Difference between revisions of "Battle Squadron"

Latest revision as of 12:59, 17 October 2024

n/a

Battle Squadron

System(s): Sega Mega Drive

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Innerprise Software

Distributor: Tec Toy (BR)

Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

Number of players: 1-2

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1990-12^[1]	$49.9549.95^[2]	702701
EU	1991-01^[3]		E166SMXI
UK	1990-12^[4]	£39.9939.99^[5]^[3]	E166SMXI
AU	199x
BR	1990

Non-Sega versions
Amiga

Battle Squadron is a 1990 shoot-'em-up developed by Innerprise Software Inc and published by Electronic Arts exclusively in the US and Europe for the Sega Mega Drive and the Commodore Amiga.

Story

Mayers and Bergin

The alien Barrax Empire has been at war with Earth for centuries to gain control over the Universe. While returning from a mission to destroy all Barrax on Planet Terrainia while gathering information on the empire's fleets, Commander Barry D. Mayers and Commander Lori Bergin were taken hostage by a Barrax nova cruiser, their last transmission mentioning something about being able to turn invisible for a short period of time. The mission is to rescue them.

Gameplay

The game is a vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up played from the perspective of elite fighter pilots of the Earth Defense Fleet, known as the Battle Squadron. It can be played by two players simultaneously. The fighters are moved in any direction using the D-Pad. The playfield is wider than the viewable area, so the screen pans when a fighter is at the edge. The fighters fire their main weapons with or (either of which can be held for continuous fire, though it is slower than pressing the button repeatedly). The main weapon has unlimited ammunition. Weapons can be changed or upgraded by collecting power-ups. Fighters also have a finite number of Nova Smart Bombs, which are deployed with and destroy enemies and projectiles within a radius of the ship.

The fighters are destroyed if they are hit by enemy fire but respawn after a moment if the player has extra lives remaining. The player's weapon is downgraded two levels after losing a ship. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued if the player has credits remaining.

Players can choose the starting lives and credits. Instead of difficulty levels, players can set the maximum number of enemy bullets and the enemy bullet speed.

Weapons

	Red Magnetic Torps
	Fires a wide spreadshot in front of the fighter.
	Blue Anti-Matter Particle Beam
	Fires in a narrow area in the front and back of the fighter.
	Orange Magma Wave
	Fires in front of the fighter as well as towards the sides.
	Green Emerald Laser
	Fires lasers in front that spread out when upgraded.

Items

	Barraxian Artillery Gunship
	Destroy to release a weapon power-up.
	X Capsule
	Cycles through four colors (red, blue, orange, and green). Equips the corresponding weapon or upgrades the weapon (up to 5 levels) if already equipped.
	M Capsule
	Adds another Nova Smart Bomb to the player's arsenal.
	Barraxian Jewel Cache
	Worth 1,000 points at the end of the stage.

Stages

	Planet Terrainia
	Unusually for the genre, the game has an overworld with three lower sections that can be entered through craters. The overworld contains enemies, like a normal stage, with the large craters dividing it into segments. Players return to the surface after completing one of the lower stages. The final boss appears at the end of the overworld after clearing all of the other stages. Ignoring the craters makes the overworld loop over from the beginning, so players can stay in the overworld (which has fewer enemies than the lower sections) to obtain power-ups before attempting one of the crater stages.
	Inner Core 1

	Inner Core 2

	Inner Core 3

History

Legacy

The game was later ported to iOS devices in 2011, to Android in 2012, and to Windows, Mac OS X, AmigaOS 4, and MorphOS in 2013.

A Battle Squadron II is teased in the ending. It was in development but was never released.

Versions

The Sega Mega Drive version runs faster and is harder. It has certain layers right in front of the screen, making it harder to see certain objects. The Amiga version has a bit more varied background tiles and switches background colors more often. It has an extra space background for the final boss.

