Gain Ground
From Sega Retro
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System(s): Sega System 24, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Super CD-ROM², Virtual Console, Steam | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Supporting companies: T's Music (audio) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sound driver: SMPS Z80 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Shooting[2], Action[3][4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1-3, 1-2, 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gain Ground (ゲイングランド) is a 1988 arcade game released for the Sega System 24 arcade platform. It is a top-down gun game with strategy elements, in which the player controls one of twenty playable characters who must defeat all the enemies on screen or bring every character that player currently has to the exit. It appears that two different arcade versions exist, one allowing up to 3 players while another supports only 2 players.
Contents
Gameplay
Called by developers as a "Algorithm Action Game", the core gameplay of Gain Ground is same in all versions. Players must either eliminate all enemies on the level or evacuate all members from the level by moving them to the "EXIT" (which in some cases can be very time consuming and unnecessary). Every character in the game has strenghts and weaknesses and only by using the right character for the right situation will help players finish the level. In addition to the enemies on the ground, some enemies are on the higher ground and can only be defeated with a character who posseses a weapon capable of hitting them.
Each character has one regular and one special weapon. Besides that, the only difference between characters is the movement speed. Each character's primary weapon can be fired with the primary button ( for Mega Drive,
for Master System) and the special weapon can be fired with the special button (
/
for Mega Drive,
for Master System).
Each character has only one life and a single hit is enought to defeat them. When defeated, a small symbol of the character remains in the battlefield. That character can be rescued the same way of recruiting them: taking them to the "EXIT". If the character saving the downed character also killed, the previously defeated character will disappear.
Each "Era" is divided into ten levels. At the final level of an Era, players will face against a boss.
Playable characters
Arcade, Mega Drive and Super CD-ROM² versions
Athra | |
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Very fast. Main weapon is a short ranged but very fast firing spear throw. The special attack button lobs the spear towards any direction in a short parabolic arc, allowing the player to hit enemies above or those behind the obstacles. Useful for close range combat and rescuing other characters. Available from the beginning. | |
Gascon | |
Same as Athra except he can only fire his special weapon northwards in a strafing motion. | |
Johnny | |
Fast. Main weapon is a long ranged, fast firing semi-automatic rifle. Special weapon fires directly northwards while strafing, allowing players to fall back while firing. Available from the beginning. Useful as long as there are no enemies in the high ground. | |
Professor | |
Same as Johnny, except his special weapons can fire both left and right at the same time. | |
Betty | |
Fast. Main weapon is a medium ranged pistol. Special weapon is a short ranged grenade that can be lobbed over obstactes while strafing. Available from the beginning. Useful for close range combat and eliminating enemies in the high ground. | |
Honey | |
Same as Betty, except she can throw her grenade towards any direction. | |
Verbal | |
Very Fast. Main weapon is a medium ranged longbow. Special weapon is a very long ranged arrow that can hit enemies in the high ground or those behind the obstacles. Most useful character in the game. | |
Mars | |
Same as Verbal, except he can fire his long range arrow in a strafing motion. | |
Lobby | |
Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is an extreme range, elevated missile that can be fired any direction and hit enemies on the high ground. Good for eliminating such enemies. | |
Mud Puppy' | |
Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is an extreme range, regular missile that can only hit enemies on the same level as the player. Great for sniping enemies on the low ground from long range. | |
Cyber | |
Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon fires a cluster missile that will spread northwards and affect a large area. Very useful for crowd control but not recommended for close combat. | |
Kou | |
Fast. Main weapon is a long range rifle. Special weapon is a three burst submachinegun stafing, which causes same damage but better hitbox. | |
Kid | |
Same as Kou except he can fire both sides at the same time with his special weapon. | |
Mam | |
Fast. Main weapon is a medium range pistol. Special weapon is a boomerang strafe that will come back after a while. Great for attacking hard to reach places. | |
Valkyrie | |
Same as above except she can throw her boomerang towards any direction. | |
General | |
Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is a very, very short ranged flamethower. Coupled with his slow speed, this makes him the worst character in the game. | |
Fire Knight | |
Medium speed. Main weapon is a powerful projectile. Special weapon is a napalm weapon that will remain in place for a while and kill any enemies who touch it. Rarely used. | |
Glow Knight | |
Same as above except his special attack is a rolling barrier that will damage any enemies who touch the knight. Useful for close combat. | |
Water Knight | |
Same as above except his special attack can freeze enemies about a few seconds. Useful for rescues. | |
Zaemon | |
Same as above except his special attack is a whirlwind that can bounce after hitting obstacles or enemies. His survival depends on bit of a luck. |
Master System version
The Master System version uses symbols instead of small figurines to depict downed characters in the battlefield.
