(also ''IMAGEFIGHT'') is a 1988

vertically scrolling shooter A vertically scrolling video game or vertical scroller is a video game in which the Player (game), player views the field of play principally from a top-down perspective, while the background Scrolling, scrolls from the top of the screen to the bot ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

developed and published by

Irem is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher, and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Softwar ...

. It was ported to the

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 ...

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, though ...

(Japan-only),

Sharp X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 wit ...

(Japan-only), and

FM Towns The is a Japanese personal computer, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. ...

(Japan-only) in 1990.

Plot

The following is taken directly from the NES instruction manual: ''On a fateful day in 20XX, the Earth's moon exploded into four large fragments and a multitude of meteors. Aliens from afar had succeeded in destroying the West's moon base. One after another, mankind's other military industrial space complexes were being lost. What mankind dreaded had come to pass. Scores of unidentified fighters were in the area. In addition, the moon's main computer, still intact after the explosion, had a strange vegetation coiled around it. Their trademark evil exploits being a dead giveaway, invaders from the Boondoggle Galaxy had arrived to take over the Earth. To counter these evil forces, leading scientists from all over the globe created the "OF-1" Fightership. Combat pilots depart the Earth to fend off the invaders and earn everlasting glory.''

Game play

''Image Fight'' was released one year after Irem's successful horizontal scroller, ''

R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful a ...

'', and, although not directly related, the two games have some similarities. The player flies a futuristic red ship. ''R-Type Final'' identifies this ship as the OF-1 ''Daedalus'', but it is not known if that was the ship's original name. However, the term OF-1 does appear in the

NES 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 American ...

version's instruction manual, as well as in the official artwork for the sequel, ''Image Fight II''. The game appears to be set inside a holographic simulator, like the

holodeck The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise ''Star Trek'' which uses "holograms" (projected light and electromagnetic energy which create the illusion of solid objects) to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imag ...

on '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The game begins with five stages taking place inside a combat simulation, and the player's ability to destroy enemy entities is tested. Upon finishing a simulation stage, the game displays results and shows if their score is considered passing or failing. The player must have an average kill rate of 90% or better in the simulation stages to immediately proceed to real combat. If the player fails, they must play an additional stage before entering real combat. Real combat consists of three stages. The real combat stages play very much like a traditional shoot em' up game, where the player immediately proceeds to the next stage upon completing the current stage.

Pods

The defining feature of ''Image Fight'' is the Pod - a small, coloured sphere with two short gun barrels attached to it. The Pod, once collected, floats alongside the player's ship. There are two different kinds of Pod: * Red Pod - this changes direction based on the movement of the ship, and can therefore be aimed at enemies. This can be very useful, as enemies can and do attack from any direction. * Blue Pod - similar to the Red Pod, except it always points forward and the direction cannot be changed. This makes it more powerful in direct confrontations, but less versatile. The ship can support up to three Pods. The first two Pods collected will take up positions on the left and right sides of the ship; the third Pod hovers behind it.

Pod Shot

The Pod Shot is a special attack in which the side Pods are launched forward at high speed, before circling back and returning to the ship. This enables them to be used as projectiles themselves, and thrown at enemies ahead. This attack can be performed with either one or two side Pods - the rear Pod, if present, does not participate.

Speed control

The ship has four different levels of speed that the player can switch between, to allow for more precise manoeuvering in confined spaces. The structure of the ship transforms during a speed change, the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

s angling down and back at higher speeds. The ship's thrusters exhaust a large blue flame whenever the ship changes speed; this can be used as a weapon to damage or destroy enemies.

'Forces'

The player can acquire various

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

-shaped devices that attach to the front of the ship. These are very similar in function to the Force in ''

'' - they turn the player's blaster into a powerful laser weapon. They can also act as a weak shield, protecting the ship from impact; this destroys them but leaves the ship intact. Unlike the Force in ''R-Type'', they cannot be ejected from the ship - the only way to remove them, in fact, is to have them destroyed. The ship cannot pick up a new device if one is already attached. There are a number of different kinds, each of which provides a different weapon. The weapon names are taken from ''R-Type Final''. ''R-Type Final'' implies that these devices are in fact early versions of what it calls the OF Force, but this may be

retroactive continuity Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

Ports and related releases

The arcade game was also ported for the

as well as becoming a Japan-only game for the

, and

in 1990. The PC Engine version was later re-released for the

Wii Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

only in Japan. In 1998, ''Image Fight'', along with another arcade game by Irem,

X-Multiply is a side-scrolling shooter published by Irem, and similar in style to their earlier ''R-Type''. In 1998, the game was released with '' Image Fight'' as a one-disc doublebill on PlayStation and Sega Saturn. In 2019, the game was released on the P ...

, was released only in Japan as a one-disc double-bill for the

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

. The arcade game was followed by '' Image Fight II: Operation Deepstriker'', a sequel for the

PC Engine Super CD-ROM² The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

in 1992 exclusively in Japan. Like the PC Engine version of the first game, ''Image Fight II'' was re-released for the

Wii U Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...

in Japan in 2015 and for the first time in the United States on February 8, 2018 for both games. ''Image Fight II'' and its PC Engine prequel also made their European debut on February 1, 2018. The ship from this game is included in '' R-Type Final'', where it is the first in a series of five fighters called the OF series. The Pods are also available on fighters of the OF series.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Image Fight'' on their December 15, 1988 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit among operators surveyed during that two-week period.

Legacy

According to producer Hiroshi Iuchi, creator of ''

Radiant Silvergun is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It was originally released in Japanese arcades in 1998 and subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn later that year. The story follows a team of fighter pilots in the far future who are battling waves o ...

'', ''Image Fight'' was the main inspiration for ''Radiant Silverguns design.

Tomonobu Itagaki (born April 1, 1967) is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the '' Dead or Alive'' series and also reviving the ''Ninja Gaiden'' franchise in 2004. Joining Tecmo in 1992, Itagaki produced two video game franchises that were com ...

, creator of the '' Dead or Alive'' series, listed ''Image Fight'' as one of his five favorite games. ''Image Fight'' is also said to be the favorite shooter game of

Granzella Granzella Inc. is a Japanese video game developer based in Ishikawa, Japan. The company is formed from former Irem staff and engaged in planning, production and sales of console games. The company is known for developing the latest entry in t ...

's Kujo Kazuma.

References

External links

* *
Image Fight
' at arcade-history * {{R-Type series 1988 video games Arcade video games Irem games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Switch games Vertically scrolling shooters Science fiction video games PlayStation 4 games X68000 games Single-player video games FM Towns games TurboGrafx-16 games TurboGrafx-CD games Video games developed in Japan Video games set in the 2040s Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Wii U Hamster Corporation games