Arrow Flash

n/a

Arrow Flash

Publisher: Sega, Renovation (US)

Developer: I.T.L

Sound driver: SMPS Z80

Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1990-10-20	¥6,0006,000	G-4039
US	1991-01		49046
EU	1991-05
BR	199x
KR	199x		GM4019JG

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Arrow Flash (アローフラッシュ) is a shoot-'em-up game created by Sega as a Sega Mega Drive exclusive title in 1990, with Renovation publishing it in the US. I.T.L was contracted to do the development of the game for Sega. The game is very common and has been re-released numerous times through various compilations. It was one of the first in it's genre for the Sega Mega Drive.

This game may be part of a series that started with Orguss and Astro Flash (aka Transbot/Transformer), due to the similar names and themes of gameplay.

Players will take control of Anna Schwinn (European Manual) / Zana Keene (US Manual) a pilot for United Government Space Force and attempt to a stop powerful alien empire named Zorgon V (Europe) / Viking Terrorists led by Great Hilagi (US) using a transformable mecha-space fighter named Arrow Flash (Europe) / ERX-75 "Chameleon" developed by Anna's father Herbert Schwinn / Zana's grand father Zerrek Keene.

Gameplay

The player can transform to either a ship or as a mech by pressing . fires a regular shot in both forms. As a ship, shoots a barrage of large laser bullets in all directions; as a mech, thrusts the player forward, making the player invincible for several seconds. This is the so called Arrow Flash. Depending on the options settings, these Button attacks must be collected or charged up.

In mech shape, movement is faster and options (as in Gradius style options) stay in fixed position above and below the ship. In ship shape, the options follow the ship the same way they do in Konami's Gradius series. Options are indestructable, can fire shots and absorb small enemy bullets. The ships firing rate is rather high and the game is fast paced. Dying once removes all collected equipment, but the player can resume gameplay where they died.

The game borrows a lot of elements from other games in the genre, e.g. the background of the second half of stage 2 shows a Darius like hyperspace pattern, while the floating islands look like they belong to Gradius. Stage 4's jungle looks like it was inspired by Thunder Force III. Stage 5 has a wire network in the background, as also seen in R-Type.

Weapons & Pickups

"A" adds one arrow flash. It doesn't appear when the Arrow Flash is set to charge mode.
"E" adds an energy barrier that can sustain 3 hits, very similar to the barrier seen in Thunder Force III
"S" speeds up movement
"F" adds an option, up to two can be held at the same time

Weapons are described by roman numbers:

"I" is a straight forward moving laser, an update of the standard shot
"II" is an arrow shaped shot that covers a wider area, it goes diagonally in robot shape. It's a bit slower than "I"
"III" is a shot very similar to the wavey shot as seen in R-Type. It's the slowest of all shots

Production credits

Producer: RMS-106 (This is the model number of Hi-Zack from Z-Gundam anime series)
Opening: Ichiban
Program: CBR---RR, Daddy, Goshikisen
Graphic: Yanto, DT---R, Sod, Noise-Maker, Hana no Oedo
Sound: Hanauri-Musume
Special Thanks: Toru.K, T.A.K

Source:

In-game credits

Japanese Cover Artist: Takashi Akaishizawa

Source:

Japanese cover art^[3]

Magazine articles

Main article: Arrow Flash/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

SE advert

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1990-11: "November 1990" (1990-10-XX)

Print advert in GamePro (US) #18: "January 1991" (199x-xx-xx)
also published in:

Game Players (US) #0304: "Vol. 3 No. 4 April 1991" (1991-0x-xx)^[4]

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)

40

^[14]

Beep! MegaDrive (JP)

NTSC-J

58

^[15]

Console XS (UK)

PAL

59

^[16]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

63

^[17]

Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)

50

^[18]

Famitsu (JP)

NTSC-J

55

^[19]

Games-X (UK)

PAL

60

^[20]

Hobby Consolas (ES)

85

^[21]

Joystick (FR)

70

^[22]

Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK)

NTSC

52

^[23]

Mega Drive Fan (JP)

NTSC-J

64

^[24]

Mega (UK)

PAL

24

^[25]

MegaTech (UK)

46

^[8]

Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)

60

^[26]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

PAL

46

^[27]

Player One (FR)

90

^[9]

Power Play (DE)

58

^[28]

Raze (UK)

PAL

73

^[1]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

60

^[29]

Sega Power (UK)

NTSC

50

^[11]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

39

^[12]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

29

^[30]

Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)

NTSC-J

57

^[6]

Top Secret (PL)

100

^[31]

Tricks 16 bit (RU)

65

^[32]

User (GR)

NTSC

93

^[33]

VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US)

NTSC-U

80

^[34]

Video Games (DE)

58

^[35]

Zero (UK)

69

^[13]

	60
Based on 29 reviews

Arrow Flash

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

✔

CRC32	4d89e66b
MD5	7f8f0a581158a00b6799204c9afe646b
SHA-1	916524d2b403a633108cf457eec13b4df7384d95

1MB

1990-07

Cartridge (US/EU)

✔

CRC32	d49f8444
MD5	cc6c03def1e6ca137ee4814d4920fa7d
SHA-1	5d2ca55704b7fe8d83fa7564fb1efc62834d3148