Spear Fighters | |
---|---|
Same as Athra. Very fast but terrible range. Special weapon can hit elevated enemies. Available from the beginning. Depicted with a spear symbol. | |
Rifle Infantry | |
Same as Professor. Fast and good range. Special weapon is great for enemies trying to envelop the player from both sides. Available from the beginning. Depicted with a rifle symbol. | |
Grenadiers | |
Same as Honey. Fast but short range. Grenades are quite powerful despite short range. Available from the beginning. Depicted with a potato masher grenade. | |
Archers | |
Same as Verbal. Fast and very long range. Can shoot arrows towards any direction. Most useful character in the game. Depicted with an arrow. | |
Ninjas | |
New character for the Master System version. Main weapon is fast shuriken throw with good range. Special weapon is a trap that will cause heavy damage to those who touch it. Depicted with a shuriken. | |
Boomerang Throwers | |
Same as Valkyrie. Fast and decent primary weapon. Decpited, of course, with a boomerang. | |
Flamethrowers | |
Same as General. Still somewhat useless but if they can reach an enemy, they can drain enemy health very quickly. Rarest character. Appears only once. Depicted with a fire symbol. | |
Water Wizards | |
Same as the dude himself except their special attacks can freeze enemies for about 10 seconds. Depicted with a fountain symbol. | |
Missile Launchers | |
Same as Lobby. Very slow, weak primary weapon and can hit elevated enemies with a extreme range missile. Depicted with a single missile. | |
Cluster Missile Launchers | |
Same as Cyber. Very slow, weak primary weapon with powerful spread missile that can wreak havoc upon battlefield. Hits only enemies on the level ground. Depicted with a pointy missile. |
History
Gain Ground was ported to the Sega Master System and Sega Mega Drive in 1990 and 1991 respectively. The Mega Drive version received an exclusive 4th round called "Present Age", while the Master System version recieved its own exclusive last round "The Final Era". The game was also brought to the Super CD-ROM² in the form of Gain Ground SX. Both the Master System and Mega Drive versions allow up to 2 players cooperative gameplay; the Super CD-ROM² version is 1 player only.
The Arcade, Mega Drive and Super CD-ROM² versions are more or less the same game, except the Super CD-ROM² version has re-arranged Red Book audio.
Turbo Technologies, Inc. demonstrated a North American release of the Super CD-ROM² version at Winter CES 1993, but this release was cancelled for unknown reasons.
The Master System version differs significantly from the regular versions, with different characters portraits, slightly different character abilities (some characters are removed and some abilities are combined) and somewhat different level designs. Original versions feature more western-style character art while the Master System version's art is closer to an anime-style. Another interesting feature of the Master System version is that Player 1 uses male characters while Player 2 uses female characters. Besides the different portraits, there are no differences between male and female characters.
Legacy
The Mega Drive version was brought to the Wii's Virtual Console service, and the game was re-made for the Sega Ages 2500 series in Japan. It was also included in Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, Sega Mega Drive Classics, and both versions of the Mega Drive Mini 2.
Production credits
- Main article: Gain Ground/Production credits.
System 24 version
- Programmer: Yoshiki Ooka
Mega Drive version
- Japanese cover artist: Sohhei Oshiba
Master System version
Super CD-ROM² version
- Executive Producer: S.Ishihara
- Producer: T.Tabeta
- Director: S.Miyazaki, Max.Inde, K.Saitou
- Programmer: K.Kuge
- Support: Masas
- Sound Composer: T's Music
- Graphic designer: Mat.Kakisisu, Yax.Takahara, Nama.Ninnin, Momo, Fill In Cafe, Max.Inde
- Special Thanks: H.Nakamura, Toruneko, S.Miyazaki, J.M.Kim, Sony.Kim, H.Mesuda, Y.Komatsuda, T.Kuwahara
- ©1992 NEC Avenue / Bits Laboratory
Digital manuals
Magazine articles
- Main article: Gain Ground/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Gain Ground/Promotional material.
