''Silent Debuggers'' is a 1991

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first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed and released by Data East for the PC Engine and published by NEC International for the TurboGrafx-16. The player investigates a space freight station called Gane, aided by a partner character named Leon, as they investigate why the station's crew have disappeared. The game features the "Sound Detection System" that detects, searches, and defeats enemies with sound. ''Silent Debuggers'' was notable for the TurboGrafx-16 in how it is an early entry in the

genre. The game was released in North America in 1991 and in Japan on March 29, 1991. It was re-released on the

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in Japan on June 26, 2007, in North America on July 16, 2007 and in Europe and Australia on July 20, 2007. However, the Virtual Console version was delisted in early March 2012.

Plot

From the Silent Debuggers Game Manual by NEC Technologies, 1991: ''The Great War is over. Mankind is united into one peaceful world. Or is it?'' ''While the Joint Government pursues a policy of "Advancement into Outer Space" it encounters pockets of resistance. The evil forces ("Bugs") must be destroyed before they threaten the peace of the Universe. Yet there are no armies, only small groups of highly paid soldiers left over from the Great War. The most famous of these groups is the "Silent Debuggers". Powerful and mysterious, now the government calls upon them again. As an aspiring Debugger with your sidekick Leon, you are assigned to enter the Evil Space Station Gane. While it is rumoured that riches abound, no Debugger has ever returned from this fortress of evil.''

Gameplay

Players explore the Gane cargo station in search of treasure which, when recovered, will triggers the station's self-destruct sequence. The player must then progress from level to level, killing every monster on that floor in order to advance. On the lowest floor is a computer that must be "debugged" in order to stop the self-destruct sequence. The player is assisted by a buddy character, a fellow debugger named Leon who provides information and weapons. The game restricts the player's ability to look up and down. Selecting higher difficulties will also cause a monster to spawn on the ceiling, which is harder to detect on the game's viewfinder.

System

The gameplay takes place within a first-person viewfinder, through which the player spots and attacks aliens with various guns and weaponry. The player's energy is provided by two battery packs and is consumed whenever attacked by an enemy or when using the jump command. From the station's second floor onwards, the game implements a time limit wherein all the floors must be cleared within 100 minutes before the station's self-destruct sequence commences. If the player resumes via the game's continue system, the game takes 5 minutes off of the remaining time counter each time they try again. This is explained in-game as the player losing energy from being attacked. The game's ending contains a sequel hook, but no sequel was ever released, nor put into development.

Sound Detection System

The game's most prominent feature is its sound-based enemy search system. The game's interface has a "sound sensor" that announces the distance and position of incoming enemies with sound effects that increase in volume and "move" through the game's left-and-right stereo audio channels. The interface's colour sensor blinks blue → yellow → red as the enemy gets closer. When the enemy enters the visual field, sound cues will play, and colour alerts will flash on the sides of the game interface. The sound sensor will change to a alarm when the player gets closer to enemies, and the enemy aliens have vocal sound effects when they attack. The game can still be played in

monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

mode but the player cannot track the left-and-right auditory positions.

Staff

''Silent Debuggers'' was produced by a small team of Data East staff members. Much of this staff was credited in-game via

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s. * Planning: TDR Watanabe * Graphics: Takehiko Ishiro (as "68000 Isiro") * Programmer: Kōji Sasamoto (as "Works Sasamoto") * Sound: Nyanko Sakai, Shogo Sakai (as "Syougo"), Masaaki Iwasaki (as "Kosei"), Takashi Miura (as "Atomic Takafumi"), Yusuke Takahama, Yūji Suzuki * Test player: Verago Nakamura * Director: A. Kawai * Producer: Tokinori Kaneyasu

Reception

IGN gave the Wii Virtual Console version a 4.5 out of 10. GameSpot gave the Wii Virtual Console version a 3.5 out of 10. The game has been cited as an inspiration for

Enemy Zero is a 1996 horror-themed adventure video game for the Sega Saturn, developed by Warp and directed by Kenji Eno. Players assume the role of an astronaut who awakens from cryogenic sleep to find her spaceship overrun by invisible creatures who ar ...

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and

Kenji Eno was a Japanese musician and video game designer. He gained a reputation as a maverick during the mid-1990s for creating unorthodox games like '' Real Sound'' and is perhaps best remembered today for his rebellious marketing techniques. Outside o ...

. In particular, ''Silent Debuggerss "Sound Detection System" influenced the similar game mechanic featured in ''Enemy Zero''.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Video games, 1990s 1991 video games Data East video games First-person shooters Science fiction video games Single-player video games TurboGrafx-16 games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Video games with 2.5D graphics Sprite-based first-person shooters