MegaDrive Shmups #10

Gley Lancer (1992)
By: NCS Corp / Masaya Genre: Shooting Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis First Day Score: 310,500
Also Available For: Nothing Download For: Wii Virtual Console

The mighty Mega Drive was a very stonking console for shooter fans as we all know, and happily most of them found a way to Western shores too, but there were a few allegedly decent ones that didn't. The one that always intrigued me the most is probably Gley Lancer. Being the victim of an incorrectly-translated name isn't the most notable thing about it nowadays though. Like many MD games, and indeed like many games generally from the days of retro-ness, it unfortunately now commands such a high price that it's not enormously realistic for normal people to buy it. Of course, no game that changes hands for triple or even quadruple figures among collectors is worth such a sum to a humble gamer. All we want to do is play games, not ogle their sealed cases. Luckily, there a few other avenues available for retroheads and shooter fans, and it is via one of these that I have recently been playing the game for the first time in many moons.

Battling through Saturn's rings on the first stage...

Like most horizontal-scrollers, it's a spacey sci-fi-themed game with a surprisingly detailed story which is relayed through a fairly long manga style intro as well as several cut-scenes between some stages. It concerns the plight of Lucia, a 16-year-old star-fighter pilot in the Earth Federation who is upset to find that her high-ranking father has been captured by the evil alien scoundrels with whom us hairless monkeys are at war. Her response is to half-inch a fancy star-fighter (codename: CSH-01-XA Gley Lancer), which is of course an advanced prototype, and fly off in pursuit. What this unauthorised mission means for us is eleven stages of hectic shooty pursuit. Luckily, the Gley Lancer appears to be more than ready for such a feat. It comes equipped with a fairly decent cannon and variable speed function, but where its talent really lies is in its use of 'Gunners'.

Encountering tougher enemies now on stage two...

These are pod things that can be obtained by collecting any of the weapon power-ups that special ships carry. You can have up to two of them which are positioned close to your ship and greatly add to its firepower. Not only that but they can also be configured in one of seven different ways - Normal (face the same way as your ship), Reverse (face backwards), Search (homing shots), Multi (three-way), Multi-R (reverse three-way shots), Shadow (like Gradius Options), or Roll (rotate around your ship). This, as it may well sound, is ultra-awesome. The only drawback to this is you have to select the configuration before you start, but it shouldn't take too long figure out your favourite (as you may have noticed from the screenshots, mine is 'reverse'). The Gunners are sadly lost when you lose a life but it doesn't take too long to grab more, and they soon become indispensable.

Stage three is where the terrains starts playing its part...

However floopy these devices may be, though, they would be next to useless without some sort of fiery death to unleash. Happily, there are seven mostly-excellent power-ups to look out for. The first one you'll find is a basic but pretty powerful Twin-Shot, while other options consist of Laser (can inflict multiple strikes), 5-Way (spread shot), Burner (short-range flamey attack), Spread Bomb (slow but powerful), Saber (even shorter-range but powerful), and last of all, and my personal favourite, is Bound Shot (shots reflect off landscape/scenery). There are no real stinkers and you keep your forward shot regardless of which Gunner weapon you have, so even with the short-range examples you'll still be able to take out popcorn enemies from afar. The weapons all have their uses too, of course, and they pop up often so you can switch back and forth regularly.

Stage four and, believe it or not, this isn't even a boss!

Aside from these nicely varied and entertaining destructive options, the most useful feature of the Gunners is the ability to lock them in place by holding the appropriate button down while shooting (the game has an autofire function too, so it's simply a case of holding two buttons instead of one). This is ultra-handy as, depending on your Gunner/weapon configuration, it should allow you to concentrate your fire in any direction at will. Accordingly, the stages have been designed with this in mind. There are many sections of uneven terrain/structures with guns mounted in places an ordinary forward shot wouldn't reach, for example, while enemy craft come from all sides, sometimes simultaneously, and not just the small ones either. It's often necessary, therefore, to prioritise targets. Unless your Gunner is of the Search variety which - let's face it - is a bit of a cheat.

Flying through P-47's second stage?

This isn't really the type of shooter you need to cheat at anyway. It's certainly not easy, but one of my favourite things about it is that it's actually pretty fair for a game of this type. The various weapons are mostly great but they cannot be powered-up - they all have one setting and that's it. Combined with how often the power-up ships turn up, this means that you can carry on after losing a life without any problems, unlike most other shooters from the period. It's quite a long game though - eleven stages is a lot for a shmup and it'll take a good hour to play through, even if you don't have to use multiple credits - so it's definitely not a pushover either. Some of the enemies move very quickly and bullets can sometimes be hard to spot which is likely to cost a few lives, but your progress will probably be halted most often simply by the game getting the better of you. Surprisingly, even the end-of-stage bosses aren't that hard for the most part.

The caverns on this stage move vertically as well...

The challenge mainly comes in the form of certain sections/obstacles rather than a steady increase in difficulty generally. For example, it's fairly easy to reach the fourth stage on one credit after only a little practise, and many sections of later stages aren't much harder, but there are lots of very tough parts in between beginning with the fourth stage which has a long section featuring walls and barriers in multiple shapes and directions around which you must delicately pilot while avoiding the fire from the guns that are strategically positioned around them. Similarly, stage six has lots of energy barriers, while stage eight features lots of moving blocks which can be a real challenge to get past, and the second half of stage nine is made up of puffy red honeycomb stuff you have to blast though, which again hides various guns and obstacles. There's even a giant battleship stage!

These face-blocks are moving around, quite quickly too...

Suffice to say, this certainly isn't a game you'll get bored of! Your ears will be happy thanks to a superb soundtrack and decent effects, though the graphics are a bit more of a mixed bag. The sprites and weapon effects are great but the backgrounds and scenery can be a little drab. Most feature some nice parallax scrolling though, and there are some corkers in there like the opening stage which feature a trip through Saturn's rings, and there's even a glorious P-47-style sunset background. I think my favourite thing about this game, though, is just its general feel - near enough every aspect of it just feels well-designed. The controls are tight and the busy stages always keep you on your toes, and thanks to its superb power-up/weapon system and unusual fairness, it's a game that you'll return to often. It might not be worth the hundreds that it sells for nowadays, but for mere players rather than collectors, this fantastic shooter is essential.

RKS Score: 9/10

Gameplay Video: here's a video of the whole game being played by one of the talented fellows at World of Longplays (check out their great channel here). Oh, and don't watch if you want to avoid spoilers!