Gain Ground

n/a

System 24 NTSC-J NTSC-U PAL Master System
Gain Ground
System(s): Sega System 24, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Super CD-ROM², Virtual Console, Steam
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (Japan, Europe) Sega Corporation Renovation Products (US) NEC Avenue
Developer: Sega R&D 1 Sanritsu Bits Laboratory Fill in Cafe M2
Supporting companies: T's Music (audio)
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT) Hent Gruppen (SE rental) Tec Toy (BR)
Sound driver: SMPS Z80
Genre: Shooting, Action
Number of players: 1-3, 1-2, 1
Official in-game languages: English 日本語
Release Date RRP Code JP 1988-11-"last ten days of month" ¥? ? US 1988 $? ? UK 1988 £? ? JP 1991-01-03 ¥6,0006,000 G-4036 US 1991-05 49056 EU 1991 1116 PT 199x MDJ1116 UK 1991 £34.9934.99 1116 SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x EU 1991-01 7045 BX 199x UK 1991-01 £29.9929.99 7045 AU 199x BR 1991-10 JP 1992-12-25 NAPR-1032 JP ▼ 2007-01-30 600pts600 US ▼ 2007-02-05 800pts800 EU ▼ 2007-02-02 800pts800 DE ▼ 2007-02-02 800pts800 AU ▼ 2007-02 800pts800 US ▼ 2010-06-01 $2.992.99 34275 EU ▼ 2010-06-01 €2.492.49 34275 DE ▼ 2010-06-01 €2.492.49 34275 UK ▼ 2010-06-01 £1.991.99 34275 AU ▼ 2010-06-01 $3.493.49 34275 US ▼ 2019-02-01 $0.990.99 34275 EU ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 34275 DE ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 34275 UK ▼ 2019-02-01 £0.790.79 34275 AU ▼ 2019-02-01 $1.351.35 34275 US ▼ 2019-02-01 $0.990.99 34275 EU ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 34275 DE ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 34275 UK ▼ 2019-02-01 £0.790.79 34275 AU ▼ 2019-02-01 $1.351.35 34275

Gain Ground (ゲイングランド) is a 1988 arcade game released for the Sega System 24 arcade platform. It is a top-down gun game with strategy elements, in which the player controls one of twenty playable characters who must defeat all the enemies on screen or bring every character that player currently has to the exit. It appears that two different arcade versions exist, one allowing up to 3 players while another supports only 2 players.

Gameplay

Called by developers as a "Algorithm Action Game", the core gameplay of Gain Ground is same in all versions. Players must either eliminate all enemies on the level or evacuate all members from the level by moving them to the "EXIT" (which in some cases can be very time consuming and unnecessary). Every character in the game has strenghts and weaknesses and only by using the right character for the right situation will help players finish the level. In addition to the enemies on the ground, some enemies are on the higher ground and can only be defeated with a character who posseses a weapon capable of hitting them.

Each character has one regular and one special weapon. Besides that, the only difference between characters is the movement speed. Each character's primary weapon can be fired with the primary button ( for Mega Drive, for Master System) and the special weapon can be fired with the special button (/ for Mega Drive, for Master System).

Each character has only one life and a single hit is enought to defeat them. When defeated, a small symbol of the character remains in the battlefield. That character can be rescued the same way of recruiting them: taking them to the "EXIT". If the character saving the downed character also killed, the previously defeated character will disappear.

Each "Era" is divided into ten levels. At the final level of an Era, players will face against a boss.

