Undeadline
From Sega Retro
| Undeadline | |||||||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | |||||||||||||||
Publisher: PALSOFT | |||||||||||||||
| Developer: PALSOFT | |||||||||||||||
| Licensor: T&E Soft | |||||||||||||||
| Original system(s): MSX | |||||||||||||||
| Developer(s) of original games: T&E Soft | |||||||||||||||
| Genre: Shooting[1][2] | |||||||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||
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Undeadline (アンデッドライン; also referred to as Undead Line) is a 1989 shoot-'em-up for the MSX2 by T&E Soft. It was ported to the X68000 in 1990 and then to the Sega Mega Drive in 1991; the Mega Drive port was done by PALSOFT. No version of this game was ever released outside of Japan. The game is noted for its exceptionally high difficulty.
Contents
Story
In the beginning, the world was inhabited by gods and giants who fought over which race would rule. To win, the giants created four "living weapons," who were so fearsome and effective that both sides lost. The day that the monsters were created would come to be called Ragnarök.
Ages later, Count Brahzen, a leader of demons, invaded the Gitane Kingdom, who were able to defend themselves solely by tactical decisions made by their King Fahrenheit II, only to discover Count Brahzen is seeking the Spirit of Roshufa in order to revive one of the four legendary monsters. You are Leon, a fighter chosen by the King to obtain the Spirit before Count Brahzen does.
Gameplay
The game is an autoscrolling shooter. Players control Leon and can move him with the D-pad while the screen slowly scrolls upward (except during boss fights). Leon always faces forwards. Each stage ends with a boss fight; the longer stages also include a lesser boss in the middle. Leon shoots with 
. Rapid-fire can be enabled with the "Rensha" option in the Options menu. Leon can surround himself with a revolving spiked ball with 
. The ball protects him from enemies and their bullets, but it takes damage from them and is eventually destroyed. The player gets three spiked balls per life. Leon also has a conventional shield that he can use by holding 
, which protects against bullets in front of him. Using the shield is often necessary to avoid taking damage in situations where it is otherwise unavoidable.
There are treasure chests scattered throughout the levels, which can contain weapons and power-ups. Shooting a chest opens it; shooting at the item within it cycles through the list of available weapons or power-ups, allowing the player to choose the desired item, though the player can only cycle through each list twice before it stays on the last item. There are several different weapons, each of which can be upgraded twice by collecting the same weapon. Switching to another weapon resets the weapon level. There are also a number of power-ups, which can be beneficial, such as restoring a hit point, or detrimental, such as costing a hit point.
Each of the first six stages contain three fairies. If Leon collects a fairy by moving over it, he gains a level, which grants the player a point that can be used after the stage is completed to improve Leon's statistics. Different weapons are upgraded with different statistics; for example, the Axe weapon gains power depending on Leon's ST, but the Energy Blast weapon gains power depending on Leon's MP. The AG stat increases Leon's movement speed.
Leon has three hit points and loses one each time he takes damage from a foe. When he runs out of hit points, he dies, and the game can only be continued if the player has lives remaining. The player starts the game with two extra lives but can find more in the stages. Leon is revived at the beginning of each stage after he dies and starts over with the base weapon; there are no checkpoints. The player's hit points and weapon are carried over to the next stage after successfully completing a stage. There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Crazy), settable in the Options before starting the game.
Items
Fairies are found flying around the stage at certain points. All other items are found in treasure chests, which must be shot open. Chests contain either weapons, power-ups, or a 1-Up. Weapons and power-ups cycle through their respective lists in order as the player shoots them, allowing the player to choose any item. However, after cycling through each item twice, the chest only offers the last item, the Diamond.
Weapons
Weapons can be upgraded twice by collecting the same weapon multiple times. Collecting a different weapon resets the weapon level to the lowest level.