Production credits

Game Design: Torbin Larsen, Martin Pedersen
Game Graphics: Torbin Larsen
Programming: Martin Pedersen
Original Music and Sounds: Ron Klaren
Music Driver: Steve Hayes
Music Conversion: Rob Hubbard
Producer: Christopher Erhardt
Associate Producer: Roland Kippenhan
Assistant Producer: Michael Lubuguin
Product Management: Lesley Mansford, Barbara Windham
Package Design: James Blair
Package Art: Alan Okamoto
Documentation: Andrea Smith
Testing: Ed Gwynn

Source:

US manual^[6]

Magazine articles

Main article: Battle Squadron/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)

60

^[7]

ACE (UK)

79

^[8]

Console XS (UK)

PAL

88

^[9]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

50

^[10]

Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)

85

^[11]

Gamers (DE)

67

^[12]

Génération 4 (FR)

83

^[13]

Hobby Consolas (ES)

83

^[14]

Joystick (FR)

77

^[15]

Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK)

PAL

68

^[16]

Mega Action (UK)

85

^[17]

MegaTech (UK)

80

^[18]

Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)

80

^[19]

Mean Machines (UK)

85

^[20]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

80

^[21]

Player One (FR)

72

^[22]

Power Play (DE)

74

^[23]

Raze (UK)

PAL

84

^[24]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

90

^[25]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

75

^[26]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

87

^[27]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

87

^[28]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

85

^[29]

Tricks 16 bit (RU)

56

^[30]

VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US)

NTSC-U

80

^[2]

	78
Based on 25 reviews

Battle Squadron

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Battle Squadron/Technical information.

References

Battle Squadron
	Main page \| Comparisons \| Magazine articles \| Reception \| Region coding \| Technical information \| Bootlegs Prototypes: 1991-01-18

[https:.2F.2Fgroups.google.com.2Fg.2Frec.games.video.2Fc.2FZ5bU24UZwms.2Fm.2FUvxnnn8EmrkJ-1] ttps://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video/c/Z5bU24UZwms/m/Uvxnnn8EmrkJ

[:File:VG.26amp.3BCE_US_25.pdf_p40-2] 2.0 ^2.1 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "February 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 40

[:File:MeanMachines_UK_04.pdf_p70-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Mean Machines, "January 1991" (UK; 1991-01-03), page 70

[:File:LiverpoolEcho_UK_1990-12-31_18.jpg_p-4] File:LiverpoolEcho UK 1990-12-31 18.jpg

[:File:ACE_UK_40.pdf_p165-5] ACE, "January 1991" (UK; 1990-12-xx), page 165

[:File:Battle_Squadron_MD_US_Manual.pdf_p10-6] File:Battle Squadron MD US Manual.pdf, page 10

[7] 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 29

[:File:ACE_UK_42.pdf_p63-8] ACE, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-02-08), page 63

[:File:Console_XS_UK_01.pdf_p127-9] Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 127

[:File:EGM_US_018.pdf_p22-10] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 1991" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 22

[:File:MeanMachinesEssentialSegaGuide_Book_UK.pdf_p25-11] Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 25

[:File:Gamers_DE_1993-01.pdf_p101-12] Gamers, "Dezember/Januar 1993" (DE; 1992-11-19), page 101

[:File:Generation4_FR_030.pdf_p91-13] Génération 4, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 91

[:File:HobbyConsolas_ES_002.pdf_p72-14] Hobby Consolas, "Noviembre 1991" (ES; 1991-1x-xx), page 72

[:File:Joystick_FR_013.pdf_p122-15] Joystick, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 122

[:File:MDAG_UK_05.pdf_p90-16] Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 90

[:File:MegaAction_UK_01.pdf_p65-17] Mega Action, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 65

[:File:MegaTech_UK_01.pdf_p76-18] MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 76

[:File:Micromania2_ES_034.pdf_p38-19] Micromanía (segunda época), "Marzo 1991" (ES; 1991-0x-xx), page 38

[:File:MeanMachines_UK_04.pdf_p68-20] Mean Machines, "January 1991" (UK; 1991-01-03), page 68

[:File:MeanMachinesSega01UK.pdf_p137-21] Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 137

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_007.pdf_p44-22] Player One, "Mars 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 44

[:File:PowerPlay_DE_1991-04.pdf_p135-23] Power Play, "4/91" (DE; 1991-03-15), page 135

[:File:Raze_UK_05.pdf_p54-24] Raze, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-01-31), page 54

[:File:SegaPower_UK_14.pdf_p10-25] Sega Power, "January 1991" (UK; 1990-12-06), page 10

[:File:SegaPower_UK_23.pdf_p52-26] Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 52

[:File:SegaPro_UK_01.pdf_p39-27] Sega Pro, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-xx-xx), page 39

