Night Striker

Night Striker (ナイトストライカー, Naito Sutoraikā) is a 1989 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for the Taito Z System. In the game, the player flies an armoured car shooting enemy invaders to destroy a terrorist organisation. Night Striker combines gameplay elements of Sega's Space Harrier and Out Run. Versions were released for the Sega Mega-CD in 1993, Sony PlayStation in 1995, and Sega Saturn (as Night Striker S) in 1996. A version was released on the Taito Memories II Gekan[lower-alpha 1] compilation for the PlayStation 2 in 2007. Night Striker received mixed reviews, and the Mega-CD version in particular was heavily criticised, primarily due to poor graphics. The music was composed by Taito's Zuntata sound team, and has been released separately. The game was only released in Japan.

Night Striker
Mega CD cover art
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)Taito
Director(s)Kenji Kaido
Producer(s)Tohru Sugawara
Composer(s)Masahiko Takaki
Platform(s)Arcade, Mega CD, Saturn, PlayStation
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: October 1989
Mega CD
Saturn
PlayStation
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player
CabinetCockpit[3]
Arcade systemTaito Z System[6]
CPU2x Motorola MC68000 12Mhz[6]
Sound1x YM2610 8 Mhz
1x Zilog Z80 4 Mhz[6]
DisplayRaster, 320 x 240, 4096 Colours

Plot

The game is set in a futuristic city in 2049. A terrorist organisation has kidnapped Doctor Masker Lindberry and his daughter. The United Nations Special Service Agency has dispatched their agents to investigate, but to no avail. Its leader is leading a task force (code named Night Striker) using armoured vehicles to rescue them and destroy the organisation.[7]

Gameplay
A typical game in progress

The player controls the car and shoots enemies encountered during the stage. Enemies and bosses include helicopters, aeroplanes, lorries, robotic spiders, and boulders. The car can be manoeuvred in a similar manner to Space Harrier; can be moved around the screen. There are 21 stages, although the player only needs to complete six to complete the game. Stages' themes include, factories, tunnels, and city themes such as centres, suburbs, and streets. Certain stages contain obstacles such as barriers which must be manoeuvred around. At the end of each stage, there is a boss,[8] and after its defeat, the player is presented with a choice of route, like Out Run. The car's "armour" refers to its shield capability; the car can absorb a certain number of hits before being destroyed. Defeating a boss gives the shield the capacity to withstand another hit. If the shield has run out and the car is hit, the game is over.[9][10] In certain final stages, the car transforms: depending on the stage, it can become vehicles such as a motorbike or a robot.[11] The game features different endings depending on which route is taken.[3]

The Mega CD version features an arranged soundtrack, and the Saturn version a bonus mode with six levels exclusive to this version.[9]

Reception
Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CVG87% (Arcade)[12]
Mean Machines Sega9% (Mega CD)[13]
Sega Power19% (Mega CD)[14]
Sega Saturn Magazine (Japan)5.33/10 (Saturn)[15]
Your Sinclair66% (Arcade)[16]
Mega23% (Mega CD)[17]

Night Striker received mixed reviews. The Mega CD version suffers from poor graphics quality, as noted by reviewers. Mean Machines Sega noted that the graphics are "stupendously bad", and the sprites are "totally unrecognisable".[13] Sega Power complained about the blocky sprites and lack of introduction and animated sequences, and also described the game as "Unoriginal".[14] The Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine gave a mediocre review.[15] Neil West of Mega was especially negative: he criticised the graphics, saying the sprites, along with the flicker and "blocky" explosions, cause "a nightmarish mess of colour". He further condemned the lack of originality and challenge, and described the gameplay as "a shambolic travesty of modern entertainment". He described Night Striker as a "load of crap" and recommended that players "avoid this at all costs". The only positive comments he made were about the "fantastic" sound effects and "superb" music.[17]

The arcade version fared much better. Computer and Video Games described the graphics as "beautiful", praised its action, and described the game as a "must-play".[12] In Japan, Game Machine listed night Striker on their August 15, 1989 issue as being the fourth most-successful upright arcade unit of the year.[18] Your Sinclair praised the rolling road sequences, and commented that the car would look like a blob on the ZX Spectrum.[16]

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Zuntata, and released on the Night Striker Complete Album on 21 May 1993 in Japan by Pony Canyon and Scitron.[19] A similar album was released by Pony Canyon on 19 November 1993.[20] The soundtrack was released on iTunes on 2 July 2008,[21] and certain tracks were released on vinyl on Zuntata's Arcade Classics Volume One album.[22][23][24]

gollark: Not EXACTLY.
gollark: Just as planned.
gollark: Cheese does NOT begin with s.
gollark: Inhale bees.
gollark: It should use GPT-[REDACTED] instead.

References
  1. "ナイトストライカー". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  2. メガドライブ大全 増補改訂版 Mega Doraibu Taizen Zouhokaiteiban [Mega Drive Encyclopaedia enlarged and revised edition] (in Japanese). Tokyo. 2015. p. 168. ISBN 978-4-7783-1442-2.
  3. Isao, Yamazaki (2014). 家庭用ゲーム機コンプリート ガイド Kateiyō gēmuki konpurīto gaido [Home Game Consoles Complete Guide] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shufunotomoinfosujōhōsha. p. 68. ISBN 978-4-0729-2971-1.
  4. "ナイトストライカーS". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  5. "ナイトストライカー". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  6. "System 16 – Taito Z System hardware". System 16. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  7. Taito (28 May 1993). Night Striker (Mega CD). Scene: Story scene.
  8. "ナイトストライカー". メガドライブFAN (in Japanese). Tokumashoten Intermedia. June 1993. p. 91.
  9. Kurt Kalata (2008). "Night Striker". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  10. Night Striker manual (in Japanese) (Mega CD ed.). Taito. 1993. pp. 6–13.
  11. "ナイトストライカー". Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). Tokyo: SoftBank. May 1993. pp. 118, 119.
  12. "Night Striker". Computer and Video Games. Future Publishing. July 1989. p. 90. ISSN 0261-3697. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  13. "Mega-CD Review: Night Striker" (PDF). Mean Machines Sega. No. 11. Emap International Limited. pp. 56, 57. ISSN 0967-9014. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  14. "Night Striker" (PDF). Sega Power. No. 46. Future plc. September 1993. pp. 52, 53. ISSN 0961-2718. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  15. "ナイトストライカーS" (PDF). Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). SoftBank. p. 228. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  16. "Night Striker". Your Sinclair. Future plc Dennis Publishing. September 1989. p. 71. ISSN 0269-6983. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  17. Neil West (August 1993). "Night Striker". Mega. No. 11. Bath: Future plc. p. 52. ISSN 0966-6206.
  18. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 362. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 August 1989. p. 21.
  19. "ナイトストライカー　コンプリートアルバム" (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  20. "ZUNTATAアルバムラインアップ". ZUNTATA (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  21. "Night Striker Arcade Sound Tracks". iTunes. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  22. Jeremy Parish (11 August 2016). "Taito House Band Zuntata Joining the Ranks of Classic Video Game Vinyl". USgamer. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  23. "Arcade Classics Volume One". Ship to Store Phono Co. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  24. "Vinyl Review: Zuntata — Arcade Classics Volume 1". Modern Vinyl. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.

Notes
  1. Taito Memories II Gekan (タイトーメモリーズII 下巻, Taitō Memorīzu II Gekan)
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