Batsugun
From Sega Retro
| Batsugun | ||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Saturn | ||||||||||
| Publisher: Banpresto | ||||||||||
| Developer: Gazelle | ||||||||||
| Licensor: Toaplan | ||||||||||
| Original system(s): Arcade boards | ||||||||||
| Developer(s) of original games: Toaplan | ||||||||||
| Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (33 tracks) | ||||||||||
| Genre: Shooting[1][2] | ||||||||||
| Number of players: 1-2 | ||||||||||
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Batsugun (バツグン) is a "bullet hell" shooter developed by Toaplan and Gazelle. After a 1993 arcade release, it was ported to the Sega Saturn and released exclusively in Japan in 1996. The game is considered the pioneer of the bullet hell genre; its designers would move on to form Cave, one of the leading developers in the genre. This port was released as the first of Toaplan legendary series, but this series was never released later.
Contents
Gameplay
is the standard shot, 
is for bombs and 
is for autofire. There are five stages. The Saturn port adds the ability to play in a horizontal screen orientation.
Player ship has three forms, based on the experience points collected. You power up gradually by collecting P icons and by destroying enemies which grant experience points, an unusual design for a shooting game; dying takes away a certain amount of power but gives you a free P icon. After fully powering up, gathering further experience points adds bombs and restores the ship's hitpoints (Special version only)
The game features many hidden score opportunities, which are sometimes so obscure that they can't be fully understood without external documentation, e.g. when certain parts of the stage 4 boss, Battleship Jupiter, are destroyed, it starts releasing tanks. When there are enough tanks onscreen, they turn red. Destroying these red tanks with a bomb yields a very high score bonus. More scoring opportunities have been added for the special version.
Player
You can choose one of three ships; each ship has a different attack range/frequency. Pilots are different for 1 and 2 player. With the combination of pilots, the dialogue at the stage clearing will change.
| Jeeno | |
|---|---|
| Player 1 Type A (Sky Mirage) | |
| Beltiana | |
| Player 1 Type B (Dragons Whisper) | |
| Iceman | |
| Player 1 Type C (Judgment flasher) This character is said to be based on the game's designer Joker JUN. | |
| Schneider | |
| Player 2 Type A (Sky Mirage) | |
| Alteeno | |
| Player 2 Type B (Dragons Whisper) | |
| Olisis | |
| Player 2 Type C (Judgment flasher) |
Stages
| Stage 1 | |
|---|---|
|
Boss: Deep Purple | |
| Stage 2 | |
|
Boss: Madzella | |
| Stage 3 | |
|
Boss: Mad Steel Darkness | |
| Stage 4 | |
|
Boss: Jupiter | |
| Stage 5 | |
|
Boss: Ground of the Galaxy | |
Extra features
The Saturn port includes the rare "Special" version of the game, which features modified bombs (covering a larger area), smaller hitboxes for the player ships, allows the player to take an additional hit before being destroyed and loops after clearing the last stage, each loop becoming increasingly difficult. Other extra features are the inclusion of both the original and a rearranged soundtrack.
Tips and tricks
 |
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- Credit increase: Credit increase up to a nine.
- In gameplay, pause game and
.
History
Legacy
In 2023, the Saturn version of the game received a re-release by City Connection called Batsugun: Saturn Tribute Boosted for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Steam.[4]
Versions
The Saturn port runs with much less slowdown than the arcade version, making it more difficult.
Production credits
- Programming: Tsuneki Ikeda, Seiji Iwakura, Satoshi Kohyama
- Graphic Design: Yuko Tataka, Takeshi Kawamoto, Junya Inoue
- Music Composer: Yoshitatsu Sakai
- Programming: Yoshihiro Matsumoto
- Special Ver. Support: Hideyuki Murata
- Music Arranger: Shingo Hirate
- Package Design: Kenji Teraoka
- Planner: Koji Ishitani
- Director: Hiroyuki Fujimoto
- Thank You For Your Playing
- Presented by: Toaplan
Magazine articles
- Main article: Batsugun/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |
69 |
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| Based on 8 reviews | |
| Saturn, JP |
|---|
  Cover
|
 Spinecard  Disc  Manual  Reg Card |
Technical information
- Main article: Batsugun/Technical information.
References
- ↑ File:Batsugun Saturn JP Box Back.jpg
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/fb/segahard/ss/soft_licensee2.html (Wayback Machine: 2019-10-02 10:31)
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "1996-18 (1996-10-25)" (JP; 1996-10-11), page 7
- ↑ https://noisypixel.net/batsugan-saturn-tribute-boosted-console-release-date/ (Wayback Machine: 2023-03-24 13:08)
- ↑ File:Batsugun Saturn JP SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ Edge, "Christmas 1996" (UK; 1996-11-22), page 85
- ↑ Famitsu, "1996-11-01" (JP; 1996-10-18), page 1
- ↑ Joypad, "Décembre 1996" (FR; 1996-1x-xx), page 86
- ↑ MAN!AC, "01/97" (DE; 1996-12-11), page 64
- ↑ Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 22" (JP; 1996-10-18), page 194
- ↑ Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 25" (JP; 1996-11-29), page 70
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "1996-19 (1996-11-08)" (JP; 1996-10-25), page 231
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 12
| Batsugun | |
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Main page | Comparisons | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception | Technical information | |