[:File:SegaPro_UK_09.pdf_p28-28] Sega Pro, "July 1992" (UK; 1992-06-18), page 28

[:File:SegaPro_UK_18.pdf_p64-29] Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 64

[30] Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 22

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

Difference between revisions of "Battle Squadron"

From Sega Retro

Latest revision as of 12:59, 17 October 2024

Contents

Story

Gameplay

Weapons

Items

Stages

History

Legacy

Versions

Production credits

Magazine articles

Physical scans

Technical information

References

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 | bobscreen=BattleSquadron_MDTitleScreen.png
 | publisher=[[Electronic Arts]]
-| developer=[[Innerprise Software Inc]]
+| developer=[[Innerprise Software]]
+| distributor={{company|[[Tec Toy]]|region=BR}}
 | system=[[Sega Mega Drive]]
 | sounddriver=
@@ Line 9: / Line 10: @@
 | genre=Shoot-'em-Up
 | releases={{releasesMD
-| md_date_us=1990
+| md_date_us=1990-12{{ref|https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video/c/Z5bU24UZwms/m/Uvxnnn8EmrkJ}}
+| md_rrp_us=49.95{{magref|vgce|25|40}}
 | md_code_us=702701
 | md_date_eu=1991-01{{magref|mm|4|70}}
 | md_code_eu=E166SMXI
+| md_date_uk=1990-12{{fileref|LiverpoolEcho UK 1990-12-31 18.jpg}}<!--1991-01{{magref|mm|4|70}}-->
+| md_code_uk=E166SMXI
 | md_rrp_uk=39.99{{magref|ace|40|165}}{{magref|mm|4|70}}
 | md_date_br=1990
+| md_date_au=199x
 }}
 | otherformats={{NonSega|Amiga}}
 }}
-{{stub}}'''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is a 1990 shoot-'em-up developed by [[Innerprise Software Inc]] and published by [[Electronic Arts]] exclusively in the US and Europe for the [[Sega Mega Drive]] and Commodore Amiga. There are certain differences between the Amiga and [[Sega Mega Drive]] release.
+'''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is a 1990 shoot-'em-up developed by [[Innerprise Software Inc]] and published by [[Electronic Arts]] exclusively in the US and Europe for the [[Sega Mega Drive]] and the [[Commodore Amiga]].
 ==Story==
-The alien Barrax Empire has been at war with Earth for centuries to gain control over the Universe. While returning from a mission to destroy all Barrax on Planet Urainia while gathering information on the empire's fleets, Commander Barry D. Mayers and Commander Lori Bergin were taken hostage by a Barrax nova cruiser, their last transmission mentioning something about being able to turn invisible for a short period of time. The mission is to rescue them.
+{{ScreenThumb|Battle Squadron, Introduction.png|width=200|Mayers and Bergin}}
+The alien Barrax Empire has been at war with Earth for centuries to gain control over the Universe. While returning from a mission to destroy all Barrax on Planet Terrainia while gathering information on the empire's fleets, Commander Barry D. Mayers and Commander Lori Bergin were taken hostage by a Barrax nova cruiser, their last transmission mentioning something about being able to turn invisible for a short period of time. The mission is to rescue them.
 ==Gameplay==
-{{A}} and {{C}} shoot; with a rather slow rapidfire ability. {{B}} drops a missile which destroys enemies within a radius of your ship (there is a limited stock of missiles).
+The game is a vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up played from the perspective of elite fighter pilots of the Earth Defense Fleet, known as the Battle Squadron. It can be played by two players simultaneously. The fighters are moved in any direction using the D-Pad. The playfield is wider than the viewable area, so the screen pans when a fighter is at the edge. The fighters fire their main weapons with {{A}} or {{C}} (either of which can be held for continuous fire, though it is slower than pressing the button repeatedly). The main weapon has unlimited ammunition. Weapons can be changed or upgraded by collecting power-ups. Fighters also have a finite number of Nova Smart Bombs, which are deployed with {{B}} and destroy enemies and projectiles within a radius of the ship.
-The game offers four standard weapons:
-*red: wide spreadshot, front only
-*green: narrow spreadshot, front only
-*blue: front and backwards shot
-*orange: 5 way spreadshot
