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| Gain Ground | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Sega Sanritsu (Genesis, Master System) |
| Publisher(s) | Sega Renovation Products (Genesis) |
| Designer(s) | Mac Austin Yang Watt |
| Programmer(s) | Yoshiki Ōoka |
| Artist(s) | Max Nelson |
| Composer(s) | Y.T. Katsuhiro Hayashi |
| Platform(s) | Arcade,Master System,Mega Drive/Genesis,TurboGrafx-CD |
| Release | ArcadeMaster System Mega Drive/Genesis |
| Genre(s) | Action,strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Sega System 24 |
Gain Ground[a] is anaction game withstrategy elements released as anarcade video game bySega in 1988. It was ported to theMaster System,Mega Drive/Genesis, andTurboGrafx-CD.
InGain Ground, players control one of a set of characters at a time, each with different weapons. To beat a level, players must reach the exit point with at least one character or destroy all enemies on the level before time runs out. There are forty levels in the arcade version of the game. The Master System and the Genesis/Mega Drive have fifty levels in the game.
Normal mode starts with three players. There are captive characters littered across all levels, which can be rescued by walking over, then escorting the controlled character to the exit point. If a player controlled character is killed, that character turns into a captive, except that they will disappear if the next active player controlled character dies, exits the level without them, or the player has no characters left in their party. In Hard mode, the player starts the game with all twenty characters, but all the captive characters are removed from the levels.
The game is over when all controlled characters in the party are killed without any reaching the exit, but there are three continues which allow a player to restart the level with their original three characters.
The game consists out of four rounds, each having ten stages, where the tenth stage is a boss level. There are also ten completely new levels added to the Genesis/Mega Drive version, this Modern Epoch takes place in the streets of the city. The Master System version also has 10 newly themed levels, placed after other versions' final round "Future", ostensibly taking place within the "Gain Ground Main System" itself according to its opening stage.
There are twentyplayable characters inGain Ground, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Each character has a minor, weak weapon which can be fired in any direction, and a special weapon which has different capabilities from the normal attack and which varies between characters.
The characters inGain Ground also vary in which hand they hold their weapons, making it easier for some characters to shoot around certain walls and obstacles than others. When selecting a character for a situation, one must consider the character's speed, weapon type and range, and with which hands they hold their weapons.
In the Master System release, instead of named characters there are unnamed class-like "fighters". Player 1's fighters are blue and male while Player 2's are red and female; they play exactly the same but have different sprites and character portraits. The fighters fill the same roles as their more powerful arcade/console counterparts, but are simplified to better suit the lower specs of the Master System hardware. There is one unique exception: the "Ninja" class. This Master System exclusive class can leave a trap on the ground at their feet for enemies to walk into and take damage. This trap functions differently than the Fire Knight's special attack, as it is persistent on the playing field until an enemy walks into it, while the special attack that the Fire Knight can use disappears quite quickly and can only be shot upwards.
