| Skull Fang Kuhga Gaiden | |
|---|---|
North American arcade flyer of Skull Fang Kuhga Gaiden. |
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| Developer(s) | Ai-System Tokyo Data East |
| Publisher(s) | Data East |
| Platform(s) | Arcade Game, Sega Saturn |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, 2 player co-op |
| CPU | Custom Data East "156" CPU @ 7 MHz |
| Sound | Yamaha YMZ280B-F |
Skull Fang: Kuhga Gaiden (スカルファング ～空牙外伝～) is a 1996 vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East with the assistance of AiSystem. Skull Fang is the third and final game in the unannounced Vapor Trail trilogy.
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Seven years have passed since the events of Wolf Fang in 2001 where the militant/terrorist organization Ragnarok was quelled. Though Oceania and the US were successful in their efforts, a significant number of mechs had secretly escaped destruction and after the seven years of silence finally reappear. The strongest of the mechs appears and begins decimating American cities at random, signifying the Ragnarok's latest assault on society.
During those seven years however, an air force unit based on the success of Operation Vapor Trail had been assembled; known as the Skull Fang squadron, the unit was founded in case the organization ever re-appeared. Consisting of four talented pilots whose personal backgrounds and information are withheld from each other, the team is sent to deal with the latest threat and to protect the terrorist's suspected target, the head quarters that house their unit leaders.
Skull Fang brings back the gameplay of Vapor Trail. Players choose one of four jets set among the Skull Fang - a flying aircraft carrier - as well as a pilot to fly the jet and attack enemy squadrons and battalions world wide.
Players start the game by first selecting their jet, each jet containing a different bomb or special attack.
Players then choose their pilot, all known only by each other's code names.
The weapon pick-ups include the following.
Players also can pick up a weapon attachment that increases weapon strength and ability depending on the jet known as the S-Unit. The S-Unit can charge its strength and ultimately change its attack pattern when the players use the manual five-speed option whereupon reaching the jet's highest gear, the weapon will temporarily change to a homing weapon known as H-Unit mode. However, the S-Unit attachment can be removed and thus detonated once players hit the Bomb button.
Skull Fang was later ported by Data East to the Sega Saturn in 1997. This port adds several new things, such as a trial mode, a boss rush mode, a tutorial video and an additional speed mode which has two settings rather than five. Occasionally, the sprites suffer from flickering. Some arranged versions of songs from Vapor Trail are also included in the game disc as redbook audio.