TransBot

n/a

TransBot

System(s): Sega Master System, Sega System E

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Sega R&D2

Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

Number of players: 1-2 (alternating)

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1986	¥?	?

JP	1985-12-22	¥4,3004,300	C-503
US	1986-10		4004
EU	1987		MK-4504-50
DE (Card)	1987	DM 6969	41003
PT	1996
UK (Card)	1987-08^[1]	£14.9514.95^[2]^[1]
AU	19xx
BR	1992-08		021050
TW	19xx		K-305

TransBot is a commonly found Sega Master System game first released in 1985. In Japan it is known as Astro Flash (アストロフラッシュ) and in Brazil it is known as Nuclear Creature. It was one of the first titles to be released on Sega Card, though was later re-released on cartridge. It is a sequel to the SG-1000 game Orguss.

Plot

It seemed like things were finally starting to get back together after the Nuclear War of the solar year 2,000.

People had emerged from their underground shelters. They built new downs. New forms of transportation. An all new society.

But something has gone wrong. DALAUS, an artificial intelligence computer left over from the now defunct regime is creating a dictatorial empire. DALAUS is already gaining control of one city - and it's rumoured that many of the guards are actually working for DALAUS.

The only thing that can stop this treacherous takeover is the new CA-214, a sophisticated transforming combat astro-plane. And the only one who can pilot this high-performance machine is you.

You'll have to destroy the enemy's ARM CARRIER. Then try to find DALAUS's hidden fortress and destroy ELGRAMZON to rid the earth of evil influence forever.

Gameplay

In TransBot, the player pilots a CA-214 starfighter, which has the ability to transform into a robot through power-up icons. It is a sidescrolling shoot-'em-up with a number of different levels and firing modes.

There is only one power-up in the game; the "Arm Capsule", which if collected (after shooting a ground-based "Arm Carrier") will cycle through seven modes (labeled A to G) until the user tells it to stop. This means the player has very little control over his/her firing method, however the powerup must be collected regularly to replenish ammunition.

The letters correspond to the following attacks:

A: "Normal Fire" (default weapon) - simple ">"-shaped projectiles which explode on impact
B: "Beam" - larger, circular weapons which behave like the ripple laser from Gradius
C: "Sword Fire" - easily the most powerful weapon in-game - an unstoppable beam encompassing a large vertical area
D: "Cannon" - similar to A, only projectiles do not explode on impact
E: "Diffusion Beam" - a three-way spreadshot mode
F: "Two Direction Fire" - allows shooting both forwards and backwards
G: Maximises the power of the currently selected weapon.

C, E and F are fired in robot mode, making the player a bigger target for enemy fire.

Enemies

	Alapot

	Ascule

	Barrier

	Bifler

	Boasite

	Elblink

	Gealmea

	Gelpaar

	Hilun

	Luvogue

	Psyball

	Zelnuc

	Elgramzon
	The "robot embodiment" of Dalaus, which is the closest TransBot gets to a boss. It is likely based on the AT-ST units from the Star Wars franchise.

History

Legacy

Along with a few other Master System/Mark III games of the time, Astro Flash was brought to Sega System E arcade hardware in 1986 in Japan. The arcade game had a Western release as Transformer, rather than Transbot. The arcade version has a number of graphical tweaks, the music is a bit different, and there are slight variants on the gameplay. In the System E version, the player can always change between robot and starfighter at will, and can increase his or her power by destroying more enemies rather than collecting icons.

Arrow Flash may be a sequel to this game due to the similar theme of gameplay and name.