Target Earth

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • NTSC-U
  • NTSC-J

TargetEarth MD US Title.png

AssaultSuitLeynos MDTitleScreen.png

Target Earth
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher:
Sega Mega Drive
Masaya (Japan)
Sega Mega Drive
DreamWorks (US)
Nintendo Switch Online
Extreme
Developer:
Supporting companies:
Genre: Shooting[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥6,200 (6,386)6,200e[2][3] T-25013
Sega Mega Drive
US
$49.9549.95[5] T-25046
Wii Virtual Console
JP
600pts600[7]
CERO: A
Nintendo Switch Online
JP
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
US
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
EU
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
UK
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
AU
SUBsub

Target Earth, known in Japan as Assault Suit Leynos (重装騎兵レイノス) is a Sega Mega Drive run-and-gun game developed by NCS. The first game in the Assault Suit series, it was originally published in Japan by Masaya in March 1990[1], and was brought to the United States three months later by DreamWorks.[4]

Story

Target Earth, Introduction.png

Introduction

In 2201, expanding technologies have given man the power to live anywhere in space. Earth and its colonies are fighting a war against a cyborg army returning from deep space. The nature and purpose of these cybernetic adversaries, named Chron, is initially unknown. However, it is later revealed that Chron are the survivors of a failed space expedition (Outer Space Expeditionary Party) sent by Earth a hundred years earlier.

The Earth Defense League fights to defend Earth. Its core is the Assault Suit, a twelve-foot-tall armored battle machine with powerful fighting capabilities. The player is Rex, an Assault Suit Wing commander and master at Assault Suit combat. The battle begins on Ganymede and shifts to battles in space, on the Earth, and inside enemy outposts.

Gameplay

Target Earth, Weapon Select.png

Weapon select

The game is a run-and-gun platformer played as the Assault Suit Wing commander Rex inside a large armored mecha. Allied forces appear within the stages and fight alongside Rex. There is no friendly fire. Fellow Assault Suit Wing troopers wear brown armor and fly white or brown spacecraft. The Chron enemy forces wear green or blue armor. Characters occasionally send transmissions during stages to state the current objectives or progress the story. The goal of each stage varies and can involve defending a friendly ship or destroying an enemy target.

In gravity stages, Rex moves with Left and Right and jumps with B. He jumps higher if the button is held for longer. When equipped with a B-Pack, Rex can fly for short durations by holding B. In space stages, Rex can move freely in any direction with the D-Pad.

Rex fires his weapon with A, which can be held for rapid-fire. Weapons are aimed in eight directions using the D-Pad. There are multiple weapons, and the player can switch between the equipped weapons with C or by pausing the game with  START  and using Left and Right. The LG-Gun and HG-Gun weapons reload after their ammunition runs out, but the other weapons are unavailable for the rest of the stage when they are depleted.

At the start of each stage, the player can choose which weapons and other items to equip. An item is selected with the D-Pad and equipped with A; the last item is unequipped with B. Up to six different items can be equipped at a time. The player's performance in a stage determines which additional weapons and items are rewarded at the end of the stage. The player can acquire and equip the same weapon multiple times to carry additional ammunition. If a weapon runs out of ammunition in one stage, it is still available to be equipped in the next stage with full ammunition.

Rex has a health meter that empties as he takes damage from enemy fire or contact. It starts with 16 bars, but it can be extended as long as 32 bars by equipping Armor items. The health meter replenishes over time if he avoids taking damage. The game ends if he loses all of his health. There are three selectable difficulty levels (Normal, Hard, and Hyper). There is also an option to enable resetting the game with C+ START .

Items

Weapons

Target Earth, Items.png
LG-Gun
The standard armament. A stream of bullets that fires quickly but does light damage. This weapon reloads whenever it runs out of ammunition. Contains 20 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
HG-Gun
A more powerful version of the LG-Gun. It also reloads whenever it runs out of ammunition. Contains 20 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
25-SC
A conical spreadshot. Contains 60 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
40-SC
A more powerful version of the 25-SC. Contains 50 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
GL
Launches grenades toward the ground. Fires slowly but does high damage in a small area. Contains 50 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
MGL
A more powerful version of the GL. It has a larger blast radius. Contains 45 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
Burst
Fires projectiles that spin in the air before shooting upwards. Contains 10 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
D-D
Shoots an energy ball that explodes into a cloud, which floats in the air for a time and damages any enemies that enter it. Contains 30 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
150BZ
Fires high-speed, high-damage projectiles. Contains 50 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
203BZ
A more powerful version of the 150BZ. Contains 40 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
Missile
Slowly fires homing missiles. Contains 50 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
M.Pod
Quickly fires less powerful homing missiles. Contains 50 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
E-AS
Fires a laser that pierces through targets but can only be fired horizontally. Contains 70 rounds.
Target Earth, Items.png
E-CN
A more powerful version of the E-AS. Contains 55 rounds.

Other

These item effects are always active when equipped.

Target Earth, Items.png
Armor
Extends the health meter by 4 bars. Its effect stacks if it is equipped multiple times.
Target Earth, Items.png
B-Pack
Gives the ability to fly for a duration in gravity stages by holding B.
Target Earth, Items.png
Shield
Reduces the damage taken from enemies by half.

