Difference between revisions of "Panorama Cotton"

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{{stub}}'''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' (パノラマコットン) is a 1994 shoot-'em-up for the [[Sega Mega Drive]] developed by [[Success]] and published by [[Sunsoft]] exclusively in Japan.
+
'''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' (パノラマコットン) is a 1994 shoot-'em-up for the [[Sega Mega Drive]] developed by [[Success]] and published by [[Sunsoft]] exclusively in Japan.
 +
 
 +
The game is widely considered one of the most visually impressive for the platform. It has a surreal, psychedelic aesthetic and uses extensive sprite scaling and line-scrolling effects.
  
 
==Story==
 
==Story==
−
Willows are special types of candies in a world of witches and fairies. Fairy Queen Velvet starts saying things that don't make sense, and the fairy Silk realizes it is because of monsters who are burning Willows (a burnt one was found near the castle garden). The witch Cotton, who loves eating Willows, conveniently shows up, learns of this, and vows revenge.
+
{{ScreenThumb|Panorama Cotton, Introduction.png|width=200|Introduction}}
 +
Willow (ウィロー) is a special type of candy in the World of Filament, a kingdom of witches and fairies. Knit (ニット) and Silk (シルク) are both fairies. Knit comes to tell Silk that the Fairy Queen Velvet (ベルベット女王) has started saying things that do not make any sense. Later, the Queen reveals that she believes that the world is falling into chaos, and that she is the only one who can save it. She rides off on an animal called "Pinky" to save the day, and disappears before anyone can stop her. Perplexed, Silk and Knit deduce that a burnt Willow which recently turned up in the castle garden is responsible for the Queen's odd behavior. Apparently, monsters north of the kingdom have been burning any Willow that they see.
 +
 
 +
Before doing anything else, Silk immediately decides that she needs to get rid of the burnt Willow in the castle first. Silk carries the burnt Willow far away, but before she can dispose of it, the witch Cotton (コットン) appears suddenly and snatches it from her. Not pausing for a moment to hear Silk's story, Cotton begins to eat the burnt Willow. However, she quickly spits it out, angry and disgusted. When Cotton discovers that someone is burning Willows, she vows that she will not let it continue. From there, Silk and Cotton set off on their new adventure.  
  
 
==Gameplay==
 
==Gameplay==
−
Unlike most other ''Cotton'' games, ''Panorama'' looks and plays like ''[[Space Harrier]]'', where Cotton is following a fixed path and can only move around the screen using the D-pad. {{A}} changes speed, {{B}} fires, and {{C}} uses a special Magic attack.
+
Instead of being a side-scrolling shooter, like the previous ''Cotton'' games, ''Panorama Cotton'' is a pseudo-3D scrolling shooter reminiscent of ''[[Space Harrier]]''. Cotton flies on her broom with her fairy companion Silk, and they follow a fixed path through the stages. She can move around the screen with the D-pad to aim her shots and avoid obstacles. The player can cycle Cotton's movement speed between three different values with {{A}}. Faster speeds increase her maneuverability but also the speed at which she moves through the stage. Lower speeds are helpful for getting more hits on targets.
 +
 
 +
Cotton fires her magical weapon with {{B}}, which is unlimited. A small blue dot acts as a targeting cursor. Holding {{B}} causes Silk to encircle Cotton for use in special magical abilities, which also decreases Cotton's rate of fire. The player must therefore press {{B}} repeatedly for reliable rapid-fire. Cotton's attack has a power level between 1 and 5. She has an experience meter that goes up as she destroys enemies, and her attack gains a power level whenever she fills the meter. Taking damage reduces the experience meter and potentially results in losing levels. If the player fills the experience meter when already at maximum level, the player is rewarded with 10,000 bonus points.
 +
 
 +
Cotton has three special magical abilities, which are limited in use and gained by collecting colored crystals. The current magical abilities are shown as icons in the HUD, and the game starts the player with one of each ability. There are two ways to use the magical ability. Cotton can use it with {{C}}, or Silk can use it by first deploying her by holding {{B}} and then pressing {{C}} while still holding {{B}}. The effect of the ability differs depending on whether Cotton or Silk uses it. The most recently acquired ability is shown leftmost and used first.
 +
 
 +
Cotton's health is indicated by blocks in the top of the HUD. She loses a block or part of a block when she takes damage from enemy fire or colliding with something. She gains another block of health for every 50,000 points earned by the player. If Cotton is hit when she is low on health, she might bounce around the screen and dodge damage, but she cannot attack or use magic in this state. She loses a life when she loses all of her health. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but there are limited continues.
 +
 