-Unusual for the genre, the game has an overworld and three lower sections that can be entered through craters. Each of these have to be cleared to reach the final boss. Ignoring all craters makes the overworld restart from the beginning.
+The fighters are destroyed if they are hit by enemy fire but respawn after a moment if the player has extra lives remaining. The player's weapon is downgraded two levels after losing a ship. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued if the player has credits remaining.
+Players can choose the starting lives and credits. Instead of difficulty levels, players can set the maximum number of enemy bullets and the enemy bullet speed.
+===Weapons===
+{{InfoTable|imagewidths=320|
+{{InfoRow
+| title={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=0 | crop_y=48}} Red Magnetic Torps
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Weapons, Red.png
+| desc=Fires a wide spreadshot in front of the fighter.
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=16 | crop_y=48}} Blue Anti-Matter Particle Beam
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Weapons, Blue.png
+| desc=Fires in a narrow area in the front and back of the fighter.
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=32 | crop_y=48}} Orange Magma Wave
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Weapons, Orange.png
+| desc=Fires in front of the fighter as well as towards the sides.
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=48 | crop_y=48}} Green Emerald Laser
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Weapons, Green.png
+| desc=Fires lasers in front that spread out when upgraded.
+}}
+}}
+===Items===
+{{InfoTable|imagewidths=50|
+{{InfoRow
+| title=Barraxian Artillery Gunship
+| sprite={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | 2 | crop_width=32 | crop_height=48 | crop_x=32 | crop_y=0}}
+| desc=Destroy to release a weapon power-up.
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title=X Capsule
+| sprite={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | 2 | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=0 | crop_y=48}}
+| sprite2={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | 2 | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=16 | crop_y=48}}
+| sprite3={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | 2 | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=32 | crop_y=48}}
+| sprite4={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | 2 | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=48 | crop_y=48}}
+| desc=Cycles through four colors (red, blue, orange, and green). Equips the corresponding weapon or upgrades the weapon (up to 5 levels) if already equipped.
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title=M Capsule
+| sprite={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | 2 | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=16 | crop_y=0}}
+| desc=Adds another Nova Smart Bomb to the player's arsenal.
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title=Barraxian Jewel Cache
+| sprite={{sprite | Battle Squadron, Items.png | 2 | crop_width=16 | crop_height=16 | crop_x=0 | crop_y=0}}
+| desc=Worth 1,000 points at the end of the stage.
+}}
+}}
+===Stages===
+{{InfoTable|imagewidths=320|
+{{InfoRow
+| title=Planet Terrainia
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Stage 1.png
+| screenshot2=Battle Squadron, Final Boss 1.png
+| screenshot3=Battle Squadron, Final Boss 2.png
+| tabs=yes
+| desc=Unusually for the genre, the game has an overworld with three lower sections that can be entered through craters. The overworld contains enemies, like a normal stage, with the large craters dividing it into segments. Players return to the surface after completing one of the lower stages. The final boss appears at the end of the overworld after clearing all of the other stages. Ignoring the craters makes the overworld loop over from the beginning, so players can stay in the overworld (which has fewer enemies than the lower sections) to obtain power-ups before attempting one of the crater stages.
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title=Inner Core 1
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Stage 2-1.png
