Keio Flying Squadron

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NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J
Keio Flying Squadron
System(s): Sega Mega-CD
Publisher: Victor Entertainment (JP), JVC Musical Industries (US), JVC Musical Industries Europe (EU)
Developer: Victor Entertainment, Studio Pierrot
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1993-08-06 ¥7,400 (7,622)7,400e T-60114 US 1995-02 T-60185 EU 1994-10 T-60185-50 UK 1994-10 £49.9949.99 T-60185-50

Keio Flying Squadron, called Keiou Yuugekitai (慶応遊撃隊) in Japan, is a 1993 comical shoot-'em-up for the Sega Mega-CD by Victor Entertainment. It was followed by Keio Flying Squadron 2 for the Sega Saturn.

The protagonist Rami, a girl wearing a bunny suit, and her dragon pet Spot, set out to recover a stolen treasure. This game features animated cutscenes provided by Studio Pierrot.

Story

Rami riding Spot

The game is set in the Keiō era during the Edo period of Japanese history. Rami Nana-Hikari, a seemingly typical teenager, has been the keeper of the Key to the Secret Treasure, and is really a descendant of aliens who came to Earth in ancient times. She does not know the importance of the Treasure, and her overbearing grandmother does not remember what secret the Key unlocks. The Key has been stolen (while Rami was at the local mini-mart, a common hangout for teens then), and now she must get the Key back.

Wearing her bunny girl costume, Rami rides into battle on her trusty dragon, Spot, as she encounters various enemies such as a sea monster, the U.S. Navy, the Russian Army, and the Seven Gods of the Good Fortune, until she arrives at the ship of Dr. Pon Eho, a raccoon billed as the most intelligent creature on Earth with an IQ of 1,400.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up played as Rami riding on top of Spot. The player can move the pair in any direction with the D-Pad. The dragon has two movement speeds, slow and fast, which can be switched with . Each speed is configurable in the options before the game starts. Spot can shoot fireballs at enemies with . Spot also has a subweapon that fires simultaneously. There are two different main weapons and three different subweapons, which can be switched by collecting items. Collecting an item of the same type as the currently equipped weapon or subweapon upgrades the current weapon or subweapon.

When Spot is not firing, two smaller dragons (companion fighters) appear one after another to assist Rami and Spot. They behave similarly to options in Konami's Gradius series. The lesser dragons shoot smaller fireballs and can be sacrificed with to do larger damage, only to reappear when Spot ceases to shoot.

Rami and Spot lose a life when they take any damage from enemies but respawn momentarily as long as the player has lives remaining. They lose a weapon and subweapon level each time they lose a life (though power-ups for them appear near where Rami and Spot respawn). The game ends when the player runs out of lives, though it can be continued from the start of the current stage.

Characters

	Rami Nana-Hikari (七光・蘭未)
	Grandchild of an ancient family with the mission of guarding the Key that opens the Ark, Rami wears a traditional kimono at the beginning of the game, and later changes into the "Super Ultra Cute Battle Suit," complete with bunny ears and tail. In the English version of the game she is 20 years old, while in the Japanese version she is 14 years old.
	Spot Nana-Hikari (ぽち)
	Rami's pet dragon, always loyal but as lazy as his owner. Spot has no problems with flying and shooting fireballs. Spot is called Pochi in the Japanese release of the game.
	Dr. Pon Eho (恵方・ポン)
	A super intelligent raccoon who stole the Key to the Secret Treasure. His IQ is 1,400.
	Grandma and Grandpa Nana-Hikari
	Rami's grandparents who have raised her from a young age and have brought her up to be the next keeper of the Secret Treasure. They were former keepers themselves, continuing a long line of ancestors in their clan that have kept the Treasure safe for many generations. They are now retired, and have passed the job to Rami.

Items

Fly over items to collect them. Weapon items cycle through the available weapons.

Weapons

Collecting an item of the same type as the equipped weapon upgrades the weapon, up to five times (or gives the player 2,000 bonus points if already at max level). Collecting an item for a different weapon equips that weapon at the same level as the currently equipped weapon.

	Forward Shot
	A concentrated shot straight forward.
	Multi-Directional Shot
	Three shots in a conical shape. Less powerful than the Forward Shot but covers more area.

Subweapons

Collecting an item of the same type as the equipped subweapon upgrades the subweapon, up to four times (or gives the player 2,000 bonus points if already at max level). Collecting an item for a different subweapon equips that subweapon at the same level as the currently equipped subweapon.

