Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm, known in Japan as simply Bari-Arm (バリ・アーム), is a Sega Mega-CD horizontal shoot-'em-up game developed by Human. First published in Japan by Human themselves in July 1993, it was later localized and brought to the United States by Big Fun Games in October 1994.
The name "Bari-Arm" is a contraction of the words "barrier armor".
Mankind makes advances in space travel and colonization. In the year 2192 however, the colonists near Jupiter are attacked by the independent military nation of Zias stationed on the Olympus colony of Saturn. Zias uses a symbiotic computer system and several mecha factories powered by a device called the GEO as their primary attack force. Human scientists study the Zias technology and, based on the Zias GEO system, construct a space fighter capable of fighting against the Zias: the Bari-arm, a space ship capable of using multiple weapons and transforming into a giant robot. The Bari-arm must destroy the GEO system before the Zias war machines destroy any further colonies.
Gameplay
Players pilot the Bari-arm through horizontally scrolling shooting stages. The D-pad moves the Bari-arm in any direction. The button cycles the maneuvering thrusters through four speed levels, which affects the movement speed of the craft. The or button is held down to fire the standard weapon.
Weapons are collected as icons in the stage. Most weapons can cover both the front and back of the ship. The weapon level is incremented each time a weapon is collected, up to three times. On the third weapon pick-up, the Bari-arm transforms into its mecha form.
Getting hit by enemy fire in the mecha form reverts the Bari-arm to its space ship form. If hit in space ship form, the Bari-arm is destroyed; the last weapon is retained, but the weapon level is lost.
The Bari-arm additionally has a charge weapon, which is automatically charged when the player is not pressing the fire button. The charge weapon unleashes a stronger version of the currently equipped weapon. There are three charge levels, with the third level being the most powerful but requiring the most downtime to attain. This mechanic incentivizes the player against firing constantly, as it is sometimes strategically advantageous to hold for the more powerful charge weapon.
Stages
Stage 1: Ganymede
Stage 2: Gravity Pagoda
Stage 3: Zeus Fleet
Stage 4: Olympus
Stage 5: Moon Base
Stage 6: Blue Wind
Stage 7: Bay Side City
Some bosses change forms several times.
Weapons
Thunder Cracker
Orange orb. A spread shot that shoots four streams of fireballs in a cone shape in front of the Bari-arm. Higher levels also shoot two streams of fireballs from behind the Bari-arm. When charged, it unleashes large fireballs in the same pattern rather than streams of smaller fireballs. These fireballs can penetrate barriers. This weapon is initially equipped.
Chase Cannon
Red orb. Fires a flurry of homing missiles; higher levels increase the number of missiles. When charged, it releases a pulse snake that seeks out and attacks enemies until the charge bars are depleted. This weapon, however, cannot pass through barriers.
Burning Wave
Green orb. Shoots long green laser beams that travel from the Bari-arm to the end of the screen. Higher levels add more beams, up to five, heightening the area of effect. When charged, it forms a single thick beam that lasts until the charge bars are emptied. This is the only weapon that cannot fire behind the Bari-arm, but it penetrates barriers in all forms.
Satellite Bombs
Blue orb. Releases missiles and shoots them horizontally in front of the Bari-arm in a loose spread. When charged, it releases missiles in a full circular formation starting from the center of the Bari-arm.
History
Legacy
It was long-speculated that Bari-Arm's artwork and graphics, particularly in regards to the designs of player and enemy mecha, were created by Japanese illustrator Masami Ōbari. In recent years, however, Ōbari has personally denied involvement in the game's production, and it appears the similarities were instead strongly inspired from the illustrator's general style.[5][6]
Versions
Localised names
Also known as
Language
Localised Name
English Translation
English (US)
Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm
Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm
Japanese
バリ・アーム
Bari-Arm
Production credits
Game Design: Bari-Arm Project Team
Concept Game Design: Hiroshi Taniguchi, Hiroshi Ishikawa, Keisuke Ohuchi
button cycles the maneuvering thrusters through four speed levels, which affects the movement speed of the craft. The 
or 
button is held down to fire the standard weapon.
