Daioh
Encyclopedia
Daioh is an arcade game
developed by Athena Co. Ltd., and released in the US by Sammy
in 1993. It is a conventional vertical-scrolling shooter
, but with uniquely immense enemies and bosses
.
is invaded by warrior aliens who worship crustacean deities and are looking for sacrifices and new believers when they discover Earth. With the alien's advanced technology
in mech construction, they cripple Earth's military with Earth's oldest religious structures being their first target; in their places the aliens build their extraterrestrial
temples and enslave mankind to serve in the alien's religious bidding. A strike team is eventually assembled to rid Earth of the aliens before they start running out of human sacrifice
s.
s in that the player had a trio of different weapon
s such as a vulcan cannon that, once powered up, spread out across the screen, a missile
barrage that would eventually launch homing missiles and an electrical-discharge weapon that would shock enemies until destroyed and could spread on to weaker enemies. Players were also able to accumulate bomb
s of various types. While the Japanese version used a typical power-up system where roaming colored icons change the player's weapon, similar to Toaplan
or Seibu Kaihatsu
games, the North American version had a very different gameplay system with a 6-button layout, where players had access to each weapon with a different button press, similar to Radiant Silvergun
.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
developed by Athena Co. Ltd., and released in the US by Sammy
Sega Sammy Holdings
is a Japanese holding company formed from a merger of Sega and Sammy. They were both very involved in the arcade business , and Sega's main fame comes from their console systems.-Background:...
in 1993. It is a conventional vertical-scrolling shooter
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
, but with uniquely immense enemies and bosses
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
.
Story
In the near future, EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
is invaded by warrior aliens who worship crustacean deities and are looking for sacrifices and new believers when they discover Earth. With the alien's advanced technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
in mech construction, they cripple Earth's military with Earth's oldest religious structures being their first target; in their places the aliens build their extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
temples and enslave mankind to serve in the alien's religious bidding. A strike team is eventually assembled to rid Earth of the aliens before they start running out of human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
s.
Gameplay
The gameplay to Daioh was typical of most shoot 'em upShoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
s in that the player had a trio of different weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s such as a vulcan cannon that, once powered up, spread out across the screen, a missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
barrage that would eventually launch homing missiles and an electrical-discharge weapon that would shock enemies until destroyed and could spread on to weaker enemies. Players were also able to accumulate bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s of various types. While the Japanese version used a typical power-up system where roaming colored icons change the player's weapon, similar to Toaplan
Toaplan
, sometimes written as Toa Plan, was a video game developer from Japan. They were responsible for the creation of a wide array of relatively famous scrolling shooters and arcade games, yet the company declared bankruptcy in 1994.-Games developed :...
or Seibu Kaihatsu
Seibu Kaihatsu
is a Japanese manufacturer of arcade games. They are best known for the Raiden series of games. The company was once called Seibu Denshi.-Games by Seibu-Kaihatsu:* Stinger * Kung-Fu Taikun * Knuckle Joe...
games, the North American version had a very different gameplay system with a 6-button layout, where players had access to each weapon with a different button press, similar to Radiant Silvergun
Radiant Silvergun
is a vertically scrolling shooter video game, developed by Treasure. It was released in arcades on the ST-V platform in 1998 and subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn, with added cutscenes by noted animation studio Gonzo...
.
Weapons
- Vulcan - plasmaPlasma (physics)In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
-machine gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s that fire straight forward, but spread out as the player collects upgrades. - Missiles - An array of homing missiles and straight firing rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s that increase in number with upgrades. - Lightning - Homing electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
weapon that seeks everything within the space-jet's range. - Bombs:
- Fire ring - A ring of fireFireFire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
that spirals out from the space jet and covers a fair radius of damage. - Large bomb - A large powerful bomb that detonates in front of the space jet and does a serious amount of damage, but has a small blast range.
- Laser bomb - Three large blue laserLaserA laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
beams that covers the vertical length of the ship, but only does acceptable damage.
- Fire ring - A ring of fire
Characters
- There has 4 characters in this game.
- Ellen Rose Casse is Female Pilot. (Player 1 and has red color)
- Ferris Catruss is Ellen Rose's Navi.
- Kulga Foot is Male Pilot. (Player 2 and has blue color)
- Cyan The Chess is Kulga's Navi.
Influence and appearance in other games
- A pseudo-sequel to the game entitled "Daioh Gale" appears as the sample level in Athena's 1994 title,
- A follow up to "Daioh Gale", "Daioh Gale ver.2" appears as the sample level in Athena's 1996 title,
- Many of the members of the Daioh team developed a 32-bit successor, called ShienryuShienryuIt is a PlayStation port of the original Shienryu. It adds following:*Pocket Mode: Presented in PocketStation graphics and effects , enemies appear as blocky heart-shaped craft and bullets are tiny gray blocks, all lacking graphical detail....
(1997). The games are remarkably similar, and feature an identical power-up system, and the first level of ShienryuShienryuIt is a PlayStation port of the original Shienryu. It adds following:*Pocket Mode: Presented in PocketStation graphics and effects , enemies appear as blocky heart-shaped craft and bullets are tiny gray blocks, all lacking graphical detail....
is a remake of the first stage of Daioh. - A parody of the game entitled "Daioh-P" appears as a sample level in Athena's 1997 Sega Saturn release,