The Earth Fighter Rayieza

The Earth Fighter Rayieza
Developer(s) Enix
Publisher(s) Enix
Nintendo (Family Computer port)
Designer(s) Makoto Kuba
Shintaro Majima
Go Nagai
Yukihiro Takahashi
Platform(s) NEC PC-8801
FM-7
Sharp X1
MSX
Family Computer
Release date(s) Enix releases
Family Computer
  • JP December 15, 1987
Genre(s) Role-playing video game
Mode(s) Single-player
Media/distribution 5-inch floppy disk (PC-8801, Sharp X1)
3.5-inch floppy disk (FM-7, MSX)
Family Computer ROM cartridge (Family Computer)

The Earth Fighter Rayieza (地球戦士ライーザ Chikyū Senshi Raīza?) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Enix (currently Square Enix) in 1985 for the NEC PC-8801, FM-7, Sharp X1, and MSX personal computer systems. The game was ported to the Family Computer in December, 1987 by Nintendo under the title Ginga no Sannin (銀河の三人?). Unlike most other role-playing video games of the period, the game takes place in a sci-fi setting instead of a fantasy world. The game was never released outside of Japan.

The game's character designer was Go Nagai, who also drew the illustrations for the game's package. The game's background music was composed by Yukihiro Takahashi, who was also the drummer for the Japanese electropop band Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Contents

Plot

In the year 2300, the human race created an Earth federation government and spread out into space to begin colonizing the surrounding planets. However, an alien species from the far reaches of outer space began attacking the human forces, putting the very survival of the human race at stake. Though it was only a matter of time before Earth fell to the enormous power of the enemy forces, the Earth's army commander issued an order calling all of the units dispersed around the colonized planets to return to Earth. The player takes the role of a young soldier who was stationed with the Rayieza unit on the planet Mars. The journey begins as he makes his way back to Earth along with the other members of his unit.

Characters

Kenshiro (ケンシロウ?)
The main character's default name is Kenshiro. He was originally stationed in Mars, but lost most of his comrades in the battle against the aliens and makes his way back to Earth with the only other surviving member, Blue.
Blue (ブルー burū?)
Blue is the only other surviving member of the Rayieza force, which was decimated by in a battle against the alien forces. He is an expert user of ESP, and he can sense dead souls remaining in the world. His appearance differs completely in the Family Computer version of the game.
Rimi (リミ?)
Rimi is a girl discovered in a cold sleep state in a capsule recovered in the space station (the moon level in the Family Computer version). She decides to assist the Rayieza unit by communicating with them from Earth.
Mio (ミオ?)
Mio is the computer program that manages the Rayieza unit's operations.

Ginga no Sannin (Family Computer version)

The Family Computer port of the game was released on December 15, 1987. Though the game is largely a faithful port of the PC version, some arrangements were made, such as the addition of a side-scrolling screen when the player lands on a planet's surface, or Rimi being able to use psychic powers. During the later parts of the game, enemies begin to appear very frequently, and new enemy special attacks were added which can lower the maximum hit-points of allied characters (lowered points return the next time the character's level increases).

Notes

This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links