Difference between revisions of "Twinkle Tale"

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Twinkle Tale

Developer: Studio Ducks^[1]

Genre: Shooting^[2]^[3]

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1992-07-24^[3]	¥7,800 (8,034)7,800e^[4]	T-61013

Twinkle Tale (ツインクルテール) is a 1992 Sega Mega Drive shoot-'em-up developed by Studio Ducks and published by Wonder Amusement Studio exclusively in Japan.

Story

In the darkness preceding the creation of the world Alpherion, three lights (red, green, and blue) were created. These lights desired domination, and so tried to destroy each other, creating a new darkness and a white light in the process. The white light, desiring peace, locked the other lights and the new darkness in crystals, encased itself in a diamond, and created Alpherion.

Apprentice magician Saria (サリア) is summoned by her teacher to consult a fortuneteller. The fortuneteller alerts Saria to dark wizard Gadou's incoming forces by capturing the great wizards of Alpherion (which Saria's teacher is one). The fortuneteller gives Saria items so she can go and defeat Gadou.

Gameplay

Map

Twinkle Tale is an overhead run-and-gun game similar to Mercs. The player guides the witch Saria through various stages in the land of Alpherion. She can move freely around the screen using the D-pad. The screen does not autoscroll but follows Saria as she moves; however, the screen does not scroll back down, so she cannot return to an earlier part of the stage. Some stages have branching sections, but these paths converge to the same path. Saria has three different magic weapons, which are all initially available. She shoots with (which can be held for rapid-fire) and switches her weapon with . Each weapon can be leveled up twice by finding Star Jewel items. She can also find screen-clearing magic bombs, which are used with . She can hold up to three magic bombs at a time. Magic bombs attack enemies and also neutralize their projectiles. She uses the leftmost (the oldest) first; collecting another magic bomb item when she already has three replaces the rightmost (the newest).

Saria starts the game with three health points but gains more after completing certain stages. She loses one health point whenever she takes damage. Her currently selected weapon is also downgraded one level when she takes damage. In addition to enemies, stages include numerous environmental challenges, such as falling boulders, flame traps, and moving platforms. She loses a health point when she falls off a ledge or into water but does not lose a weapon level. She starts each stage with full health and retains her weapon levels and magic bombs. If she runs out of health, the game ends but can be continued from the beginning of the current stage if the player has credits remaining. The player gains extra credits at certain points thresholds. There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard), and an additional difficulty level (S. Hard) is unlocked after completing the game on Hard.

Magic Weapons

	Diamond Arrow
	Fires multiple shots. Upgrades to a conical spreadshot. Covers a wide area and does fair damage.
	Shooting Star
	Fires a rapid stream of bullets that pierce targets. It becomes wider as it is upgraded. The most powerful weapon but the trickiest to target.
	Silver Comet
	Fires light orbs that seek targets. It fires more rapidly when it is upgraded. The weakest weapon but the easiest to aim.

Magic Bombs

	Flame Dragon Breath
	Summons fire dragons that sweep the screen vertically.
	Piercing Light
	Conjures large orbs of light that spiral around the screen seeking targets.

Items

	Chest
	Shoot to reveal an item.
	Star Jewel
	Upgrades the currently selected weapon by one level. If the current weapon is already at maximum level, upgrades another weapon by one level.
	Partial Life Potion
	Restores one point of Saria's health.
	Full Life Potion
	Fully restores all of Saria's health points.
	Flame Dragon Breath
	Gives the player a Flame Dragon Breath magic bomb.
	Piercing Light
	Gives the player a Piercing Light magic bomb.