 +
There are three selectable difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard). The player can optionally invert the vertical controls so that {{up}} descends that {{down}} ascends. If the player finishes the game with at least 1,000,000 points, the player can play "Silk's Dream," which is a special mode of the game played as the fairy Silk with a miniature Cotton taking her place as a support companion.
 +
 
 +
===Magical Abilities===
 +
{{InfoTable|imagewidths=320|
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Red Magic (赤色魔法)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Red Cotton.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Red Silk.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=Cotton's ability is Fire Dragon (火竜), which summons a fire dragon that sweeps the screen and attacks enemies randomly.
 +
 
 +
Silk's ability is Fire Fairy (ファイヤーフェアリー), which summons many fire fairies that seek and attack enemies.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Blue Magic (青色魔法)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Blue Cotton.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Blue Silk.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=Cotton's ability is Thunder (雷), which releases a row of energy balls that spin around before launching into the horizon.
 +
 
 +
Silk's ability is Barrier & Thunderbolt (バリア & サンダーボルト), which surrounds Cotton in a protective shield. If Cotton is hit by an enemy, she does not take damage, but the shield dissipates and the screen is filled with (hardware) bolts that attack everything on the screen.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Green Magic (綠色魔法)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Green Cotton.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Green Silk.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=Cotton's ability is Boxwood Fruit (ツゲの実), which changes her standard weapon to a homing weapon that targets close enemies.
 +
 
 +
Silk's ability is Fairy Launcher (フェアリーランチャー), which causes Silk to spin and summon fruits that explode on enemies that collide with them.
 +
}}
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
===Items===
 +
{{InfoTable|imagewidths=50|
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=ボ (Bo)
 +
| sprite={{sprite | Panorama Cotton, Items.png | crop_width=96 | crop_height=48 | crop_x=0 | crop_y=0}}
 +
| desc=Appears during the stage. Normal (ノーマル) awards 100 bonus points. Flashing (フラッシュ) awards 500 bonus points.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Tea (お茶)
 +
| sprite={{sprite | Panorama Cotton, Items.png | crop_width=64 | crop_height=48 | crop_x=96 | crop_y=0}}
 +
| desc=Appears at the end of the stage after defeating the boss. The regular tea cups increase the attack points at the end of the stage. Luxury Tea (高級茶) with the blue kanji awards 500 bonus points. Golden Tea (黄金茶) is given by finding Jizō (地蔵) and awards 10,000 bonus points.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Crystal (クリスタル)
 +
| sprite={{sprite | Panorama Cotton, Items.png | crop_width=96 | crop_height=48 | crop_x=0 | crop_y=48}}
 +
| desc=The yellow crystals provide bonus experience; the other colors provide a use of a magical ability. Shooting it pushes it farther away. Shooting it three times changes its color, but shooting it too much can destroy it.
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Fat Crystal (デブクリスタルは、)
 +
| sprite={{sprite | Panorama Cotton, Items.png | crop_width=160 | crop_height=48 | crop_x=0 | crop_y=96}}
 +
| desc=The yellow crystals provide double bonus experience; the other colors provide two uses of a magical ability. Shooting it pushes it farther away. Shooting it three times changes its color, but shooting it too much can destroy it.
 +
}}
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
===Stages===
 +
{{InfoTable|imagewidths=320|
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=The Land of Cotton (わたの大地)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-1.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-2.png
 +
| screenshot3=Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-3.png
 +
| screenshot4=Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-4.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Cloud Road (雲道界)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-1.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-2.png
 +
| screenshot3=Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-3.png
 +
| screenshot4=Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-4.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Great Gallery (大回廊)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-1.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-2.png
 +
| screenshot3=Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-3.png
 +
| screenshot4=Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-4.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Deep Sea Cave (海底空洞)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-1.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-2.png
 +
| screenshot3=Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-3.png
 +
| screenshot4=Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-4.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=
 +
}}
 +
{{InfoRow
 +
| title=Cotton Road (綿ロード)
 +
| screenshot=Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-1.png
 +
| screenshot2=Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-2.png
 +
| screenshot3=Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-3.png
 +
| screenshot4=Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-4.png
 +
| tabs=yes
 +
| desc=
 +
}}
 +
}}
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
−
It is the third game in the ''Cotton'' series of so-called "cute-'em-ups" for their unique visual style, and diverts from the gameplay of other ''Cotton'' titles. The release packaging included a promotional tea cup, which is now quite rare. Its method of gameplay would be reprised for the [[Dreamcast]] ''[[Rainbow Cotton]]''.
+
It is the third game in the ''Cotton'' series of so-called "cute-'em-ups" for their unique visual style, and diverts from the gameplay of other ''Cotton'' titles. Its method of gameplay would be reprised for the [[Dreamcast]] ''[[Rainbow Cotton]]''.
  
