Software:Strike Gunner S.T.G.

From HandWiki
Short description: 1991 video game
Strike Gunner S.T.G
Japanese arcade flyer
Developer(s)Athena
Publisher(s)Arcade
Tecmo
Super NES
Designer(s)Naoki Morishima
Kouichi Ishibashi
Tsutomu Tabata
Composer(s)Shotaro Sasaki
Kouichi Ishibashi
Platform(s)Arcade, Super NES
ReleaseArcade
Super NES
  • JP: March 27, 1992
  • NA: June 1992
  • EU: November 1992
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Strike Gunner S.T.G (エス・ティー・ジー) is a 1991 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Athena and published by Tecmo.

A slightly-modified port was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992; apart from aspect-ratio changes, it also incorporated Mode 7 effects. The European version was released (by Activision) under the title Super Strike Gunner.

The North American SNES box art was illustrated by Marc Ericksen.

In 2023, the game saw an official emulated release as part of the Arcade Archives lineup.

Plot

In the year A.D. 2008, aliens invade the Earth and obtain the support of a quisling human government. Fighter pilots Mark MacKenzie and Jane Sinclair are assigned to repel the invasion with Earth's ultimate weapon, the "Strike Gunner" aerospace fighter.

The game's first five stages take place on Earth, and pit the Strike Gunners against typical human technology, such as tanks and fighter jets. The final three stages are set beyond Earth orbit and see combat against the actual aliens, culminating in an assault on their enormous mothership orbiting beyond the Moon.[2]

Gameplay

The Special Weapon select screen (SNES version)

The game is a typical vertically-scrolling shooter. Stages feature large waves of normal enemies - ranging from helicopters to gun turrets - that only require one or two hits to destroy. Most stages contain at least one mini-boss and a screen-filling final boss; the exception is the abbreviated stage eight, which only features a handful of normal enemies, being largely an obstacle-avoidance course protecting an otherwise-defenseless mothership core.

The game offers four difficulty levels. The Strike Gunner is armed with a basic blaster weapon, which has inexhaustible ammunition and can be upgraded several times. Upgrades initially increase the rate of fire; once this is maxxed out, the weapon switches from a baseline red version to a more powerful blue one, with its own upgrades.

In addition, the player must choose a second, "special" weapon before each stage; there are several of these to choose from (ten in the arcade version, fifteen in the SNES version.) Each special weapon can be chosen only once per playthrough; this adds an element of strategy, as certain of the weapons are more effective in certain missions. If a player does not select a special weapon at the beginning of a stage, the selection menu defaults to the next still-unused option. Unlike the Strike Gunner's basic weapon, the special weapons are metered, with energy consumption roughly proportional to the weapon's power: for example, the relatively weak Autoaim Vulcan can be used almost continuously, while the Megabeam Cannon consumes the entire energy bar in a single firing.

Basic-weapon power-ups, speed boosts, and refills of the special-weapons energy bar are periodically provided by stealth bomber (or - in the space levels - space shuttles or capsules). Losing a life means the loss of all accumulated basic-weapon upgrades, but also refills the special-weapons meter; this can in some cases be done tactically.

The game supports two-player simultaneous co-op. Two-player mode is significantly less difficult, as the missions remain identical to the single-player campaign, but are tackled with the combined firepower of two Strike Gunner units; however, the challenge can be restored by choosing one of the game's higher difficulty levels. The mode also allows for an additional degree of strategy, as the two players can choose complementary special weapons. If one player wishes to quit, their Strike Gunner can be docked with the active player's, with the effect of switching back to single-player mode.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
GeneralSNES
Nintendo PowerN/A3.2 / 5
Super PlayN/A66% [3]
SNES Force63%[4]55%[4]
Aggregate score
GameRankingsN/A56.33%[5]

In May 1991, Game Machine listed Strike Gunner S.T.G. as the 11th most successful table arcade unit in Japan.[6]

The SNES port received middling reviews, most of which drew attention to its repetitive gameplay and lack of originality.[3] Some of the special weapons, such as the Antiair Mine and Adhesive Bomb, were also noted to be useless. The September 1992 issue of Nintendo Power sarcastically hailed the game as "overhead blaster number 1,084" and called it a "mindless shooter [...] similar in style to a lot of other games", noting that "This concept is getting very tiring." More positively, the reviewers admitted to having enjoyed the game, and conceded that "For what it is [...] Strike Gunner ls well done."[7]

The game's rock-techno soundtrack was generally well-received, with several reviews singling it out for praise.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006) (in ja). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 49, 138. ISBN 978-4990251215. https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n50. 
  2. ↑ "Choose Your Weapons". Electronic Gaming Monthly (43): 111. February 1993. https://archive.org/stream/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_43#page/n109. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Super Play Magazine Sept 93'. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "SNES Force Awards 93'". SNES Force (5): 96–97. October 1993. https://archive.org/stream/snes-nforce-magazine-05/SNESForce_05_Oct_1993#page/n95. 
  5. ↑ "Strike Gunner S.T.G SNES Review Score". https://www.gamerankings.com/snes/588704-strike-gunner-stg/index.html. 
  6. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (403): 25. 15 May 1991. 
  7. ↑ Nintendo Power Issue 040 September 1992. http://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-040-september-1992_202307. 
  8. ↑ Woodrum, Cory (2014-09-04). "SNES A Day 102: Strike Gunner S.T.G." (in en-US). https://snesaday.com/2014/09/04/102-strike-gunner-s-t-g/. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari




Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Strike_Gunner_S.T.G.&oldid=3965961"