Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game
From Sega Retro
- For the Sega Mega Drive game, see Super Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game.
| Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game | ||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Game Gear | ||||||||||
| Publisher: Mindscape | ||||||||||
| Developer: NGM Productions | ||||||||||
| Licensor: Milton Bradley | ||||||||||
| Genre: Table | ||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | ||||||||||
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Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game is a Sega Game Gear interpretation of the Milton Bradley board game Battleship (also known as Battleships). It was released exclusively in North America by Mindscape in 1993.
Contents
Gameplay
The game is a turn-based strategy game based on the board game of the same name. The object is to sink the opponent's fleet without losing one's own fleet first. Neither belligerent can see the positions of the other's ships and must take calling shots on the other's fleet, which involves some trial and error. Battles are between a single player and the computer, with no two-player mode available.
There are eight levels comprising five battles each. After winning a battle, the player is given a password, and after completing a level, the player is given a promotion to a new rank. Promotions add new ships and weapons.
The battle starts by placing the player's ships on the grid (which is twelve squares wide by eight squares tall). The player can move the ship on the grid using the D-Pad, change the orientation of the ship (horizontal or vertical) with 
, and place the ship with 
. Each ship is a different size, and the player starts the game with four ships (a frigate, a destroyer, a cruiser, and a battleship) but gains more as the game goes on. Ships cannot be moved for the rest of the battle once placed. The enemy fleet contains the same ships as the player's.
After all of the ships have been placed on the grid, the player and the computer take turns firing at each other. The two fleets are on separate grids. Each turn consists of a single volley. On the player's turn, the player can move the firing sights on the grid using the D-Pad and shoot with . The player can bring up a panel to change the weapon with , then cycle through the panel with 
or 
and select a weapon with . Every ship has a standard weapon, the RIM-66, which is a single square in size and unlimited in supply. Each ship also has one or more special weapons, which are limited use. These weapons cover multiple squares in various patterns. After firing, the game reveals, square by square, if the player hit any targets, using red squares to indicate hits and blue squares to indicate misses. The player must hit every square occupied by an enemy vessel to sink it.
The enemy takes its turn in a similar fashion, using its own weapons to fire at the player's fleet, with hits and misses likewise shown as red and blue squares respectively. Since neither faction knows the locations of the other's ships, the game requires some guesswork, and there is some strategy involved in both using one's weapons to find the enemy's fleet more effectively and in positioning one's own ships in ways to better conceal them. When a vessel is sunk, that faction loses any special weapons provided by it. The battle ends when one fleet has been completely sunk.
Squares
These squares appear on the grid to indicate different things.
| Blank | |
|---|---|
| On the player's grid, this square represents a position with no ship. On the enemy's grid, this square represents a position that may or may not contain an enemy vessel. | |
| Firing Cursor | |
| This is a targeting cursor for a weapon. When fired, the square turns red or blue depending on whether it hits or misses a ship. | |
| Recon Cursor | |
| This a targeting cursor for a reconnaissance device. When used, it makes a different sound depending on whether a ship from the opposing fleet is in the square. | |
| Enemy Missed | |
| This square appears on the enemy's grid and indicates that the player fired a weapon in this position but did not hit an enemy vessel. | |
| Enemy Hit | |
| This square appears on the enemy's grid and indicates that the player fired a weapon in this position and hit (but has not yet sunk) an enemy vessel. | |
| Enemy Sunk | |
| This square appears on the enemy's grid and shows the position of a sunk enemy ship. The hit squares change to this square once the last part of the ship has been hit. | |
| Player Missed | |
| This square appears on the player's grid and indicates that the enemy fired a weapon in this position but did not hit a friendly vessel. | |
| Player Hit | |
| This square appears on the player's grid and indicates that the enemy fired a weapon in this position and hit a friendly vessel. A ship is sunk when all of its squares have changed to this square. |
Vessels
| Frigate | |
|---|---|
|
Availability: Level 1 Size: 2×1 | |
| Part of the starting fleet. Provides the Polaris weapon. | |
| Destroyer | |
|
Availability: Level 1 Size: 3×1 | |
| Part of the starting fleet. Provides the Asroc-71 weapon. At level 3, it gains Sonar. | |
| Cruiser | |
|
Availability: Level 1 Size: 4×1 | |
| Part of the starting fleet. Provides the Seadart weapon. At level 4, it unlocks Aerial Recon. | |
| Battleship | |
|
Availability: Level 1 Size: 5×1 | |
| Part of the starting fleet. Provides the Tomahawk weapon. It is the longest ship and thus more vulnerable, but its weapons cover a large area. | |
| Submarine | |
|
Availability: Level 2 Size: 1×1 | |
| Unlocked at level 2. Provides the MK-48X weapon. It is the smallest vessel and the easiest to conceal, though it is sunk in only one hit as a consequence. | |
| Carrier | |
|
Availability: Level 5 Size: 4×2 | |
| Unlocked at level 5. Provides the P-3 Orion weapon. At level 7, it unlocks the Talos weapon. It is the only ship that is taller than one square and takes the most shots to destroy. Its special weapons cover more area than even the battleship's weapons. |
Weapons
The RIM-66 can be used an unlimited number of times, but the other weapons can only be used once per battle. The player cannot use a weapon if the vessel providing it is sunk.
Passwords
- Main article: Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game/Passwords.
Production credits
- Producter: Steve Hutchins
- Q/A: Ken George, Frank, Wi-Kian, Randy
- Special Thanks to: Nicolas Speed Racer
- Conversion by: NGM Productions
Magazine articles
- Main article: Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game/Magazine articles.
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | ||||
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N/A |
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| Based on 0 reviews | |
| Game Gear, US |
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   Cover
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 Cart  Manual |
Technical information
ROM dump status
| System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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64kB | Cartridge (US/EU) |
References
| Battleship: The Classic Naval Combat Game | |
|---|---|
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Main page | Passwords | Magazine articles | Reception | |
