Repulse (video game)

File:ARC Repulse ('99 - The Last War).png

Repulse is a fixed shooter game reminiscent of Space Invaders and Phoenix, in which the player controls a laser cannon by moving it across the bottom of the screen and firing at robotic enemies and descending alien spaceships through six stages, five of which host a boss at the end that must be defeated in order to progress further.{{cite web|author=Sotenga|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/repulse/repulse.htm|title=Repulse|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101|date=January 23, 2014|access-date=2020-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304210549/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/repulse/repulse.htm|archive-date=2014-03-04|url-status=live}} The players' laser cannon is equipped with a limited force shield to endure any kind of enemy attacks, though its energy drains both while activated and whenever the ship gets hit. Power-ups are dropped by ally helicopters and ships that bring to the players a faster shot than the normal one and refills the laser cannon's force field meter.Repulse 取扱説明書 (Arcade, JP) Reaching certain score thresholds by shooting at the enemies results in extra lives. Once all lives are lost, The game is over, unless the player inserts more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing.

Repulse was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at Orca and Crux before both companies declared bankruptcy, after which a group of employees from the two gaming divisions would go on to form Toaplan.{{cite video game|title=Repulse|developer=Crux|publisher=Sega|date=June 1985|platform=Arcade|level=Staff}}{{cite magazine|author1=Iona|author2=VHS|author3=K-HEX|title=東亜プラン FOREVER|magazine=Floor 25|volume=9|date=June 2009|pages=1–70|lang=ja}} ([https://www.gamengai.com/#/cmnt-info?id=2332 Translation] by Gamengai. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010170328/https://www.gamengai.com/#/cmnt-info?id=2332|date=2020-10-10}}).{{cite web|url=https://sweeprecord.com/srin-1100/|title=東亜プラン シューティングクロニクル|work=SweepRecord|publisher=SuperSweep|date=14 November 2011|access-date=2020-02-27|language=ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021030143/https://sweeprecord.com/srin-1100/|archive-date=2019-10-21|url-status=live}} ([http://shmuplations.com/toaplan-chronicle/ Translation] by Shmuplations. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711134859/http://shmuplations.com/toaplan-chronicle/|date=2018-07-11}}).{{cite magazine|last1=Kiyoshi|first1=Tane|author2=hally (VORC)|last3=Yūsaku|first3=Yamamoto|title=東亜プラン特集 - 元・東亜プラン 開発者インタビュー: 上村建也|magazine=Shooting Gameside|volume=4|publisher=Micro Magazine|date=3 February 2012|pages=33–40|lang=ja|isbn=978-4896373844}} ([http://shmuplations.com/toaplan-uemura1/ Translation] by Shmuplations. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906023755/http://shmuplations.com/toaplan-uemura1/|date=2019-09-06}}). Shunkō Miki served as the project's director, who shared the role of programmer with composer Tatsuya Uemura alongside designers Atsushi Kawaguchi, Hiroyasu Kobayashi and Minoru Harada. Uemura recounted the title's development process and history through various Japanese publications, stating that development lasted six months and worked on the project in conjunction with Performan for Toaplan, who recruited him for sound design, while he still formed part of Crux.{{cite web|last=Uemura|first=Tatsuya|author-link=Tatsuya Uemura|url=http://magicseed.co.jp/prof/game2.html|title=同じメンツで色々な名前の会社があった|publisher=Magicseed inc.|access-date=2020-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828205243/http://magicseed.co.jp/prof/game2.html|archive-date=2014-08-28|url-status=live}}

Repulse was released in arcades by Sega in June 1985. The game was one of the three titles that ran on Sega's Kyugo hardware. It was later renamed {{'}}99: The Last War when licensed to Kyugo, who developed the hardware, and Proma.

Though Repulse saw success in its first few months on the market,{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=265|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=1 August 1985|page=25|lang=ja}} the game did not garner attention from arcade players.{{cite book|last=Horowitz|first=Ken|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qZhDwAAQBAJ&q=system-15+Sega+Repulse&pg=PA102|title=A Second Arcade Golden Age (1985-1988) - Fantasy Zone (March 1986)|work=The Sega Arcade Revolution: A History in 62 Games|publisher=McFarland & Company|date=June 22, 2018|page=102|access-date=2020-01-10|isbn=9781476631967}} The project became the last title developed by Crux to be released, as the company was dissolved during its development due to bankruptcy.{{cite web|last=Lambie|first=Ryan|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/games/58480/toaplan-the-rise-and-fall-of-japans-greatest-shooting-game-company|title=Toaplan: the rise and fall of Japan's greatest shooting game company|work=Den of Geek|publisher=Dennis Publishing|date=21 June 2018|access-date=2020-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621073806/http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/games/58480/toaplan-the-rise-and-fall-of-japans-greatest-shooting-game-company|archive-date=21 June 2018|url-status=live}} Most of the former Crux members would later join Toaplan. A bootleg version of the game titled Son of Phoenix was also released.

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{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/arcade/566413-99-the-last-war '99: The Last War] at GameFAQs
• [https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6758 '99: The Last War] at Killer List of Videogames
• [https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/arcade/568594-repulse Repulse] at GameFAQs
• [https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9298 Repulse] at Killer List of Videogames

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Category:1985 video games

Category:Arcade video games

Category:Arcade-only video games

Category:Fixed shooters

Category:Science fiction video games

Category:Sega arcade games

Category:Tank simulation video games

Category:Video games developed in Japan

Category:Video games scored by Tatsuya Uemura

Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games