1MB

1990-07

Cartridge (JP)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Raze, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-06-27), page 50
↑ Sega Power, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-04-04), page 35
↑ File:ArrowFlash MD JP Box.jpg
↑ Game Players, "Vol. 3 No. 4 April 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 5
↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "November 1990" (JP; 1990-10-XX), page 21 (23)
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
↑ Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 74 (66)
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 76
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 Player One, "Juin 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 39
↑ Sega Power, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-04-04), page 34-35 (35)
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 52
↑ ^12.0 ^12.1 Sega Pro, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-xx-xx), page 23
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 Zero, "September 1991" (UK; 1991-0x-xx), page 63
↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 21
↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "November 1990" (JP; 1990-10-XX), page 23
↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 127
↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "February 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 24
↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 291
↑ Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-10-26), page 1
↑ Games-X, "31st May-6th June 1991" (UK; 1991-05-31), page 19
↑ Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 74
↑ Joystick, "Décembre 1990" (FR; 1990-1x-xx), page 142
↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 90
↑ Mega Drive Fan, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 87
↑ Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 19
↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Agosto 1991" (ES; 1991-0x-xx), page 37
↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 137
↑ Power Play, "2/91" (DE; 1991-01-18), page 148
↑ Sega Power, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-04-04), page 34
↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 64
↑ Top Secret, "Luty 1995" (PL; 1995-xx-xx), page 57
↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 15
↑ User, "Máios 1991" (GR; 1991-0x-xx), page 66
↑ VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "February 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 56
↑ Video Games, "2/91" (DE; 1991-06-07), page 88

[:File:Raze_UK_10.pdf_p50-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Raze, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-06-27), page 50

[:File:SegaPower_UK_18.pdf_p35-2] Sega Power, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-04-04), page 35

[:File:ArrowFlash_MD_JP_Box.jpg_p-3] File:ArrowFlash MD JP Box.jpg

[:File:GamePlayers_US_0304.pdf_p5-4] Game Players, "Vol. 3 No. 4 April 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 5

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1990-11.pdf_p23_.2821.29-5] Beep! MegaDrive, "November 1990" (JP; 1990-10-XX), page 21 (23)

[:File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf_p87-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87

[:File:HobbyConsolas_ES_001.pdf_p66_.2874.29-7] Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 74 (66)

[:File:MegaTech_UK_01.pdf_p76-8] 8.0 ^8.1 MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 76

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_010.pdf_p39-9] 9.0 ^9.1 Player One, "Juin 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 39

[:File:SegaPower_UK_18.pdf_p35_.2834-35.29-10] Sega Power, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-04-04), page 34-35 (35)

[:File:SegaPower_UK_23.pdf_p52-11] 11.0 ^11.1 Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 52

[:File:SegaPro_UK_01.pdf_p23-12] 12.0 ^12.1 Sega Pro, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-xx-xx), page 23

[:File:Zero_UK_23.pdf_p63-13] 13.0 ^13.1 Zero, "September 1991" (UK; 1991-0x-xx), page 63

[14] 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 21

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1990-11.pdf_p23-15] Beep! MegaDrive, "November 1990" (JP; 1990-10-XX), page 23

[:File:Console_XS_UK_01.pdf_p127-16] Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 127

[:File:EGM_US_019.pdf_p24-17] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "February 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 24

[18] Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 291

[19] Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-10-26), page 1

[:File:GamesX_UK_06.pdf_p19-20] Games-X, "31st May-6th June 1991" (UK; 1991-05-31), page 19

[:File:HobbyConsolas_ES_001.pdf_p74-21] Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 74

[:File:Joystick_FR_011.pdf_p142-22] Joystick, "Décembre 1990" (FR; 1990-1x-xx), page 142

[:File:MDAG_UK_05.pdf_p90-23] Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 90

[:File:Megadrive_Fan_1991-01.pdf_p87-24] Mega Drive Fan, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 87

[:File:Mega_UK_09.pdf_p19-25] Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 19

[:File:Micromania2_ES_039.pdf_p37-26] Micromanía (segunda época), "Agosto 1991" (ES; 1991-0x-xx), page 37

[:File:MeanMachinesSega01UK.pdf_p137-27] Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 137

[:File:PowerPlay_DE_1991-02.pdf_p148-28] Power Play, "2/91" (DE; 1991-01-18), page 148

[:File:SegaPower_UK_18.pdf_p34-29] Sega Power, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-04-04), page 34

[:File:SegaPro_UK_18.pdf_p64-30] Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 64

[31] Top Secret, "Luty 1995" (PL; 1995-xx-xx), page 57

[32] Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 15

[:File:User_GR_14.pdf_p66-33] User, "Máios 1991" (GR; 1991-0x-xx), page 66

[:File:VG.26amp.3BCE_US_25.pdf_p56-34] VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "February 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 56

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1991-02.pdf_p88-35] Video Games, "2/91" (DE; 1991-06-07), page 88

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Arrow Flash

From Sega Retro

Contents

Gameplay

Weapons & Pickups

Production credits

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Mega-Tech version

Technical information

ROM dump status

References