+| screenshot2=Battle Squadron, Stage 2-1 Boss.png
+| screenshot3=Battle Squadron, Stage 2-2.png
+| screenshot4=Battle Squadron, Stage 2-2 Boss.png
+| tabs=yes
+| desc=
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title=Inner Core 2
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Stage 3-1.png
+| screenshot2=Battle Squadron, Stage 3-2.png
+| screenshot3=Battle Squadron, Stage 3-2 Boss.png
+| tabs=yes
+| desc=
+}}
+{{InfoRow
+| title=Inner Core 3
+| screenshot=Battle Squadron, Stage 4-1.png
+| screenshot2=Battle Squadron, Stage 4-2.png
+| screenshot3=Battle Squadron, Stage 4-2 Boss.png
+| tabs=yes
+| desc=
+}}
+}}
+==History==
+===Legacy===
+The game was later ported to [[iOS]] devices in 2011, to [[Android]] in 2012, and to [[Windows]], [[Mac OS X]], AmigaOS 4, and MorphOS in 2013.
+A ''Battle Squadron II'' is teased in the ending. It was in development but was never released.
 ==Versions==
-*The Amiga version has a bit more varied background tiles and switches background colors more often
+The [[Sega Mega Drive]] version runs faster and is harder. It has certain layers right in front of the screen, making it harder to see certain objects. The [[Amiga]] version has a bit more varied background tiles and switches background colors more often. It has an extra space background for the final boss.
-*The [[Sega Mega Drive]] version has certain layers right in front of the screen, making it harder to see certain objects
-*The [[Sega Mega Drive]] version runs faster and is harder
+==Production credits==
-*The Amiga version has an extra space background for the final boss
+{{multicol|
+{{creditstable|
+*'''Game Design:''' [[Torben Larsen|Torbin Larsen]], [[Martin Pedersen]]
+*'''Game Graphics:''' [[Torben Larsen|Torbin Larsen]]
+*'''Programming:''' [[Martin Pedersen]]
+*'''Original Music and Sounds:''' Ron Klaren
+*'''Music Driver:''' Steve Hayes
+*'''Music Conversion:''' Rob Hubbard
+*'''Producer:''' Christopher Erhardt
+*'''Associate Producer:''' Roland Kippenhan
+*'''Assistant Producer:''' Michael Lubuguin
+*'''Product Management:''' Lesley Mansford, Barbara Windham
+*'''Package Design:''' James Blair
+*'''Package Art:''' Alan Okamoto
+*'''Documentation:''' Andrea Smith
+*'''Testing:''' Ed Gwynn
+| source=US manual
+| pdf=Battle Squadron MD US Manual.pdf
+| pdfpage=10
+| console=MD
+}}
+}}
 ==Magazine articles==
@@ Line 43: / Line 161: @@
 ==Physical scans==
-{{ratings
+{{ratings|MD}}
-| icon=MD
-| ace=79
-| ace_source={{magref|ace|42|63}}
-| esg=85
-| esg_source={{magref|esg|1|25}}
-| gen4=83
-| gen4_source={{magref|gen4|30|91|printpage=91}}
-| hobbyconsolas=83
-| hobbyconsolas_source={{magref|hobbyconsolas|2|72}}
-| mdag=68
-| mdag_source={{num|5|page=90}}
-| megaaction=85
-| megaaction_source={{num|1|page=65}}
-| megatech=80
-| megatech_source={{magref|megatech|1|76}}
-| mm=85
-| mm_source={{magref|mm|4|68|printpage=68-70}}
-| playerone=72
-| playerone_source={{magref|playerone|7|44}}
-| raze=84
-| raze_source={{magref|raze|5|54}}
-| segapower=90
-| segapower_source={{magref|segapower|14|10|printpage=10-11}}
-| segapower_1=80
-| segapower_source_1={{magref|segapower|23|52}}
-| segapro=87
-| segapro_source={{magref|segapro|1|39}}
-| segapro_1=85
-| segapro_source_1={{num|18|page=64}}
-}}
 {{Scanbox
 | console=Mega Drive
@@ Line 79: / Line 167: @@
 | cover=BattleSquadron MD US Box.jpg
 | cart=BattleSquadron US cart.jpg
+| cartback=BattleSquadron MD US cartback.jpg
 | manual=Battle Squadron MD US Manual.pdf
 }}{{Scanbox
@@ Line 85: / Line 174: @@
 | cover=BattleSquadron MD EU Box.jpg
 | cart=BattleSquadron US cart.jpg
+| cartback=BattleSquadron MD US cartback.jpg
+| manual=Battle Squadron MD EU Manual.jpg
+}}{{Scanbox
+| console=Mega Drive
+| region=AU
+| cover=
 }}{{Scanbox
 | console=Mega Drive
@@ Line 94: / Line 189: @@
 ==Technical information==
-===ROM dump status===
+{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Technical information}}
-{{romtable|
-{{rom|MD|sha1=f003f7af0f7edccc317c944b88e57f4c9b66935a|md5=b5b815ef99b943fe0bad48dc13239b35|crc32=0feaa8bf|size=512kB|date=|source=Cartridge (US/EU)|comments=|quality=good|prototype=}}
-{{rom|MD|sha1=|md5=|crc32=|size=|date=1991-01-18|source=|comments=|quality=|prototype=yes}}
-}}
 ==References==