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is a
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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 by
Arsys Software Arsys Software (アルシスソフトウェア), later known as Cyberhead (サイバーヘッド), was a Japanese video game video game developer, software development company active from 1985 to 2001. Overview The company was founded as Arsys ...
and released in Japan for the
PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the three major Japane ...
and X1 home computers in
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. The game was released for the
PC-9801 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 ...
and
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 Megahertz, MHz Motorola 68000 Central processing unit, CPU, 1 Megabytes, MB of Random Access Memory, RAM ...
computers in
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, and then ported by
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(NCS) to the
Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...
in
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. The game is an early example of an
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
with fully 3D polygon graphics,スタークルーザーtranslation
4Gamer.net
combined with
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 ...
gameplay and space flight simulation when exploring the open-ended
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
with
six degrees of freedom Six degrees of freedom (6DOF) refers to the six mechanical degrees of freedom of movement of a rigid body in three-dimensional space. Specifically, the body is free to change position as forward/backward (surge), up/down (heave), left/right ...
. All backgrounds, objects, and opponents in the game are rendered in 3D polygons, years before the technique was widely adopted. The game emphasized storytelling, with plot twists and extensive character dialogues, taking place in a futuristic
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
setting.
Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
licensed the Mega Drive version of ''Star Cruiser'' for a North American release entitled ''Star Quest'', which Namco planned to publish for the Sega Genesis in July 1994. However, the North American release of ''Star Quest'' was eventually canceled.


Plot

The game is set in the future, when 200 years have passed since Central Earth ended a war that began when humans made first contact with aliens. The balance of power, however, is being jeopardized by the militaristic nation VOID, which is attempting to deport all aliens from civilized society, and by the remains of the Earth Federation, the Federation Patrol. VOID is planning to wage war and take control of the galaxy, but a small battalion on the Ganymede satellite of
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
is being trained to resist VOID. The story begins with protagonist Brian training in a simulation set up by his friend and comrade, Gibson, and instructed by his trusted droid, Freddy. After he finishes training, Brian goes to a restaurant, where he is given the news on VOID, which has a nearby base that acts as a stronghold and is sending out threatening enemies. The team cannot confront them directly because of an energy field protecting the base from ordinary weaponry. However, Brian is asked to lead a
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
attack, with a starship that can temporarily charge through the energy field with Shield Buster technology. Brian is tasked with crashing into the fortress and destroying it from the inside, and stealing a prototype spacecraft, the Star Cruiser, to even the odds in the war. Shortly after the briefing, however, their own Ganymede base is attacked by VOID. The protagonist eventually embarks on a quest involving the exploration of the galaxy.


Characters

Hunter Guild Side * Brian Wright: The main character of this game. A very well spoken man with a calm personality, the game's female lead Diana renders him to be somewhat of a cold-hearted hero. The Galactic Federal Ambassador told Brian that he had quite special qualities and talents as a Space Diplomat; if the current ambassador of the human race on the human side dies due to an unexpected accident, there is a possibility that it may be forced to take prolongation measures, possibly making Brian the leader. In ''Star Cruiser MD'', Brian's name is freely attached to the player, as they can choose the name that they want to have throughout the campaign, though leaving the box empty delivers "Brian" as the default name, resemblant to how naming was handled in ''
Phantasy Star II ''Phantasy Star II'' (Japanese: ファンタシースターII 還らざる時の終わりに, "Phantasy Star II: At the End of the Restoration") is a science fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. It ...
''; because the game allowed for a custom name for a silent protagonist, ''Star Cruiser MD'' made it possible for the player to imagine that they were playing the game as a woman, though the notation of "he" during lines where Brian is described ultimately debunked this concept. * Freddie (''Star Cruiser MD'' only): A robot who speaks on behalf of Brian in ''Star Cruiser MD''. According to his own words in the game, he can't help his tendency to speak because Brian is silent. In the original PC-88 version and its ports, a generic COM Unit is in Freddie's place as part of a computer mounted in Brian's Star Cruiser and Land Tank vehicles, and it exists only to explain the situations that occur when using the "check" and "move" commands in-game. There has been speculation among fans that Freddie was possibly named after
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
singer
Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
, though this has yet to be confirmed by any of the Mega Drive version's developers. * Daniel Gibson: Brian's best friend. While at Jupiter's "Big Red Team," Brian took over VOID's latest ship (in this case, the Star Cruiser) at that time; it seems that the name of the team came from the name of a cocktail containing a Pearl Onion instead of a Martini Olive. In ''Star Cruiser II: The Odysseus Project'', because the grandchild of Hidari Daigo (Sakai Daigo in ''Star Cruiser MD''), Yuko, is a lover of Daniel, the relationship between the two is not accepted by Daigo, and it seems that Daniel had to respond to consultation threatened by Brian and Diana once or twice, on the matter. * Diana Gurdis: A female crew member worried about Brian, she is considered to be a heroine in the story. While on an alien planet, looking at one of the restaurants' fast food menus, somebody said to her "You are a star full of aliens," in description of Earth's people; in response, she tells them "This is not the star of an alien: We (the people of Earth) are aliens." * Hidari Daigo (Sakai Daigo in ''Star Cruiser MD''): A scientist who was captured by VOID and was the developer of the Star Cruiser. Yuko is his grandchild. * Masashi Clark: Head Leader of the Sol Star System Hunters. VOID Side *Bio: A computer which was placed inside the Star Cruiser while Hidari was unaware; fought inside the ship. After the system was defeated, it was converted into both a Guest and Conference Room. *VOID-MAX (Guist Needeman in ''Star Cruiser MD''): An alien whose primary purpose is to guide the activities of terrorism in an attempt to establish a Human Only universe. *NUKE (Nucleus): A source of emerging drugs. NUKE is not just a drug, however: It is a biological weapon released by descendants of the tribe who had been forced into slavery and obedience to the empire made by the ancestors of human beings in order to destroy mankind.