Stages

Target Earth, Stage 1.png

Raid on Ganymede

Target Earth, Stage 2.png

Escape

Target Earth, Stage 3.png

Orbital Attack

Target Earth, Stage 4-1.png

Target Earth, Stage 4-2.png

Target Earth, Stage 4-2 Boss.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 4-1.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 4-2.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 4-2 Boss.png

Front Line Assault

Target Earth, Stage 5.png

Surprise Attack

Target Earth, Stage 6-1.png

Target Earth, Stage 6-2.png

Target Earth, Stage 6-2 Boss.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 6-1.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 6-2.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 6-2 Boss.png

Headquarter Blitz

Target Earth, Stage 7.png

Target Earth, Stage 7 Boss.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 7.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 7 Boss.png

Space Colony Smash

Target Earth, Stage 8-1.png

Target Earth, Stage 8-1 Boss.png

Target Earth, Stage 8-2.png

Target Earth, Stage 8-2 Boss 1.png

Target Earth, Stage 8-2 Boss 2.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 8-1.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 8-1 Boss.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 8-2.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 8-2 Boss 1.png

  • Target Earth, Stage 8-2 Boss 2.png

The Final Conflict

History

Legacy

The game was included on the Japanese and Asian releases of the Mega Drive Mini in 2019. The US version is accessible if the system is set to English.

A sequel, Assault Suit Leynos 2, was released for the Sega Saturn in 1997. It was only released in Japan.

A prequel, named Assault Suit Valken (重装機兵ヴァルケン) in Japan and Cybernator in the West, was released for the Super NES in 1992. The game takes place a century before the events of Assault Suit Leynos. It received a sequel, Assault Suit Valken 2, for the PlayStation in 1999, only in Japan.

A remake of the game was developed by Dracue Software and published by Rising Star Games. It was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan in December 2015 and in North America and Europe in July 2016. It was ported to Windows PCs and released in August 2016. All versions of the remake use the original Japanese title, Assault Suit Leynos.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English (US) Target Earth Target Earth
Japanese 重装騎兵レイノス Jusou Kihei Leynos

Production credits

  • Program: H.Suzuki, M.Takasugi, T.Ohya, H.Tsuda
  • Graphic: M.Suzuki
  • Music: T.Suzuki
  • Manual Art: Naccai
  • Produce: Y.Sirakura
Source:
In-game credits
Target Earth MD credits.pdf
[13]


Digital manuals

Magazine articles

Main article: Target Earth/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Target Earth/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(RU)
40
[14]
(DE)
53
[15]
(JP) NTSC-J
58
[16]
(UK)
73
[17]
(UK)
73
[18]
(UK) NTSC-J
69
[19]
(US) NTSC-U
60
[4]
(JP) NTSC-J
65
[20]
(JP) NTSC-J
70
[21]
(UK) NTSC
46
[22]
(UK) NTSC-U
80
[23]
(US) NTSC-U
60
[24]
(UK) NTSC-J
73
[25]
(UK)
73
[26]
(DE)
54
[27]
(UK) NTSC-J
50
[28]
(UK) NTSC-J
66
[29]
(UK) NTSC-J
42
[30]
(JP) NTSC-J
81
[31]
(RU)
58
[32]
(GR) NTSC-J
92
[33]
(US)
60
[5]
Sega Mega Drive
63
Based on
22 reviews

Target Earth

Mega Drive, JP
ASL MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
ASLeynos MD JP CartTop.jpg
ASL MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Assaultsuit md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
TargetEarth MD US Box.jpg
Cover
TargetEarth MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
TargetEarth MD US manual.pdf
Manual

Technical information

Main article: Target Earth/Technical information.

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  2. Beep! MegaDrive, "November 1989" (JP; 1989-XX-XX), page 9
  3. File:ASL MD JP Box.jpg
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Electronic Gaming Monthly, "July 1990" (US; 1990-xx-xx), page 18
  5. 5.0 5.1 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "September 1990" (US; 1990-0x-xx), page 61
  6. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/05.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-05 23:22)
  7. http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_leynos/ (Wayback Machine: 2007-10-28 11:39)
  8. https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/1bbb22fd-9a6b-4d8b-8554-c55c3874e49b (archive.today)
  9. @NintendoAmerica on Twitter (archive.today)
  10. @NintendoEurope on Twitter (archive.today)
  11. @NintendoUK on Twitter (archive.today)
  12. @NintendoAUNZ on Twitter (archive.today)
  13. File:Target Earth MD credits.pdf
  14. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 236
  15. Aktueller Software Markt, "Juni/Juli 1990" (DE; 1990-05-25), page 85
  16. Beep! MegaDrive, "April 1990" (JP; 1990-03-08), page 108
  17. Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume IV" (UK; 1990-11-xx), page 27
  18. The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 44
  19. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 127
  20. Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-0x-xx), page 1
  21. Mega Drive Fan, "August 1990" (JP; 1990-07-07), page 73
  22. Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 87
  23. (UK) (+0:00)
  24. Mega Play, "November/December 1990" (US; 1990-xx-xx), page 28
  25. MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 76
  26. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 137
  27. Power Play, "7/90" (DE; 1990-06-15), page 119
  28. Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 52
  29. Sega Pro, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-xx-xx), page 37
  30. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 64
  31. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  32. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 26
  33. User, "Októvrios 1990" (GR; 1990-xx-xx), page 62


Target Earth

TargetEarth MD US Title.png

Main page | Comparisons | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Video coverage | Reception | Promotional material | Region coding | Technical information | Bootlegs


Sega Mega Drive
Prototypes: 1990-02-16



Assault Suit Leynos games for Sega systems
Target Earth (1990) | Assault Suit Leynos 2 (1997)