Insector X

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Insector X

System(s): Sega Mega Drive

Publisher: HOT-B (Japan), Sage's Creation (US), HiCom (South Korea)

Developer: HOT-B (programming: Genki?)

Distributor: Tec Toy (BR), Samsung (KR)

Licensor: Taito

Original system(s): Arcade boards

Sound driver: Cube^[1]

Genre: Shooting^[2]^[3]

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1990-09-07^[3]	¥6,800 (7,004)6,800e^[4]	T-28023
US	1990-11^[5]		47036
BR	1991
KR	199x		GM4001HG

Non-Sega versions
Arcade Nintendo Entertainment System

Insector X (インセクターＸ) is a Sega Mega Drive horizontal shoot-'em-up game developed by HOT-B. It is a port of the developer's 1989 arcade game of the same name and a spiritual successor to the earlier Cloud Master. It was first published in Japan by HOT-B themselves in September 1990^[3], and was later brought to the United States by Sage's Creation two months later.^[5]

The arcade version of Insector X was originally produced by HOT-B with a dark, realistic theme. Partway through development, the publisher Taito requested the game's tone be lightened, resulting in character and enemy sprites being replaced with cute chibi artwork. When producing the later Mega Drive port, the team returned to their original designs and developed Insector X as it was originally intended to appear.

Story

“

Unknown to the human eye is a world where exists two micro-tribes, BELZERS and INSECTORS. The king of the BELZERS is BAGLON-BELZEID. Obsessed by an evil ambition to conquer the world, he created half machine/half insect forces to carry out his plan. He ordered his mechanical-insecter forces into the peace-loving INSECTOR world and destroyed its inhabitants. Now, BAGLON-BELZEID and his forces are about to invade the human world.

The last survivor of the INSECTORS is KAIT. He managed to escape to a desert that had not been reached by BELZER forces and there he was rescued and sheltered by a human boy. The peace did not last long, however, because the BELZERS have started to invade this deserted place.

"I am not going to escape any more!"

KAIT is now flying to protect the human who saved him and revenge his INSECTOR comrades.

„

— US manual ^[6]

Gameplay

The game is a horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up. The player controls an insect-like main character, Kait, through a number of nature-based and cave environments, fighting an army of cyborg insects in order to defeat the dark ruler queen and free the insect world from her power.

Kait flies in any direction using the D-Pad. He fires his normal shot by pressing (which can be held for continuous fire). The normal shot is initially a single stream of projectiles, but it can be upgraded multiple times by collecting power-ups, growing in size and power. Finding a Special Weapon item arms him with two special weapons: anti-air missiles and anti-ground bombs. Kait fires the special weapon by pressing (which can be held for continuous fire) or switch between them by pressing . Collecting additional Special Weapon items upgrades both special weapons. Normal and special weapons both have unlimited ammunition and can be fired simultaneously.

Kait loses a life if he is hit by an enemy or enemy fire. Colliding with terrain does not cost a life (unless crushed by the screen as it scrolls). Kait restarts at a checkpoint, losing any speed or weapon upgrades he has collected. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued a limited number of times. Extra lives are awarded for every 60,000 points earned. The player can choose the difficulty level (Easy, Normal, or Hard) and the number of starting lives (between 1 and 8) before starting the game.

Special weapons

	Level 1
	The anti-air weapon is the Propera-Missile, which fires spinning discs that travel forward in a sine-like wave. The anti-ground weapon is the Parachute-Bomb, which drops a bomb that explodes when it hits the ground.
	Level 2
	The anti-air weapon is the Ring-Laser, which radiates ring-shaped lasers from Kait in a circle. The anti-ground weapon is the Spray-Bomb, which drops a bomb that emits smoke into the air after hitting the ground (which also makes it effective against weak flying enemies).
	Level 3
	The anti-air weapon is the Fire-Missile, which shoots a penetrating missile that scatters small fireballs in a spread as it flies. The anti-ground weapon is the Bound-Fire-Bomb, which drops a bomb that bounces its explosion back into the air after hitting the ground.
	Level 4
	The anti-air weapon is the Formation-Missile, which launches six missiles forwards that fly in a stacked formation. The anti-ground weapon is the Sweeper-Bomb, which drops a bomb that shoots waves to each side when it explodes.

Items

Creatures named Sparrow Carriers appear in the rounds holding an egg-like object. Destroying one of these reveals a power up that can be collected to increase Kait's abilities and firepower.^[7]

	Speed Up
	Increases Kait's flying speed by one level, up to 5 levels.^[7]
	Power Up
	Increases the firepower of Kait's normal shot by one level, up to 7 levels. If Kait loses a life, his firepower is reduced to its minimum stage.^[8]
	Double Power Up
	Increases the firepower of Kait's normal shot by two levels. This item only appears after losing a life when Kait's normal shot is returned to its base power, to help the player recover more quickly.
	Special Weapon
	Arms Kait with his anti-air and anti-ground special weapons or upgrades the special weapons by a level if already equipped, up to 4 levels. Dropped by enemies other than Sparrow Carriers.^[9]
	Crash
	Equips Kait with a special bomb that can be detonated to destroy all small enemies and damage all larger enemies on-screen. The bomb can be selected with and used with , the same way as a special weapon.
	Point Up
	Awards 1,000 bonus points.
	1 Up
	Awards an extra life.
	Special Bonus
	Allows Kait to retain his speed and weapon upgrades after losing a life (only one time). Otherwise, he restarts at his slowest movement speed, with his normal shot at its starting power, and with no special weapons.