Playable characters

Arcade, Mega Drive and Super CD-ROM² versions

	Athra
	Very fast. Main weapon is a short ranged but very fast firing spear throw. The special attack button lobs the spear towards any direction in a short parabolic arc, allowing the player to hit enemies above or those behind the obstacles. Useful for close range combat and rescuing other characters. Available from the beginning.
	Gascon
	Same as Athra except he can only fire his special weapon northwards in a strafing motion.
	Johnny
	Fast. Main weapon is a long ranged, fast firing semi-automatic rifle. Special weapon fires directly northwards while strafing, allowing players to fall back while firing. Available from the beginning. Useful as long as there are no enemies in the high ground.
	Professor
	Same as Johnny, except his special weapons can fire both left and right at the same time.
	Betty
	Fast. Main weapon is a medium ranged pistol. Special weapon is a short ranged grenade that can be lobbed over obstactes while strafing. Available from the beginning. Useful for close range combat and eliminating enemies in the high ground.
	Honey
	Same as Betty, except she can throw her grenade towards any direction.
	Verbal
	Very Fast. Main weapon is a medium ranged longbow. Special weapon is a very long ranged arrow that can hit enemies in the high ground or those behind the obstacles. Most useful character in the game.
	Mars
	Same as Verbal, except he can fire his long range arrow in a strafing motion.
	Lobby
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is an extreme range, elevated missile that can be fired any direction and hit enemies on the high ground. Good for eliminating such enemies.
	Mud Puppy'
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is an extreme range, regular missile that can only hit enemies on the same level as the player. Great for sniping enemies on the low ground from long range.
	Cyber
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon fires a cluster missile that will spread northwards and affect a large area. Very useful for crowd control but not recommended for close combat.
	Kou
	Fast. Main weapon is a long range rifle. Special weapon is a three burst submachinegun stafing, which causes same damage but better hitbox.
	Kid
	Same as Kou except he can fire both sides at the same time with his special weapon.
	Mam
	Fast. Main weapon is a medium range pistol. Special weapon is a boomerang strafe that will come back after a while. Great for attacking hard to reach places.
	Valkyrie
	Same as above except she can throw her boomerang towards any direction.
	General
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is a very, very short ranged flamethower. Coupled with his slow speed, this makes him the worst character in the game.
	Fire Knight
	Medium speed. Main weapon is a powerful projectile. Special weapon is a napalm weapon that will remain in place for a while and kill any enemies who touch it. Rarely used.
	Glow Knight
	Same as above except his special attack is a rolling barrier that will damage any enemies who touch the knight. Useful for close combat.
	Water Knight
	Same as above except his special attack can freeze enemies about a few seconds. Useful for rescues.
	Zaemon
	Same as above except his special attack is a whirlwind that can bounce after hitting obstacles or enemies. His survival depends on bit of a luck.

Master System version

The Master System version uses symbols instead of small figurines to depict downed characters in the battlefield.

	Spear Fighters
	Same as Athra. Very fast but terrible range. Special weapon can hit elevated enemies. Available from the beginning. Depicted with a spear symbol.
	Rifle Infantry
	Same as Professor. Fast and good range. Special weapon is great for enemies trying to envelop the player from both sides. Available from the beginning. Depicted with a rifle symbol.
	Grenadiers
	Same as Honey. Fast but short range. Grenades are quite powerful despite short range. Available from the beginning. Depicted with a potato masher grenade.
	Archers
	Same as Verbal. Fast and very long range. Can shoot arrows towards any direction. Most useful character in the game. Depicted with an arrow.
	Ninjas
	New character for the Master System version. Main weapon is fast shuriken throw with good range. Special weapon is a trap that will cause heavy damage to those who touch it. Depicted with a shuriken.
	Boomerang Throwers
	Same as Valkyrie. Fast and decent primary weapon. Decpited, of course, with a boomerang.
	Flamethrowers
	Same as General. Still somewhat useless but if they can reach an enemy, they can drain enemy health very quickly. Rarest character. Appears only once. Depicted with a fire symbol.
	Water Wizards
	Same as the dude himself except their special attacks can freeze enemies for about 10 seconds. Depicted with a fountain symbol.
	Missile Launchers
	Same as Lobby. Very slow, weak primary weapon and can hit elevated enemies with a extreme range missile. Depicted with a single missile.
	Cluster Missile Launchers
	Same as Cyber. Very slow, weak primary weapon with powerful spread missile that can wreak havoc upon battlefield. Hits only enemies on the level ground. Depicted with a pointy missile.

Rounds

Arcade version

	Round 1: The Primitive Age
	Round 2: Europe in the Middle Ages
	Round 3: China Before Revolution
	Round 4: Robot in the Future

Mega Drive version

	Round 1: The Primitive Age
	Round 2: Europe in the Middle Ages
	Round 3: China Before Revolution
	Round 4: Present Age
	Round 5: Robot in the Future

Master System version

	Round 1: The Primitive Age
	Round 2: The Middle Ages
	Round 3: The Modern Age
	Round 4: The Near Future
	Round 5: Gain Ground, the Final Era

History

Gain Ground was ported to the Sega Master System and Sega Mega Drive in 1990 and 1991 respectively. The Mega Drive version received an exclusive 4th round called "Present Age", while the Master System version recieved its own exclusive last round "The Final Era". The game was also brought to the Super CD-ROM² in the form of Gain Ground SX. Both the Master System and Mega Drive versions allow up to 2 players cooperative gameplay; the Super CD-ROM² version is 1 player only.