Artwork
Physical scans
System 24 version
Mega Drive version
Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
68 | |
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Based on 25 reviews |
Master System version
Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
63 | |
---|---|
Based on 16 reviews |
Super CD-ROM² version
Super CD-ROM², JP |
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Technical information
- Main article: Gain Ground/Technical information.
ROM dump status
System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
✔ |
|
512kB | 1990-12 | Cartridge (US/EU) | ||||||||||
✔ |
|
512kB | 1990-12 | Cartridge (EU) | ||||||||||
✔ |
|
512kB | 1990-12 | Cartridge (JP) | ||||||||||
✔ |
|
512kB | 1990-07-27 | CD-R disc | Page | |||||||||
? |
|
256kB | Cartridge (EU) | |||||||||||
? |
|
256kB | EPROM cartridge | Page |
External links
- Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
- Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK, AU
- Gain Ground on Steam
References
NEC Retro has more information related to Gain Ground SX
|
- ↑ http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Sanritsu
- ↑ File:Gain Ground MD JP Box.jpg
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
- ↑ File:Gain Ground SMS EU Box.jpg
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "June 1992" (JP; 1992-05-08), page 75
- ↑ https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video/c/s0O_DMj6Kqc/m/AuJ7lmu8z3IJ
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Raze, "June 1991" (UK; 1991-04-25), page 35
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sega Power, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-07-04), page 12
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mean Machines, "January 1991" (UK; 1991-01-03), page 41
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "February 1991" (UK; 1991-01-16), page 80
- ↑ Supergame, "Setembro 1991" (BR; 1991-09-xx), page 36
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/sbWh7p1AtxNkxJSHeFa4ozZizjAYJrA2 (Wayback Machine: 2010-11-22 23:50)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/gain_ground (Wayback Machine: 2017-07-05 11:19)
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Gain-Ground--277369.html (archive.today)
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.de/Spiele/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Gain-Ground--277369.html (archive.today)
- ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/02.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-05 23:11)
- ↑ http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_gground/ (Wayback Machine: 2007-02-02 02:36)
- ↑ http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19743&pageID=4 (Wayback Machine: 2012-04-03 02:02)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 https://steamdb.info/app/34275/ (Wayback Machine: 2017-05-22 06:27)
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 http://steamdb.info/app/34275/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-05-22 19:18)
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 21.9 https://steamdb.info/app/34275/history/?changeid=5755309
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 22.9 http://steamdb.info/app/34275/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-09-12 20:21)
- ↑ https://sega.jp/fb/album/08_gg/interview1.html (Wayback Machine: 2013-06-23 05:00)
- ↑ File:Gain Ground MD credits.pdf
- ↑ Sega TV Game Genga Gallery, Graphic Sha, page 111
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFQAvXLH_t0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZbK5fvAh8
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 84
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 34
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 115
- ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 130
- ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 49
- ↑ Hippon Super, "February 1991" (JP; 1991-01-07), page 41
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 81
- ↑ Joystick, "Novembre 1990" (FR; 1990-1x-xx), page 131
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 92
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "March 1991" (JP; 1991-02-08), page 99
- ↑ Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 20
- ↑ Mega, "August 1994" (UK; 1994-07-21), page 79
- ↑ Mega Play, "March/April 1991" (US; 1991-04-xx), page 43
- ↑ MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 78
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 139
- ↑ Player One, "Juin 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 32
- ↑ Raze, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-03-28), page 64
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Raze, "June 1991" (UK; 1991-04-25), page 34
- ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 53
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Sega Pro, "Christmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 18
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 65
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 15
- ↑ Video Games, "2/91" (DE; 1991-06-07), page 88
- ↑ Ação Games, "Setembro 1991" (BR; 1991-09-xx), page 30
- ↑ Aktueller Software Markt, "November 1990" (DE; 1990-10-26), page 144
- ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 140
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-02-16), page 94
- ↑ Joystick, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 119
- ↑ Mean Machines, "January 1991" (UK; 1991-01-03), page 40
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 133
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1990" (FR; 1990-xx-xx), page 56
- ↑ Power Play, "12/90" (DE; 1990-11-16), page 164
- ↑ Sega Power, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-02-07), page 42
- ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 56
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 71
- ↑ User, "Septémvrios 1991" (GR; 1991-0x-xx), page 91
- ↑ Zzap!, "Marzo 1991" (IT; 1991-xx-xx), page 26
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