	Ground Bombs
	Launches volleys of bombs at the ground.
	Explosive Throwing Stars
	Throws stars in the opposite direction as the last pressed direction (including diagonals).
	Homing Spot Jrs.
	Shoots baby dragons like homing missiles at enemies.

Other

	1-Up
	Gives the player an extra life.

Stages

	Dr. Pon's Ship Attacks! (宿敵、宝船の追撃)
	Follow the River (墨田川を下れ！)
	Inside the Silent Castle City (江戸城下、沈黙す)
	Another Ambush (新たなる伏兵)
	The Battle at Mt. Ararat (激烈、アララト山攻防戦を抜けろ)
	The Caspian Sea Confrontation (カスピ海を血に染めて)
	Legacy of the Gods (神々の遺産)

Versions

Rami's age was increased for the Western release. The dragon Spot is also described as female in the Western release (despite having visible testicles in the cutscene leading to the second stage). The difficulty has also been lowered in some areas; for instance, the flying ships in the first level kill Rami and Spot when they touch them in the Japanese release but are harmless in the Western release.

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Keio Flying Squadron	Keio Flying Squadron
English (US)	Keio Flying Squadron	Keio Flying Squadron
Japanese	慶応遊撃隊	Keiou Yuugekitai

Production credits

Japanese version

• 演出: 本田 暁
• 錬金術師: 山木 光人
• 楽師: 多和田 吏
• 絵師: 小川 浩樹, 各務 仁志
• 技術監督: 岩沢 慶明
• 動画技術: 松木 義勝, 横田 寿美
• 動画制作: スタジオぴえろ
• 語り手
  • 蘭未: 菅野 美穂
  • ぽち: 平松 晶子
  • Dr.ポン: 八奈見 乗児
  • 婆さん: 山本 圭子
  • 弁士: 屋良 有作
  • 協力: マジック・カプセル
• 登場人物原案: 太田 大雅
• 登場人物作画: 本田 雄
• ご意見番: 冨永 和也
• 雑兵: 石関 宏司, 菊池 健治
• 監督: 遠藤 泰
• 制作: 仙田 勇
• 企画・制作: ビクターエンタテインメント株式会社

Source:

In-game credits

Overseas version

Staff

• Screen Play: Satoru Honda
• Alchemist: Teruhito Yamaki
• Composer: Tsukasa Tawada
• Artist: Hitoshi Kakumu, Hiroshi Ogawa
• Character Design: Hiromasa Ota
• Character Drawing: Takeshi Honda
• Animation: Studio Pierrot
• Animation Technician: Yoshikatsu Matsuki, Toshimi Yokota

Voice

• Rami/Spot: Samantha Paris
• Dr. Pon/Narrator: Roger Jackson
• Translation & Recording: Watanabe-Robins & Associates
• Game Advisor: Kazuya Tominaga
• Game Player (Tester): Koji Ishizeki (Japan), Kenji Kikuchi (Japan), Jeremy Klein (US), Julio C. Arreygue (US), Aki Akaike (US)
• Technical Director: Yoshiaki Iwasawa
• Director: Yasushi Endo
• Producer: Toshiaki Nagai
• Producer (USA): Yoji Takenaka
• Producer (UK): Masavoshi Zaitsu
• Executive Producer: Harunobu Komori

Developed and Produced by Victor Entertainment. Inc.

Source:

US manual

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Magazine articles

Main article: Keio Flying Squadron/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in EGM² (US) #5: "November 1994" (1994-1x-xx)
also published in:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #65: "December 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-06: "June 1993" (1993-05-08)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-07: "July 1993" (1993-06-08)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-08: "August 1993" (1993-07-08)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-09: "September 1993" (1993-08-07)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Games World: The Magazine (UK) 83 №11, p80

	83
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 40 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 70 Consoles + (FR) 87 Dengeki Mega Drive (JP) NTSC-J 72 Digitiser (UK) NTSC-J 79 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 55 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 28 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 80 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 42 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 30 Joypad (FR) 79 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 71 Mega (UK) NTSC-J 60 Mega (UK) PAL 89 Mega Action (UK) NTSC-J 90 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J 80 MegaTech (UK) NTSC-J 90 Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-J 90 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 25 Player One (FR) 75 Sega Magazin (DE) 75 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 82 Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J 81 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J 49 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 78 Sega Force Mega (UK) NTSC-J 60 Sega Force (SE) 85 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 80 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 49 Video Games (DE) NTSC-J 87 VideoGames (US) 80

	69
Based on 32 reviews

Keio Flying Squadron

Mega-CD, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual Reg Card

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

Technical information

Main article: Keio Flying Squadron/Technical information.