''Steam-Heart's'' is a

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 charac ...

and

eroge An ''eroge'' ( or , ''erogē''; ; a portmanteau of ''erotic game'' , ''erochikku gēmu'') is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. In 1982, Japan's Koei, founded by husband-and-wife team Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa (and later known for strate ...

developed by

Giga Giga ( or ) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of a short-scale billion or long-scale milliard (109 or ). It has the symbol G. ''Giga'' is derived from the Greek word (''gígas''), meaning "giant". The ''Oxford English Dic ...

and published by TGL. The story follows two siblings as they fight off a virus that is possessing the people in their world. The game features shooter gameplay paired with ample erotic cutscenes with scantily clad women. ''Steam-Heart's'' was initially released on

PC-98 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

personal computers in 1994. It later made its way to the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² System in 1996 and then the Sega Saturn in 1998. All releases have been limited to the Japanese market. Critics generally found the gameplay to be average, with the erotic content being the sole distinguishing feature.

Gameplay

''Steam-Heart's'' is a vertically scrolling

and

. There are 8 levels in total, as well as single-player and two-player modes. The primary weapon on the player's ship can either be a vulcan cannon or laser. These shot types can be upgraded or swapped by picking up power-ups. The player can also choose from a variety of secondary weapons which vary between the versions of ''Steam-Heart's'', but include fixed turrets, flamethrowers, and satellite ships that hunt down enemies among others. The ship can also temporarily boost in any direction to dodge enemies or pick up items. Completing each stage results in a cutscene told through a succession of still images. The player only has one

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

but can take about six hits before losing the life. There are only continues in the cooperative two-player mode. In single-player mode, the player restarts the level after losing a life. The Saturn version includes an arcade mode (a mode devoid of all cutscenes and character dialogue), and a

score attack 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 ...

mode.

Plot

The game is set in a world where people have been taken over by a virus, altering their behavior. Two siblings, a male named Blow and a hermaphrodite Falla are immune to the virus and set off to fight it. The characters exchange dialog during gameplay to progress the story. The bosses at the end of each stage are

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...

piloted by scantily clad women including

catgirl A is a female kemonomimi character with feline traits, such as , a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres and in particular Japanese anime and manga. Catboy is a term ...

s. After each boss is defeated, Blow and Falla interact with the women. Blow

ejaculates Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the male reproductory tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential componen ...

into the boss character to cure them from the virus.

Development and release

''Steam-Heart's'' was developed by

and published by TGL. The character designs were done by animator

Takahiro Kimura is a Japanese animator, illustrator and character designer. Works *'' City Hunter 3'' ( Key animation) *'' Idol Tenshi Yokoso Yōko'' (Key animation) *'' Dirty Pair Flash'' (Character design, animation director) *''Mobile Fighter G Gundam'' ...

. The game is unusual for combining a shooting game with eroticism, as Japanese erotic games are more typically genres like role playing,

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

, strategy, or even

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...

s. It was originally released for the NEC PC-9800 series of personal computers in Japan on March 15, 1994. The game's first

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

was on March 22, 1996 for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² System. For this release, all the graphics were redrawn, the secondary weapons were weakened or removed altogether, and the two-player mode was pulled. It was released near the end of the system's lifespan as its last shooter. A port for the Sega Saturn was released on September 23, 1998, as the Saturn was beginning to lose market share. The Saturn version comes with a small yellow seal warning of the erotic content of the game. The game did not receive a red seal, which is for even more explicit content. Again, all the graphics were redrawn, but this version retains the cooperative mode and also includes more secondary weapons. The Saturn version also makes more use of the scaling and rotation effects supported by the hardware.

Eroge An ''eroge'' ( or , ''erogē''; ; a portmanteau of ''erotic game'' , ''erochikku gēmu'') is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. In 1982, Japan's Koei, founded by husband-and-wife team Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa (and later known for strate ...

was known for being more graphic on personal computers than consoles, so when the game was ported to the PC Engine and Saturn, the cutscenes were completely redrawn to be less graphic, albeit more suggestive. The scenes on the Saturn are not visually explicit, but are fully voice acted, including sounds of moans. The Saturn version is the most censored. The text scrolling in the original was also replaced with voice acting in the console versions.

Reception

''PC Engine Fan'' praised the quality of the cutscene graphics and character designs in a preview of the PC Engine version. ''Revival'' did not find the game to be much of a technical feat, despite coming out towards the end of the system's life. They felt the game was enjoyable but ultimately found it to be a weaker offering than other shooters on the system such as '' Gate of Thunder'' (1992). Reviewing the Saturn version, Ralph Karels in ''Video Games'' magazine wrote that the game was standard shooter fare, and was only worthwhile for those that enjoyed the erotic cutscenes. He believed the game could not stand up to the likes 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 ...

'' and ''

R-Type Delta is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Irem and released for the PlayStation console in 1998. It is the fourth game in the ''R-Type'' series and the first to feature 3D graphics. The game received generally positive reviews from critics. Ga ...

'' (both released in 1998), and found the graphics were not much of an improvement over the PC Engine version. Four reviewers for ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' gave the Saturn version a score of 17/40. Three reviewers covered the game in ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' (Japan). The two more critical reviewers felt the gameplay was unbalanced and generally uninspired. One criticized how the cutscenes would show still images for too long while the voices continued on top, and they compared the game to old

for personal computers. The more receptive reviewer appreciated the erotic themes, and felt the bullet hell gameplay was balanced and enjoyable. ''Super Game Power'' was also receptive of the game giving it a positive score. ''Superjuegos'' noted that aside from the erotic content, the game can't compete in terms of graphics or gameplay to games like ''

'' or '' Galactic Attack''. In a retrospective review, Kurt Kalata of ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' wrote that beyond the unique approach to cinematics and the dodge mechanic, the game does very little to distinguish itself from other shooters. He deemed the Saturn version the best because of the improved graphics and gameplay, and the PC Engine version the worst because of cut content and slower gameplay. He believed the Saturn version was better than most '' Raiden'' games, worse than ''

Dodonpachi is a vertically-scrolling bullet hell shoot' em up developed by Cave (company), Cave and published by Atlus in 1997. It was the second game developed by Cave, and the sixth on Cave's first-generation arcade hardware. As with its predecessor '' ...

'' and ''

Terra Diver Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

'' (both 1997), and about on par with ''

Batsugun is a 1993 vertically scrolling bullet hell arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe by Taito, as well as Korea by Unite Trading. The last shoot 'em up created by Toaplan, the title takes place on a di ...

'' (1996).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steam-Heart's 1994 video games Cooperative video games Eroge Erotic video games Japan-exclusive video games NEC PC-9801 games Sega Saturn games TurboGrafx-CD games Vertically scrolling shooters Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists