, the Gunbird games being no exception. There are no cutscenes when playing second loop stages. The Korean arcade version contains English dialog but some sound samples are missing during play.
All in-game plot, including the game's ending, was removed and character names were changed to those of XS Games employees. The game featured a Charlie's Angels-style cover picture, completely unrelated to the original characters or the game's theme. The fan art gallery was also removed from the game, although the directories are still intact on the disc if inserted into a PC.
The PlayStation 2 version of the game was based on arcade version, and included the sequel, Gunbird 2.