| Burning Force | |
|---|---|
 Promotional sales flyer | |
| Developer | Namco |
| Publisher | Namco |
| Composer | Yoshinori Kawamoto |
| Platforms | Arcade,Sega Genesis |
| Release | Arcade
|
| Genre | Third-person shooter |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Namco System 2 |
Burning Force[a] is a 1989third-person shooterarcade game developed and published byNamco in Japan. A home conversion for theSega Genesis was released worldwide a year later. The player assumes control of the woman space cadet Hiromi Tengenji, a pilot training to become a member of the Space Force, who must complete each level by shooting down enemies with her airbike and avoiding projectiles. Gameplay is similar toSpace Harrier, featuring a fixed camera position behind the player and having similar mechanics. It runs on theNamco System 2 arcade hardware.
InBurning Force, the player controls a space cadet named Hiromi Tengenji (天現寺ひろみ,Tengenji Hiromi), who as part of her final training, must battle high-tech enemies through six worlds of four areas on a futuristic airbike named "Sign Duck". Thegameplay is similar to that ofSega'sSpace Harrier, but the worlds are divided into four areas and there is no vertical mobility making the game different in its own right; in the first two sections the player controls Hiromi on the airbike, which can move to the left and right, as well as braking and accelerating - and the airbike can also fire bullets and missiles at the enemies. The third area of every world is a boss area and the airbike will be transformed into a flying ship which can move in all directions; the fourth area of each world, however, is abonus stage and the player has to collect as many spheres (which have numbers on them) as possible for bonus points.[3][4]
In Japan,Game Machine listedBurning Force on their December 1, 1989 issue as being the ninth most-popular table arcade game at the time.[6]
The Sega Genesis / Mega Drive received mixed and mostly mediocre reviews in the West upon the release, including 4/10 fromASM,[7] 5/10 fromGénération 4,[8] 71% fromJoystick,[9] 51% fromPower Play,[10] and 77% fromRAZE, which opined "Space Harrier is too old a formula to be successful nowadays."[11] TheNew Straits Times, in October 1990, dismissed the game as "yet another ... in the line ofSpace Harrier clones."[12] It also had mediocre sales.[13]
Retrospectively, Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata opined it "is among the better of [Space Harrier] clones, not only because it's based on more powerful arcade hardware (theNamco System 2, which ranPhelios andValkyrie no Densetsu, amongst others), but also because it puts its own unique spin on the formula."[3]Next Generation listed the Genesis version at number 93 in their "Top 100 Games of All Time", explaining that "what earnsBurning Force its place on this list is level design, the fact that no enemies are repeated from level to level, and the stunning design of the bosses."[13]
Hiromi Tengenji went on to reappear in an advertisement on an airship inMach Breakers (along withPac-Man, Prince Gil and Priestess Ki fromThe Tower of Druaga,Wonder Momo, Valkyrie fromValkyrie no Densetsu, and Pitto and Patti fromTinkle Pit) and also appeared in theNamco System 12-eraWorld Stadium games as the Nikotama Gals' defensive half. She is one of player'sparty characters inNamco x Capcom, where she is partners with Masuyo "Kissy" Toby, the main character of theBaraduke games.[3] InShiftyLook's Namco dating simNamco High, she appears as one of 18 dateable characters.Namco Game Sound Express Vol. 02 - Burning Force, published byVictor Entertainment in 1990, contains the originalsoundtrack fromBurning Force with compositions by Yoshinori Kawamoto.