−
This is the only Japanese Sunsoft Mega Drive game that didn't come with the "left-opening" box style used with other Sunsoft-published games.
+
This is the only Japanese Sunsoft Mega Drive game that didn't come with the "left-opening" box style used with other Sunsoft-published games. The release packaging included a promotional tea cup, which is now quite rare.
  
 
==Magazine articles==
 
==Magazine articles==

Revision as of 01:17, 25 May 2022

n/a

PanoramaCotton MDTitleScreen.png

Panorama Cotton
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sunsoft
Developer:
Genre: Shooting[1][2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP 		¥9,5009,500 T-15103

Panorama Cotton (パノラマコットン) is a 1994 shoot-'em-up for the Sega Mega Drive developed by Success and published by Sunsoft exclusively in Japan.

The game is widely considered one of the most visually impressive for the platform. It has a surreal, psychedelic aesthetic and uses extensive sprite scaling and line-scrolling effects.

Story

Panorama Cotton, Introduction.png

Introduction

Willow (ウィロー) is a special type of candy in the World of Filament, a kingdom of witches and fairies. Knit (ニット) and Silk (シルク) are both fairies. Knit comes to tell Silk that the Fairy Queen Velvet (ベルベット女王) has started saying things that do not make any sense. Later, the Queen reveals that she believes that the world is falling into chaos, and that she is the only one who can save it. She rides off on an animal called "Pinky" to save the day, and disappears before anyone can stop her. Perplexed, Silk and Knit deduce that a burnt Willow which recently turned up in the castle garden is responsible for the Queen's odd behavior. Apparently, monsters north of the kingdom have been burning any Willow that they see.

Before doing anything else, Silk immediately decides that she needs to get rid of the burnt Willow in the castle first. Silk carries the burnt Willow far away, but before she can dispose of it, the witch Cotton (コットン) appears suddenly and snatches it from her. Not pausing for a moment to hear Silk's story, Cotton begins to eat the burnt Willow. However, she quickly spits it out, angry and disgusted. When Cotton discovers that someone is burning Willows, she vows that she will not let it continue. From there, Silk and Cotton set off on their new adventure.

Gameplay

Instead of being a side-scrolling shooter, like the previous Cotton games, Panorama Cotton is a pseudo-3D scrolling shooter reminiscent of Space Harrier. Cotton flies on her broom with her fairy companion Silk, and they follow a fixed path through the stages. She can move around the screen with the D-pad to aim her shots and avoid obstacles. The player can cycle Cotton's movement speed between three different values with A. Faster speeds increase her maneuverability but also the speed at which she moves through the stage. Lower speeds are helpful for getting more hits on targets.

Cotton fires her magical weapon with B, which is unlimited. A small blue dot acts as a targeting cursor. Holding B causes Silk to encircle Cotton for use in special magical abilities, which also decreases Cotton's rate of fire. The player must therefore press B repeatedly for reliable rapid-fire. Cotton's attack has a power level between 1 and 5. She has an experience meter that goes up as she destroys enemies, and her attack gains a power level whenever she fills the meter. Taking damage reduces the experience meter and potentially results in losing levels. If the player fills the experience meter when already at maximum level, the player is rewarded with 10,000 bonus points.

Cotton has three special magical abilities, which are limited in use and gained by collecting colored crystals. The current magical abilities are shown as icons in the HUD, and the game starts the player with one of each ability. There are two ways to use the magical ability. Cotton can use it with C, or Silk can use it by first deploying her by holding B and then pressing C while still holding B. The effect of the ability differs depending on whether Cotton or Silk uses it. The most recently acquired ability is shown leftmost and used first.

Cotton's health is indicated by blocks in the top of the HUD. She loses a block or part of a block when she takes damage from enemy fire or colliding with something. She gains another block of health for every 50,000 points earned by the player. If Cotton is hit when she is low on health, she might bounce around the screen and dodge damage, but she cannot attack or use magic in this state. She loses a life when she loses all of her health. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but there are limited continues.

There are three selectable difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard). The player can optionally invert the vertical controls so that Up descends that Down ascends. If the player finishes the game with at least 1,000,000 points, the player can play "Silk's Dream," which is a special mode of the game played as the fairy Silk with a miniature Cotton taking her place as a support companion.

Magical Abilities

Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Red Cotton.png

Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Red Silk.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Red Cotton.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Red Silk.png

Red Magic (赤色魔法)
Cotton's ability is Fire Dragon (火竜), which summons a fire dragon that sweeps the screen and attacks enemies randomly.

Silk's ability is Fire Fairy (ファイヤーフェアリー), which summons many fire fairies that seek and attack enemies.

Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Blue Cotton.png

Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Blue Silk.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Blue Cotton.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Blue Silk.png

Blue Magic (青色魔法)
Cotton's ability is Thunder (雷), which releases a row of energy balls that spin around before launching into the horizon.