Gameplay

The game involves the exploration of four solar systems with over 30 planets and dozens of characters. It is viewed entirely from a
first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
, with 3D polygon graphics used to represent outdoor environments, trees, benches, buildings, and other objects, as well as enemies. The gameplay can vary depending on the environment. In a city, the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
can move around town and enter various buildings to interact with
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s, who are represented with an
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
-like appearance, or leave the city and go into outer space. When the player goes into outer space, they can fly to other planets, moving around in free flight, but occasionally encountering enemies and engaging in
space combat Space warfare is hypothetical combat in which one or more belligerents are situated in outer space. The scope of space warfare therefore includes ''ground-to-space warfare'', such as attacking satellites from the Earth; ''space-to-space warfare ...
. There is an autopilot feature available, setting the spacecraft to automatically go to a set destination, but the player may still encounter enemies along the way. There is also a warp feature available, allowing the player to warp to different locations, but this requires energy. On various planet surfaces, the player will explore enemy bases and combat enemies on the ground. At enemy bases, the game plays like a
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 ...
, exploring a dungeon while moving,
strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
and shooting enemies in a first-person perspective. Enemy bases usually need to be cleared by finding hidden keys, unlocking doors and finding key items and objects. It does not use a traditional
levelling Levelling or leveling (American English; American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, see spelling differences) is a branch of surveying, the object of which is to establish or verify or measure the height of sp ...
system, but uses various
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
elements. The player can acquire different weapons and can customize craft to an extent, while needing to upgrade equipment, the shields that behave like
hit point Health is an attribute in a video game or tabletop game that determines the maximum amount of damage or loss of stamina that a character or object can take before dying or losing consciousness. In role-playing games, this typically takes the for ...
s, the space craft's speed of movement in outer space, and the
energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
needed to move around, shoot, travel and warp between destinations. The player can also go to a mechanic to repair equipment and shields as well as restore energy.


Differences in Star Cruiser MD

* The name of the protagonist can be changed. * Daiseki is a Restaurant; as Kanji is not used in ''Star Cruiser MD'', this is the name of what would otherwise be the bar for Big Red Group. * The 3D stages on each planet and station fully utilize the gameplay of Labyrinth Warfare, and battle seamlessly occurs in the labyrinth in Realtime without shifting from the maze to the battlefield, as how the PC-88 version and its ports had done. This battle style would later be adopted by and used outright in ''Star Cruiser II''. * Since there is no concept of money, there is no need to do grinding from the Space Pirates when traveling; if you go to a dock, service is always free, the shield will be repaired and the fuel can refill. * Hidari Daigo and Yuko's surname is changed to Sakai. * Portrayal of the Solar Wind Base is partly different. * Only the Cutty Sark, the Red Star Cruiser, shows up in this game, never will the Blue Star Cruiser appear.