The Arcade, Mega Drive and Super CD-ROM² versions are more or less the same game, except the Super CD-ROM² version has re-arranged Red Book audio.

Turbo Technologies, Inc. demonstrated a North American release of the Super CD-ROM² version at Winter CES 1993, but this release was cancelled for unknown reasons.

The Master System version differs significantly from the regular versions, with different characters portraits, slightly different character abilities (some characters are removed and some abilities are combined) and somewhat different level designs. Original versions feature more western-style character art while the Master System version's art is closer to an anime-style. Another interesting feature of the Master System version is that Player 1 uses male characters while Player 2 uses female characters. Besides the different portraits, there are no differences between male and female characters.

Legacy

The Mega Drive version was brought to the Wii's Virtual Console service, and the game was re-made for the Sega Ages 2500 series in Japan. It was also included in Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, Sega Mega Drive Classics, and both versions of the Mega Drive Mini 2.

Production credits

Main article: Gain Ground/Production credits.

Digital manuals

• 

  Steam manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 US manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 EU manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 JP manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Gain Ground/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Gain Ground/Promotional material.

Artwork

• 

Physical scans

System 24 version

System 24, US
Manual

System 24, JP
Instuction card(s)

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 50 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 70 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) 76 Console XS (UK) PAL 88 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 29 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 70 Hobby Consolas (ES) 66 Joystick (FR) 65 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 75 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 75 Mega (UK) PAL 77 Mega (UK) 77 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 48 MegaTech (UK) 43 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 43 Player One (FR) 65 Raze (UK) NTSC 92 Raze (UK) PAL 91 Sega Power (UK) PAL 71 Sega Power (UK) PAL 50 Sega Pro (UK) 89 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 88 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 74 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 77 Video Games (DE) 61

	68
Based on 25 reviews

Gain Ground

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, FR
Manual

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Hent; black)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (alt)
Cover

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Ação Games (BR) 67 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 53 Console XS (UK) PAL 82 Computer & Video Games (UK) 32 Joystick (FR) 60 Mean Machines (UK) 62 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 62 Player One (FR) 61 Power Play (DE) 35 Raze (UK) PAL 71 Sega Power (UK) PAL 70 Sega Power (UK) PAL 50 Sega Pro (UK) 81 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 82 User (GR) PAL 67 Zzap! (IT) 76

	63
Based on 16 reviews

Gain Ground

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, BX†

Master System, AU
Cart

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart File:GainGround-SMS-BR-Manual.pdf Manual

Super CD-ROM² version

Super CD-ROM², JP
Cover
Disc File:Gain Ground SX PCE SCD-ROM2 JP Manual.pdf Manual

Technical information

Main article: Gain Ground/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 83e7b8ae MD5 fa43881a792fadf1ab737294fff1bcc3 SHA-1 3cc501086f794ac663aad14d5c5a75b648041151	512kB	1990-12	Cartridge (US/EU)
✔	CRC32 aee20a64 MD5 250033f6c91fbb7714782cd66fcece82 SHA-1 148d166d594535c6526cb450c461cfb003b59f93	512kB	1990-12	Cartridge (EU)
✔	CRC32 8641a2ab MD5 3b0ad9167e152ed3719ae0d45e50db6a SHA-1 a5017e44b5f470e0499f4a9b494385c567632864	512kB	1990-12	Cartridge (JP)
✔	CRC32 f5c0b45f MD5 08d98b0ee5111e72ba73e753dc76ac1c SHA-1 a4d70df77ed08a9233076250c93c8d8a0c0ba715	512kB	1990-07-27	CD-R disc				Page
?	CRC32 3ec5e627 MD5 7d54230748fa41bb62b6f08e5dcede08 SHA-1 62c0ca61ad8f679f90f253ab6bbffd0c7737a8c0	256kB		Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 d40d03c7 MD5 8fdb6d42f1d58205ce024f0e50367fee SHA-1 990491d559ebada59c8c7d7c7eeeae7dffa0399d	256kB		EPROM cartridge				Page

External links

• Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
• Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK, AU
• Gain Ground on Steam

References

NEC Retro has more information related to Gain Ground SX