''Imperium'' (''Mobile Armoured Dion'' ''
©Ÿå‹•è£…甲 ダイオン Kidou Soukou Daion' in Japan) is a vertical scrolling
shooter
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...
developed by Jorudan and published by
Vic Tokai
Tokai Communications Corporation Inc (known as Vic Tokai Corporation until 2011) is a telecommunications company in Japan providing DSL services and network solutions. Its headquarters are in the in Aoi-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. In ...
in 1992 for the
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 ...
.
Story
Taking place in the year 2027, Earth is suddenly attacked by the planetoid space fortress Zektron. Many cities are decimated and occupied by the Zektron forces, threatening to annihilate humanity. An underground military squadron and lab develops a small mecha called Dion (Imperium in the US version) aboard the mothership Leinoa, a mecha capable of harnessing great firepower. The human's goal is to send Dion/Imperium into Zektron and destroy it only after the Earth occupation forces have been eliminated.
Gameplay
Imperium differs from most shooters in many ways. There is no
high score
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points (except in game shows, where scores often are instead measured in units of currency), and events in the ...
counter, but instead an
experience points
An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
counter is displayed. Players earn experience points by destroying multitudes of enemies and the numbers differ depending on the size of the enemy. Players then earn additional weapons and power-ups for each weapon through a set number of experience points. The player has a five-hit
life bar
''Life Bar'' () is a South Korean Talk show distributed by tvN every Thursday night at 11:00. Season 1 broadcast its final episode on April 13, 2017. Season 2 premiered on May 18, 2017.
Format
It is a unique talk show where celebrity guests and ...
. If a player takes a hit, then whatever weapon they were using when they were hit is down graded by one point. Players can replenish health and any downgraded weapon by earning back experience points. The player also has speed-change control, which they can use to change the speed of their mech to five different levels. The player has no lives. If the player dies, then it's
Game Over. However, they can start on the level they died on by using the Continue option that shows up on the main menu after dying. The player can only use the continue option four times.
Development
In its September 1992 issue, ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' estimated that ''Imperium'' was 80% complete and on track for November.
Region differences
Although the game played out the same and featured similar music and sounds, the Western version does have different content from the Japanese version :
*Mobile Armoured Dion featured large level design detail with different backgrounds layered over each other, particularly in level 2 where large construction beams forming squares span over the beach and ocean background and a different colour palette (orange). The extra layered backgrounds were removed in the US version Imperium.
*The Wave weapon in Imperium was originally a large fireball weapon in Mobile Armoured Dion.
Reception
Super Gamer gave the SNES version an overall score of 60% writing: "This vertically scrolling shooter has a novel power-up system and plenty of challenge, but graphics are banal and gameplay is more frustrating then enjoyable."
References
External links
''Imperium''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
1992 video games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games
Vertically scrolling shooters
Vic Tokai games
Video games about mecha
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in the 2020s
Video games scored by Tenpei Sato
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