Batsugun

n/a

Batsugun
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Banpresto
Developer: Gazelle
Licensor: Toaplan
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Developer(s) of original games: Toaplan
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (33 tracks)
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1996-10-25 ¥5,800 (5,974)5,800e T-20605G
Non-Sega versions Arcade

Batsugun (バツグン) is a "bullet hell" shooter developed by Toaplan and Gazelle. After a 1993 arcade release, it was ported to the Sega Saturn and released exclusively in Japan in 1996. The game is considered the pioneer of the bullet hell genre; its designers would move on to form Cave, one of the leading developers in the genre. This port was released as the first of Toaplan legendary series, but this series was never released later.

Gameplay

is the standard shot, is for bombs and is for autofire. There are five stages. The Saturn port adds the ability to play in a horizontal screen orientation.

Player ship has three forms, based on the experience points collected. You power up gradually by collecting P icons and by destroying enemies which grant experience points, an unusual design for a shooting game; dying takes away a certain amount of power but gives you a free P icon. After fully powering up, gathering further experience points adds bombs and restores the ship's hitpoints (Special version only)

The game features many hidden score opportunities, which are sometimes so obscure that they can't be fully understood without external documentation, e.g. when certain parts of the stage 4 boss, Battleship Jupiter, are destroyed, it starts releasing tanks. When there are enough tanks onscreen, they turn red. Destroying these red tanks with a bomb yields a very high score bonus. More scoring opportunities have been added for the special version.

Player

You can choose one of three ships; each ship has a different attack range/frequency. Pilots are different for 1 and 2 player. With the combination of pilots, the dialogue at the stage clearing will change.

	Jeeno
	Player 1 Type A (Sky Mirage)
	Beltiana
	Player 1 Type B (Dragons Whisper)
	Iceman
	Player 1 Type C (Judgment flasher) This character is said to be based on the game's designer Joker JUN.
	Schneider
	Player 2 Type A (Sky Mirage)
	Alteeno
	Player 2 Type B (Dragons Whisper)
	Olisis
	Player 2 Type C (Judgment flasher)

Stages

	Stage 1
	Boss: Deep Purple
	Stage 2
	Boss: Madzella
	Stage 3
	Boss: Mad Steel Darkness
	Stage 4
	Boss: Jupiter
	Stage 5
	Boss: Ground of the Galaxy

Extra features

The Saturn port includes the rare "Special" version of the game, which features modified bombs (covering a larger area), smaller hitboxes for the player ships, allows the player to take an additional hit before being destroyed and loops after clearing the last stage, each loop becoming increasingly difficult. Other extra features are the inclusion of both the original and a rearranged soundtrack.

Tips and tricks

This article needs cleanup. This article needs to be edited to conform to a higher standard of article quality. After the article has been cleaned up, you may remove this message. For help, see the How to Edit a Page article. Further information: This section needs moving to the hidden content page.

• Credit increase: Credit increase up to a nine.

In gameplay, pause game and .

Versions

The Saturn port runs with much less slowdown than the Arcade version, making it more difficult.

Production credits

Original Staff

• Programming: Tsuneki Ikeda, Seiji Iwakura, Satoshi Kohyama
• Graphic Design: Yuko Tataka, Takeshi Kawamoto, Junya Inoue
• Music Composer: Yoshitatsu Sakai

Segasaturn Staff

• Programming: Yoshihiro Matsumoto
• Special Ver. Support: Hideyuki Murata
• Music Arranger: Shingo Hirate
• Package Design: Kenji Teraoka
• Planner: Koji Ishitani
• Director: Hiroyuki Fujimoto

Thank You For Your Playing

• Presented by: Toaplan

© Toaplan 1993

© Banpresto 1996

Reprogrammed Game © Gazelle

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Batsugun/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-18: "1996-18 (1996-10-25)" (1996-10-11)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Edge (UK) NTSC-J 70 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 63 Joypad (FR) NTSC-J 80 MAN!AC (DE) NTSC-J 50 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 68 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 67 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 73 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 85

	69
Based on 8 reviews

Batsugun

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual Reg Card

Technical information

Main article: Batsugun/Technical information.