| Throwing Knife | |
|---|---|
| The basic weapon. Throws knives forward in a line. Long range. Do not benefit from any statistic. | |
| Energy Blast | |
| Shoots energy balls, which explode on impact. Medium range. The blast covers a larger area as it is upgraded. This weapon can neutralize enemy bullets. Gains power from the MP statistic. | |
| Fireball | |
| Launches fireballs, which fire quickly and burn on the ground for a short time. Medium range. Becomes a continuous stream of fire when fully upgraded. Gains power from the DX statistic. | |
| Axe | |
| Throws axes, which return like boomerangs. Long range. Gains power from the ST statistic. | |
| Boomerang | |
| Throws boomerangs, which spread out in an arc and return. Medium range. Becomes a homing attack when fully upgraded. Gains power from the DX statistic. | |
| Spirit | |
| Creates a tornado that follows Leon and attacks when he attacks. Long range. Each upgrade adds another tornado. Gains power from the MP statistic. | |
| Crossed Swords | |
| Throws swords in multiple directions. Long range. Each upgrade adds more directions, eventually covering the front and rear of Leon. Gains power from the ST statistic. | |
| Diamond | |
| Awards the player with bonus points. |
Power-Ups
Some "power-ups" have adverse effects.
| No Medicine | |
|---|---|
| Reverts the player's weapon to the Throwing Knives at their lowest level. | |
| Blue Medicine | |
| Restores one hit point. | |
| Red Medicine | |
| Costs one hit point. | |
| Yellow Medicine | |
| Makes Leon invincible for a duration. | |
| Wing Boots | |
| Increases Leon's movement speed for a duration. | |
| Lead Boots | |
| Reduces Leon's movement speed for a duration. | |
| Barrier | |
| Surrounds Leon in a protective barrier that can sustain 3 enemy hits before dissipating. | |
| Dynamite | |
| Obliterates all enemies and bullets on the screen. Also opens treasure chests. | |
| Diamond | |
| Awards the player with bonus points. |
Other
| 1-Up | |
|---|---|
| Gives the player an extra life. There is one in each of the first six stages. | |
| Fairy | |
| Gives the player a point with which to improve Leon's statistics after the stage. There are three in each of the first six stages. |
Stages
The first six stages can be played in any order. The final stage is played after all the others have been completed.
| Forest | |
|---|---|
| Cemetery | |
| Ruins | |
| Rock | |
| Cave | |
| Drain | |
| Final | |
History
Legacy
M.I.J.E.T. fan translated this game in 2007.[4]
Production credits
- Director: F.Yamamoto
- Main Designer: T.Hattori
- Effect & Sub Director: S.Aoyama
- Programmer: F.Yamamoto
- Map Designer: T.Hattori
- Character Designer: S.Aoyama
- Music Composer: K.Hasegawa
- Music Programmer: K.Nishiwaki
- Adviser: H.Kotani
- Special Thanks: MSX Undeadline Team
- Debugger: T.Naito, J.Ogura, T.Hachiya, Y.Goto, K.Watanabe, H.Kouno, S.Matsuhisa, Cherry
- Produce: T&E Soft
- Presents: PAL SOFT
Magazine articles
- Main article: Undeadline/Magazine articles.
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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75 |
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| Based on 21 reviews | |
| Mega Drive, JP |
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 Cover
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  Cart  Manual |
Technical information
- Main article: Undeadline/Technical information.
References
- ↑ File:Undeadline MD JP Box.jpg
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
- ↑ https://www.amusement-center.com/project/egg/game/?product_id=1647
- ↑ http://mijet.eludevisibility.org/Undeadline/Undeadline.html
- ↑ File:Undeadline MD credits.pdf
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 324
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1992" (JP; 1991-12-07), page 79
- ↑ Consoles +, "Janvier 1992" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 24
- ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 136
- ↑ Computer + Video Giochi, "Aprile 1992" (IT; 1992-xx-xx), page 63
- ↑ Famitsu, "1991-12-20" (JP; 1991-12-06), page 40
- ↑ Games-X, "16th-22nd January 1992" (UK; 1992-01-16), page 26
- ↑ Game Zone, "May 1992" (UK; 1992-04-22), page 61
- ↑ Hippon Super, "January 1992" (JP; 1991-12-04), page 93
- ↑ Joystick, "Février 1992" (FR; 1992-0x-xx), page 146
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "September 1992" (UK; 1992-xx-xx), page 80
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 95
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "March 1992" (JP; 1992-02-08), page 83
- ↑ MegaTech, "March 1992" (UK; 1992-02-20), page 44
- ↑ Power Play, "5/92" (DE; 1992-04-15), page 146
- ↑ Sega Pro, "February 1992" (UK; 1992-01-16), page 58
- ↑ Sega Pro, "July 1992" (UK; 1992-06-18), page 28
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 214
- ↑ Video Games, "2/92" (DE; 1992-04-06), page 27
| Undeadline | |
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Main page | Maps | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Video coverage | Reception | Region coding | Technical information | |