| Name | Hand, walking speed | Normal weapon | Special weapon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athra (アスラAsura) | Right-handed, quick | Spear, short range | Arcing spear, short range All directions |
| Betty (ベティBeti) | Ambidextrous, average | Pistol, short range (left hand) | Grenade, short range North only (right hand) |
| Cyber (サイバーSaibaa) | Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range (right hand) | Spread missiles, long range North only (left hand) |
| Fire Knight (ファイアーナイトFaiaanaito) | Center, average | Magic missile, medium range | Fireball, short range North only |
| Gascon (ガスコンGasucon) | Right-handed, quick | Spear, short range | Arcing spear, short range North only |
| General (ジェネラルJeneraru) | Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range (right hand) | Flamethrower, short range All directions (left hand) |
| Glow Knight (グロウナイトGuronaito) | Center, average | Magic missile, medium range | Orbiting balls of light |
| Honey (ハニーHanii) | Ambidextrous, average | Pistol, medium range (left hand) | Grenades, short range All directions (right hand) |
| Johnny (ジョニーJonii) | Right-handed, quick | Rifle, medium range | Rifle, medium range North only |
| Kid (キッドKiddo) | Left-handed, average | SMG, medium range | SMG, medium range East/West simultaneously |
| Kou (コウKou) | Left-handed, average | SMG, medium range | SMG, medium range North only |
| Mam (マムMamu) | Ambidextrous, quick | Pistol, medium range (left hand) | Boomerang, medium range North only (right hand) |
| Mars (マースMaasu) | Right-handed, quick | Arrow, medium range | Arcing arrow, medium range North only |
| Mud Puppy (マッドパピーMaddopapii) | Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range (right hand) | Laser cannon, long range North only (left hand) |
| Professor (教授Kyoju) | Left-handed, quick | Rifle, long range | Rifle, long range East/West simultaneously |
| Robby (ロビーRobii) | Ambidextrous, slow | Pistol, medium range (right hand) | SAM, long range All directions (left hand) |
| Valkyrie (バルキリーBarukirii) | Ambidextrous, quick | Pistol, medium range (left hand) | Boomerang, medium range All directions (right hand) |
| Verbal (バーバルBaabaru) | Right-handed, quick | Arrow, medium range | Arcing arrow, medium range All directions |
| Water Knight (ウォーターナイトWootaanaito) | Center, average | Magic missile, medium range | Water spout, short range All directions (stuns enemies) |
| Zaemon (ザエモンZaemon) | Center, average | Magic missile, medium range | Tornado, short range Spirals outward, bounces off enemies & walls |
From aGain Ground flyer:
A long period of peace has deprived the earthlings of their instinct to wage war. The Federated Government, greatly concerned regarding this ever increasing dangerous situation, developed a Gain Ground simulation system in the year 2348 in an effort to instigate their ever waning fighting spirit. However, suddenly without warning, the Supercomputer went berserk and took many of the citizens as hostages. In order to rescue the POWs, three of the bravest warriors were urgently dispatched to go forth into the deadly Gain Ground.
Gain Ground started off as an arcade game. Released in Japan, the United States and Canada in 1988,Gain Ground ran on theSega System 24 architecture. The developers have stated that their original inspiration wasGauntlet.[4]Gain Ground was ported to theSega Master System and theSega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991.Renovation Products released the Genesis version in North America. Both conversions were handled bySanritsu. In 1992, aPC Engine Super CD-ROM² version (Gain Ground SX) was released byNEC Avenue.
It was re-released inRadica Games'TVPlay Legends Vol. IITV Games compilation. In 2004, the game was remade for thePlayStation 2 as part ofSega's Japan-onlySega Ages 2500 series asSega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 9: Gain Ground.[5] This version has additional new levels that must be unlocked, with new music to accompany them. The Mega Drive/Genesis version was released on the European, Australian, and AmericanWiiVirtual Console in February 2007.Gain Ground was included inSega Genesis Collection on thePlayStation 2 and thePSP in 2006 and inSonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection forXbox 360 andPlayStation 3 in 2009. In June 2010, the game became available onSteam as part ofSega Mega Drive Classics Pack (Sega Genesis Classics in the United States). It was included in the console version of the Mega Drive/Genesis Classics Pack in May 2018.
As a tribute to the game, Chapter 15 and 17 of the crossover gameProject X Zone are stages directly pulled fromGain Ground. Chapter 15's title is "Gain Ground System" and both stages even have the party rescuing three of their companions (two in the first and one in the second) in true fashion to the original game. Incidentally, no characters fromGain Ground actually appear in the crossover.
| Publication | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Master System | Sega Genesis | |
| IGN | 7.5/10[6] | |
| Raze | 71%[8] | 92%[7] |
| Console XS | 82%[9] | |
| MegaTech | 43%[10] | |
| Sega-16 | 10/10[11] | |
| Sega Pro | 81%[12] | 89%[12] |
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Game Machine reports thatGain Ground was among the most popular arcade games of February 1989.[13]
IGN's Levi Buchanan rankedGain Ground as the fifth top Renovation game.[14]Complex rankedGain Ground 88th on their "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games" list.[15]