Reception

The home computer versions were critically acclaimed. The original PC-8801 and X1 versions won two 1988 awards from Japanese computer magazines, including Best Adventure Game from ''
POPCOM Popcom (an abbreviation of Popular Communications) was a line of modems marketed by the Prentice Corporation of Sunnyvale, California, introduced in 1984. The line comprised six models—X100, X150, C100, C150, C200, C250—the ''C'' models bei ...
'' and Best Special Effects from '' Oh!X''. The X68000 version also won several 1989 awards from Japanese computer magazines, including Best Action Game and overall Best Software from ''
LOGiN In computer security, logging in (or logging on, signing in, or signing on) is the process by which an individual gains access to a computer system by identifying and authenticating themselves. The user credentials are typically some form ...
'', and Best Special Effects from ''Oh!X''. The X68000 version was also a runner-up for two other 1989 awards from ''Oh!X'', coming third place for Best Theme Music (below ''
Bosconian is a multidirectional scrolling shooter arcade game which was developed and released by Namco in Japan in 1981. In North America, it was manufactured and distributed by Midway Games. The goal of the game is to earn as many points as possible by ...
'' and ''
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'') and fourth place for overall
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(below ''
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'', ''Genocide'' and ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the approp ...
''). The Mega Drive/Genesis
console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...
version was generally well received. In Japan, ''
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'' (now ''Famitsu'') gave the Mega Drive version a score of 24 out of 40. In North America, the June 1994 issue of ''
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 ...
'', in its "Fact Files" section, reviewed Namco's unreleased Sega Genesis version, noting that the English
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was 100% complete. They gave it a positive review, stating that it "packs a good blend of action and
role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
" along with a "
strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
" theme, exploration and character interaction. They criticized the space flight segments for "imperfect and hazy" controls, but praised the game overall for providing "hours of solid gameplay."''
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 ...
'', issue 59, June 1994, page 190
In the United Kingdom, however, the September 1993 issue of ''
Sega Power ''Sega Power'', initially known as ''S: The Sega Magazine'', was a Future publication aimed at the Sega range of consoles, including the Master System, Mega Drive, Game Gear and later on the Mega-CD, 32X and Saturn. The magazine was later re ...
'' criticized the Japanese import version of ''Star Cruiser'', stating it is "unplayable" because of the Japanese-language "question and response" scenes, giving it a one-star score. Japanese site 4gamer retrospectively reviewed the game in 2008 and described it as a "masterpiece". Sega-16 reviewed the English fan translation in 2016 and gave it a positive review, calling it "a top notch game" with "Impressive 3D graphics, well drawn manga character design, quite good music and a very well written plot".


Legacy

In 2008, video game designer
Hideki Kamiya is a Japanese video game designer and director who is the vice-president of PlatinumGames. He began his career in 1994 with Capcom, where he directed ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), ''Devil May Cry'' (2001), ''Viewtiful Joe'' (2003), and ''Ōkami' ...
listed ''Star Cruiser'' among his favorite games of all time. The PC-8801 and X68000 versions of ''Star Cruiser'' was released for Windows in Japan on April 29, 2008 and November 29, 2011, respectively. In September 2016, an English translation beta patch was released through
ROM hacking ROM hacking is the process of modifying a ROM image, ROM image or ROM file of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, levels, gameplay, and/or other elements. This is usually done by technically inclined video game fans to improve an ...
, followed by a complete translation patch in November 2016.


Sequel

The game's sequel, ''Star Cruiser II: The Odysseus Project'', was released in
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
でんげき~別館~
'' Dengeki''
for the PC-9821 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. ...
computers;日記(バックナンバー)


, '' Dengeki''
it has since seen an English Translation for the PC-98. Although a port of ''Star Cruiser II'' was planned for MS-DOS, it is unknown as to whether or not it was ever developed or even released.


See also

*
History of Eastern role-playing video games While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia come Video games in Japan, from Japan, many have also been Video games in South Korea, developed in South Korea and Video games in China, in China. ...


References

{{reflist


External links


''Star Cruiser'' series
at
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1988 video games 1989 video games 1990 video games Action role-playing video games First-person shooters FM Towns games Sharp X1 games NEC PC-8801 games NEC PC-9801 games Sharp X68000 games Sega Genesis games Video games developed in Japan