Silk's ability is Barrier & Thunderbolt (バリア & サンダーボルト), which surrounds Cotton in a protective shield. If Cotton is hit by an enemy, she does not take damage, but the shield dissipates and the screen is filled with (hardware) bolts that attack everything on the screen.

Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Green Cotton.png

Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Green Silk.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Green Cotton.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Weapons, Green Silk.png

Green Magic (綠色魔法)
Cotton's ability is Boxwood Fruit (ツゲの実), which changes her standard weapon to a homing weapon that targets close enemies.

Silk's ability is Fairy Launcher (フェアリーランチャー), which causes Silk to spin and summon fruits that explode on enemies that collide with them.

Items

Panorama Cotton, Items.png
 ボ (Bo)
Appears during the stage. Normal (ノーマル) awards 100 bonus points. Flashing (フラッシュ) awards 500 bonus points.
Panorama Cotton, Items.png
 Tea (お茶)
Appears at the end of the stage after defeating the boss. The regular tea cups increase the attack points at the end of the stage. Luxury Tea (高級茶) with the blue kanji awards 500 bonus points. Golden Tea (黄金茶) is given by finding Jizō (地蔵) and awards 10,000 bonus points.
Panorama Cotton, Items.png
 Crystal (クリスタル)
The yellow crystals provide bonus experience; the other colors provide a use of a magical ability. Shooting it pushes it farther away. Shooting it three times changes its color, but shooting it too much can destroy it.
Panorama Cotton, Items.png
 Fat Crystal (デブクリスタルは、)
The yellow crystals provide double bonus experience; the other colors provide two uses of a magical ability. Shooting it pushes it farther away. Shooting it three times changes its color, but shooting it too much can destroy it.

Stages

Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-1.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-2.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-3.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-4.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-1.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-2.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-3.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 1-4.png

The Land of Cotton (わたの大地)

Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-1.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-2.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-3.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-4.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-1.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-2.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-3.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 2-4.png

Cloud Road (雲道界)

Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-1.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-2.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-3.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-4.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-1.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-2.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-3.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 3-4.png

Great Gallery (大回廊)

Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-1.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-2.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-3.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-4.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-1.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-2.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-3.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 4-4.png

Deep Sea Cave (海底空洞)

Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-1.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-2.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-3.png

Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-4.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-1.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-2.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-3.png

  • Panorama Cotton, Stage 5-4.png

Cotton Road (綿ロード)

History

It is the third game in the Cotton series of so-called "cute-'em-ups" for their unique visual style, and diverts from the gameplay of other Cotton titles. Its method of gameplay would be reprised for the Dreamcast Rainbow Cotton.

This is the only Japanese Sunsoft Mega Drive game that didn't come with the "left-opening" box style used with other Sunsoft-published games. The release packaging included a promotional tea cup, which is now quite rare.

Magazine articles

Main article: Panorama Cotton/Magazine articles.

Photo gallery

  • Complete set

  • Teacup

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
50
[3]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
68
[4]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
53
[5]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
80
[6]
Última Generación (ES)
58
[7]
Sega Mega Drive
 62
Based on
5 reviews

Panorama Cotton

Mega Drive, JP
PanoramaCotton JP cover.jpg
Cover
PanoramaCotton MD JP CartTop.jpg
PanoramaCotton MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega Drive
✔
CRC32 9e57d92e
MD5 422a285546a9755df77da2840fb2c817
SHA-1 63d9b71cfe0b7aaa6913ae06c1f2547d6d2aae5c
2.5MB Cartridge (JP)
Sega Mega Drive
✘
CRC32 54d82f86
MD5 7988fd0d0d2abe47ada250af652efff0
SHA-1 aa7d052268ef439a3e289379003d7e7d6fc356f2
4MB 1993-11-27 EPROM cartridge Overdump Page

References

  1. ↑ File:PanoramaCotton JP cover.jpg
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  3. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 230
  4. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "September 1994" (JP; 1994-08-08), page 16
  5. ↑ Famitsu, "1994-08-19,26" (JP; 1994-08-05), page 39
  6. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  7. ↑ Última Generación, "Junio 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 84


Panorama Cotton

PanoramaCotton MDTitleScreen.png

Main page | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information


Sega Mega Drive
Prototypes: 1993-11-27



Cotton games for Sega systems
Arcade
 Cotton (1991) | Cotton 2 (1997) | Cotton Boomerang (1998)
Sega Mega Drive
 Panorama Cotton (1994)
Sega Saturn
 Cotton 2 (1997) | Cotton Boomerang (1998)
Sega Dreamcast
 Rainbow Cotton (2000)
Retrieved from "https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=Panorama_Cotton&oldid=780679"