Skull Fang Ku-u-ga Gaiden
Encyclopedia
is a 1996
vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up
arcade game
developed and published by Data East
with the assistance of AiSystem. Skull Fang is the third and final game in the unannounced Vapor Trail
trilogy.
in 2001 where the militant/terrorist organization Ragnarok was quelled. Though Oceania
and the US were successful in their efforts, a significant number of mechs had secretly escaped destruction and after the seven years of silence finally reappear. The strongest of the mechs appears and begins decimating American cities at random, signifying the Ragnarok's latest assault on society.
During those seven years however, an air force unit based on the success of Operation Vapor Trail had been assembled; known as the Skull Fang squadron, the unit was founded in case the organization ever re-appeared. Consisting of four talented pilots whose personal backgrounds and information are withheld from each other, the team is sent to deal with the latest threat and to protect the terrorist's suspected target, the head quarters that house their unit leaders.
Players also can pick up a weapon attachment that increases weapon strength and ability depending on the jet known as the S-Unit. The S-Unit can charge its strength and ultimately change its attack pattern when the players use the manual five-speed option whereupon reaching the jet's highest gear, the weapon will temporarily change to a homing weapon known as H-Unit mode. However, the S-Unit attachment can be removed and thus detonated once players hit the Bomb button.
in 1997. This port adds several new things, such as a trial mode, a boss rush mode, a tutorial video and an additional speed mode which has two settings rather than five. Occasionally, the sprites suffer from flickering. Some arranged versions of songs from Vapor Trail are also included in the game disc as redbook audio
.
Home console version
1996 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....
vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up
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...
arcade game
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 and published by Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
with the assistance of AiSystem. Skull Fang is the third and final game in the unannounced Vapor Trail
Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation
Vapor Trail: Hyper Offense Formation, known in Japan as and usually simply referred to as Vapor Trail, is a 1989 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East...
trilogy.
Plot
Seven years have passed since the events of Wolf FangWolf Fang
, known outside of Japan as Rohga: Armor Force, is a 1991 run and gun/platform hybrid arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is the sequel to Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation and was followed by Skull Fang Kuhga Gaiden.-Plot:...
in 2001 where the militant/terrorist organization Ragnarok was quelled. Though Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
and the US were successful in their efforts, a significant number of mechs had secretly escaped destruction and after the seven years of silence finally reappear. The strongest of the mechs appears and begins decimating American cities at random, signifying the Ragnarok's latest assault on society.
During those seven years however, an air force unit based on the success of Operation Vapor Trail had been assembled; known as the Skull Fang squadron, the unit was founded in case the organization ever re-appeared. Consisting of four talented pilots whose personal backgrounds and information are withheld from each other, the team is sent to deal with the latest threat and to protect the terrorist's suspected target, the head quarters that house their unit leaders.
Gameplay
Skull Fang brings back the gameplay of Vapor Trail. Players choose one of four jets set among the Skull Fang - a flying aircraft carrier - as well as a pilot to fly the jet and attack enemy squadrons and battalions world wide.Jets
Players start the game by first selecting their jet, each jet containing a different bomb or special attack.- F/AV-1B Silph II, US Navy - A jet with average speed and strength. Its special attack consists of an impenetrable shield that can allow the jet to KamikazeKamikazeThe were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
into other vehicles. - AV-02A Mega-Valkyrie, US Army - A jet-plane with slow speed and maneuverability, but good strength. It carries a large bomb that can clear the screen of most enemies.
- FV-03C Seylen-Ex - The fastest jet in the line-up, though the weakest. It has guns mounted near its tail allowing it to fire in two directions.
- BV-04 SIF, Sub-Space Development - A recently developed space-jet with the best handling over the others.
Pilots
Players then choose their pilot, all known only by each other's code names.- Hawk - A hot-headed and moody male fighter pilot.
- Raven - A caucasian, smooth-talking and unusually calm male bomber pilot.
- Sparrow - An easy-going and somewhat cheerful, English speaking female fighter pilot.
- Crane - A diligent and patriotic Japanese female GanguroGanguroGanguro is an alternative fashion trend of blonde or orange hair and tanned skin among young Japanese women that peaked in popularity around the year 2000. The Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo were the centers of ganguro fashion...
bomber pilot.
Weapons
The weapon pick-ups include the following.- Vulcan - Standard-automatic firing machine gun that fires straight forward in a hail of bullets, but can also fire backwards (depending on the jet selected). Covers a wide range of fire, but is significantly weak.
- Cluster shot - A weapon consisting of green circulating shots that proffer a 'shot-gun effect' type of fire in that it spreads the further it travels.
- Missiles - Multiple homing missiles that fire from six different directions on the jet.
- Laser gun - A dual, straight firing laser weapon that increases in strength with upgrades, but does not cover a wide range of fire.
Players also can pick up a weapon attachment that increases weapon strength and ability depending on the jet known as the S-Unit. The S-Unit can charge its strength and ultimately change its attack pattern when the players use the manual five-speed option whereupon reaching the jet's highest gear, the weapon will temporarily change to a homing weapon known as H-Unit mode. However, the S-Unit attachment can be removed and thus detonated once players hit the Bomb button.
Sega Saturn version
Skull Fang was later ported by Data East to the Sega SaturnSega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
in 1997. This port adds several new things, such as a trial mode, a boss rush mode, a tutorial video and an additional speed mode which has two settings rather than five. Occasionally, the sprites suffer from flickering. Some arranged versions of songs from Vapor Trail are also included in the game disc as redbook audio
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
.
External links
Arcade version- Skull Fang Kuhga Gaiden at arcade-history
Home console version