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Vanguard (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
is a 1981 arcade game
developed by TOSE
, and published by SNK
in Japan
in 1981 and later during the same year in Germany
by the same publisher, while it was licensed to Centuri
for manufacture in North America
in October 1981 and by Zaccaria
in Italy
during the same year, putting SNK on the map in those regions. The game was also licensed to Cinematronics
for conversion to cocktail arcade cabinets in North America.
The game is known as one of the first scrolling shooters ever made that allowed scrolling
in multiple directions, and is additionally notable by being the first shoot 'em up
where a player can shoot in four different directions. Also, unlike other comparable games at the time, Vanguard was unique in that the player must focus on avoiding obstacles while firing in order to survive; which made this game a precursor to Konami
's Gradius
and Irem's R-Type
. It also has the distinction of being the first colored game released by SNK. It was also an early example of a dual-control game, similar to the later Robotron 2084, but using four directional buttons rather than a second joystick.
Vanguard was followed up by a sequel, Vanguard II, which is similar to the original but with gameplay and graphical improvements. However, unlike the original; the gameplay is similar to Xevious
with the ability to fly in multiple directions, and there were no home console nor computer ports of Vanguard II released until SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 0 for the Sony
PlayStation Portable
.
, in the sense that the player controls a ship with a limited amount of fuel that constantly depletes. Some zones start off primarily as a horizontal scroller, but in some zones, the ship flies vertically. Also, at the end of each zone the player must defeat a boss that is guarded by two moving force fields with holes in them while scrolling vertically. There are a total of ten zones in the game: Mountain Zone, Rainbow Zone, Styx Zone, Rainbow Zone 2, Stripe Zone, Rainbow Zone 3, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery/Last Zone. The second tunnel consists of in order Mountain Zone, Stripe Zone, Styx Zone, Rainbow Zone, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery/Last Zone. The player loses a life if fuel runs completely out, but gains more as enemies are destroyed.
The ship can independently fire lasers in any of the four cardinal directions using the four buttons. By securing the energy pods, a short time of invulnerability can be granted. This turns the ship effectively into a weapon, and the enemies change attack patterns to avoid the player.
The player must constantly avoid colliding with the walls, which change in thickness and visual appearance all throughout the stages. The walls can be used defensively to avoid oncoming enemy fire. Pushing the joystick opposite the direction of scrolling allows the player to temporarily "park" the ship with respect to the direction of scrolling. This maneuver may be performed while the ship is protected by a wall, allowing enemy ships and their fusillade to pass without harm.
and Atari 5200
home consoles.
Vanguard uses a number of custom sound chips to produce digitized voice
s and custom synthesizer sounds. The speech is used to announce the name of the current zone or the next zone that is about to be entered. Theme music composed by Jerry Goldsmith
for the 1979 sci-fi film Star Trek: The Motion Picture
, later utilized for Star Trek: The Next Generation
, is borrowed as Vanguard's introductory theme. Vultan's theme (composed by Queen's
Freddie Mercury
) from the 1980 movie Flash Gordon
is used as the sound effect when a power-up is attained. A Vanguard unit appeared in the 1982 movie Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again
.
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 TOSE
TOSE
is a video game development company based in Kyoto, Japan. It is most known for developing Nintendo's Game & Watch Gallery series, various Dragon Ball games, as well as other Nintendo products...
, and published by SNK
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1981 and later during the same year in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
by the same publisher, while it was licensed to Centuri
Centuri
Centuri, based in Hialeah, Florida, was one of the top six suppliers of coin operated video game machinery in the United States. Many of the machines distributed in the US under the Centuri name were licensed from overseas manufacturers, particularly Konami....
for manufacture in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in October 1981 and by Zaccaria
Zaccaria
Zaccaria is a surname, and may refer to:* Anthony Maria Zaccaria* Bartolomeo Zaccaria* Benedetto I Zaccaria* Benedetto II Zaccaria* Centurione II Zaccaria* Francesco Antonio Zaccaria* Martino Zaccaria* Nicola Zaccaria...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the same year, putting SNK on the map in those regions. The game was also licensed to Cinematronics
Cinematronics
Cinematronics Incorporated was a pioneering arcade game developer that had its heyday in the era of vector display games. While other companies released games based on raster displays, early in their history, Cinematronics and Atari released vector-display games, which offered a distinctive look...
for conversion to cocktail arcade cabinets in North America.
