''Cosmo Police Galivan'' (コスモポリス ギャリバン ''Kosumoporisu Gyariban''), is a single-player,
shoot-em-up
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charact ...
arcade video game
An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...
developed and released worldwide by
Nichibutsu
was a Japanese video game developer and publisher headquartered in Kita, Osaka. In the past they had also manufactured and sold yachts.
The main video game brand of the company was Nichibutsu (日物、ニチブツ), with adult video games (ma ...
. The game is inspired by the Japanese
tokusatsu
is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...
shows ''
Space Sheriff Gavan
, also known as ''Space Cop Gabin'' and ''Space Cop Gaban'', is a Japanese Tokusatsu series produced by Toei Company that aired on TV Asahi from March 5, 1982 to February 25, 1983. The series launched the Metal Hero franchise and was the first in ...
'' and ''
Space Sheriff Sharivan
is the second installment in Toei's Metal Hero Series franchise and aired on TV Asahi from March 4, 1983 to February 24, 1984. It served as a direct sequel to its predecessor, '' Space Sheriff Gavan'' and featured many of the same characters. It ...
''. It was later ported to
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...
,
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as t ...
, and
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
. The game is included in the
Arcade Archives
is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch, published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called is focused on rereleasing Neo Geo ...
series for
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
and
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
. The game has a sequel on
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
, called ''Cosmo Police Galivan II: Arrow of Justice''.
Gameplay
In the game, the player takes the role of the last remaining member of the Cosmo Police, who runs and jumps around a multi-directional scrolling environment on planet Cynep, with caves, baroque rooms and underwater zones, destroying or avoiding waves of constantly attacking robots, aliens and alien ships.
The player starts the game as an unarmed human, whose only attacking options are kicking and punching, but picking up a POW item encases the human in a robotic suit and arms the player with a laser gun. Collecting the blue POW items while in the suit awards the player with a powerful beam weapon for a limited time, while the red POW item gives the player a three-shot cannon. POW items are dotted throughout the levels and can also be gained by shooting the blue robot aliens.
The player's character has an energy bar that decreases whenever the player is hit. Should this fall below the halfway point, the robot suit will be lost and the player will once again be an unarmed human. Collecting a POW item while in human form will restore the player's energy. If a POW is collected while wearing the suit, however, the player's energy will NOT be increased but their weapon will receive a power-up. The game's platforms are littered with springboards that fire the player high into the air when stepped on. Some platforms - often containing POW items - can only be reached via a springboard.
At the end of every level, the player has to defeat a boss. The game only features two levels which, when completed, repeat endlessly.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Galivan'' on their January 15, 1986 issue as being the tenth most-successful table arcade unit at the time.
External links
*
*
Galivan for Commodore 64Galivan for Amstrad CPCGalivan for Sinclair ZX Spectrum
References
{{reflist
1985 video games
Nihon Bussan games
Nintendo Entertainment System games
Nintendo Switch games
PlayStation 4 games
Arcade video games
Run and gun games
Video games about police officers
Video games developed in Japan
Hamster Corporation games