The game is known as one of the first scrolling shooters ever made that allowed scrolling
Scrolling
In computer graphics, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display. "Scrolling", as such, does not change the layout of the text or pictures, or but incrementally moves the user's view across what is...
in multiple directions, and is additionally notable by being the first 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...
where a player can shoot in four different directions. Also, unlike other comparable games at the time, Vanguard was unique in that the player must focus on avoiding obstacles while firing in order to survive; which made this game a precursor to Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
and Irem's R-Type
R-Type
is a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. The player controls a space fighter named R-9a "Arrowhead" to defend humanity against a mysterious but powerful alien life-form known as "Bydo", which was later discovered to be not entirely alien in origin...
. It also has the distinction of being the first colored game released by SNK. It was also an early example of a dual-control game, similar to the later Robotron 2084, but using four directional buttons rather than a second joystick.
Vanguard was followed up by a sequel, Vanguard II, which is similar to the original but with gameplay and graphical improvements. However, unlike the original; the gameplay is similar to Xevious
Xevious
is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1982. It was designed by Masanobu Endō. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. In Brazil the arcade cabinet was printed with the name 'COLUMBIA' for the game, while the...
with the ability to fly in multiple directions, and there were no home console nor computer ports of Vanguard II released until SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 0 for the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
.
Plot
The Gond has been terrorizing nearby space colonies with its periodic raids of destruction. The time has come to put an end to his reign of terror. The player has been selected to pilot an advanced fighter ship with high offensive capabilities, and must enter the cave inside the asteroid where the Gond makes his home, and safely fly through every zone; the Mountain Zone, Rainbow Zone, Styx Zone, Stripe Zone, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery (aka Last Zone) where the Gond is rumored to reside. The player must take the Gond out, and succeed in the mission. If unsuccessful, the colonies will be doomed.Gameplay
Vanguard is very similar to ScrambleScramble (arcade game)
Scramble is a 1981 horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up, arcade game. It was developed by Konami, and manufactured and distributed by Stern in North America. It was the first side-scrolling shooter with forced scrolling and multiple distinct levels...
, in the sense that the player controls a ship with a limited amount of fuel that constantly depletes. Some zones start off primarily as a horizontal scroller, but in some zones, the ship flies vertically. Also, at the end of each zone the player must defeat a boss that is guarded by two moving force fields with holes in them while scrolling vertically. There are a total of ten zones in the game: Mountain Zone, Rainbow Zone, Styx Zone, Rainbow Zone 2, Stripe Zone, Rainbow Zone 3, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery/Last Zone. The second tunnel consists of in order Mountain Zone, Stripe Zone, Styx Zone, Rainbow Zone, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery/Last Zone. The player loses a life if fuel runs completely out, but gains more as enemies are destroyed.
The ship can independently fire lasers in any of the four cardinal directions using the four buttons. By securing the energy pods, a short time of invulnerability can be granted. This turns the ship effectively into a weapon, and the enemies change attack patterns to avoid the player.
The player must constantly avoid colliding with the walls, which change in thickness and visual appearance all throughout the stages. The walls can be used defensively to avoid oncoming enemy fire. Pushing the joystick opposite the direction of scrolling allows the player to temporarily "park" the ship with respect to the direction of scrolling. This maneuver may be performed while the ship is protected by a wall, allowing enemy ships and their fusillade to pass without harm.
Ports and related releases
Vanguard was ported by Atari, Inc. to the Atari 2600Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
and Atari 5200
Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600...
home consoles.
Vanguard uses a number of custom sound chips to produce digitized voice
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
s and custom synthesizer sounds. The speech is used to announce the name of the current zone or the next zone that is about to be entered. Theme music composed by Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
for the 1979 sci-fi film Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
, later utilized for Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, is borrowed as Vanguard's introductory theme. Vultan's theme (composed by Queen's
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
) from the 1980 movie Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (film)
Flash Gordon is a 1980 British/American science fiction film, based on the comic strip of the same name created by Alex Raymond. The film was directed by Mike Hodges and produced and presented by Dino De Laurentiis. It stars Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian...
is used as the sound effect when a power-up is attained. A Vanguard unit appeared in the 1982 movie Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again
Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again
Jekyll and Hyde...Together Again is a 1982 comedy based on the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film is more like a cross between the original story and some aspects of The Nutty Professor...
.
External links
- http://www.centuri.net/vanguard.htmVanguard at the CenturiCenturiCenturi, based in Hialeah, Florida, was one of the top six suppliers of coin operated video game machinery in the United States. Many of the machines distributed in the US under the Centuri name were licensed from overseas manufacturers, particularly Konami....
.net Arcade Database] - Vanguard at arcade-history