Twin Cobra II[a] is a vertically scrolling shooterarcade video game developed by Takumi Corporation and published in 1995 by Taito in Japan, Asia and Europe.[2][3][4] It is the sequel to Twin Cobra from 1987. Taking place after the events of the previous game, players assume the role of two pilots taking control of their respective attack helicopters to overthrow the returning enemy forces.
Twin Cobra II was originally under development by Toaplan but the studio closed down in 1994. Taito allowed Toaplan offshoot Takumi Corporation to finish work on the project as their first release. Initially launched for the arcades, the game was later received a conversion for the Sega Saturn by Naxat Soft and published exclusively in Japan on 18 December 1997 under the name Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus, featuring changes and additions compared with the original version.
Twin Cobra II has been met with mixed critical reception from critics and reviewers alike since its release on the Saturn as an import title.
Twin Cobra II is a military-themed vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game that plays similarly to the previous Twin Cobra, where players take control of their respective attack helicopter through six levels in order to defeat the returning enemy forces.[5][6] The title initially appears to be very standard, as players control their craft over a constantly scrolling background and the scenery never stops moving until a helipad is reached. Players also have only two weapons at their disposal: the main gun that travels a max distance of the screen's height and three bombs capable of obliterating any enemy caught within its blast radius.[5][6] Like most other Toaplan games, non-Japanese versions have a lower difficulty level.
There are three types of weapons in the game that can be switched between after destroying incoming carriers by picking up color-changing "P" icons, ranging from the balanced "Red-Fang", the wide-area "Blue-Smasher" and a powerful green shot unique to each player side.[5][6] The blue helicopter (1P) is controlled by a male pilot and the "Thunder-Claw", while the red helicopter (2P) is controlled by a female pilot and the "Binchou-Laser".[5][6] Red and blue weapons require pressing the shoot button rapidly for more firepower; green weapons do not.[5][6] Players can convert normal bomb stocks to powerful "Hyper Bomb" by collecting "B" icons after reaching the full five stock of them.[5][6]
There are multiple scoring methods for reaching high-scores to obtain extra lives in the game apart from destroying enemies, which are awarded by reaching certain score thresholds. Points can be gained from collecting stars that increase their value after grabbing them. Dying resets the star's value back to their original state.[5][6] The game employs a respawn system where in which a downed single player will start off immediately at the location they died at. Getting hit by enemy fire will result in losing a live, as well as a penalty of decreasing the ship's firepower to its original state and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless the player inserts more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing. Unlike previous shoot 'em ups titles from Toaplan, there are no additional loops after completing the last stage.
Development and releaseedit
Twin Cobra II was originally under development by Toaplan but the company closed their doors in 1994 until Taito allowed Takumi Corporation, an offshoot of Toaplan, to finish work on the project as their first release.[6][7][8][9][10] Masahiro Yuge and Takayuki Chiba acted as the game's programmers.[8] Masanori Ōse alongside several artists were responsible for the pixel art.[8] Takashi Furukawa served as composer for the soundtrack under the alias "BLASTMAN-F".[8][10]
Twin Cobra II was released in arcades on 30 November 1995, using the Taito F3 System board.[5][11] On 17 May 1996, an album was co-published exclusively in Japan by Scitron and Pony Canyon, featuring an arranged song composed by Furukawa.[10] In December 1997, Twin Cobra II was ported to the Sega Saturn by Naxat Soft under the title Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus,[12] featuring an exclusive Saturn Mode with a new stage and other additions.[6]
In Japan, Game Machine listed Twin Cobra II on their March 15, 1996 issue as being the thirteenth most popular arcade game at the time.[16] The game has been met with mixed critical reception from critics and reviewers alike since its release on the Sega Saturn as Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus.[17]
Notesedit
^Also known as Kyukyoku Tiger II (Japanese: 究極タイガーII, Hepburn: Kyūkyoku Taigā Tsū, lit. "Ultimate Tiger II") in Japan.
Referencesedit
^Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). タイトー (Taito) (in Japanese) (1st ed.). Amusement News Agency. p. 45. ISBN978-4990251215. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^"Salon (AOU 96): Le Japon En Direct - Kyukyoku Tiger II". Consoles + (in French). No. 53. M.E.R.7. April 1996. p. 39.
^ ab"究極タイガーII PLUS レビュー・評価・感想 (セガサターン) - ファミ通.com". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 471. ASCII. 26 December 1997. p. 37.
^Szriftgiser, Gregory (February 1998). "Zoom - Zapping Japon/USA - Saturn - Tiger Heli II Plus". Joypad (in French). No. 72. Yellow Media. p. 88.
^"Now On Sale Saturn Soft Impression!! - 究極タイガーII PLUS". Saturn Fan (in Japanese). No. 24. Tokuma Shoten. December 26, 1997. p. 189.
^"Weekly Sega Saturn Soft Review - 究極タイガーII PLUS". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 81. SoftBank Creative. 26 December 1997. p. 220.
^"Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 514. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 March 1996. p. 25.
^Delpierre, Christophe; Seddiki, Reyda; Sam, Magic (March 1996). "L'arcade dépasse les bornes! - Tiger Heli II (Taito)". Player One (in French). No. 62. Média Système Édition. p. 30.
twin, cobra, vertically, scrolling, shooter, arcade, video, game, developed, takumi, corporation, published, 1995, taito, japan, asia, europe, sequel, twin, cobra, from, 1987, taking, place, after, events, previous, game, players, assume, role, pilots, taking,. Twin Cobra II a is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Takumi Corporation and published in 1995 by Taito in Japan Asia and Europe 2 3 4 It is the sequel to Twin Cobra from 1987 Taking place after the events of the previous game players assume the role of two pilots taking control of their respective attack helicopters to overthrow the returning enemy forces Twin Cobra IIDeveloper s TakumiPublisher s TaitoProgrammer s Masahiro YugeTakayuki ChibaArtist s Masanori ŌseSōji KomadaTakayoshi KusakaComposer s Takashi FurukawaSeriesTigerPlatform s Arcade SaturnReleaseWW 30 November 1995 1 Genre s Scrolling shooterMode s Single playerco opArcade systemTaito F3 SystemTwin Cobra II was originally under development by Toaplan but the studio closed down in 1994 Taito allowed Toaplan offshoot Takumi Corporation to finish work on the project as their first release Initially launched for the arcades the game was later received a conversion for the Sega Saturn by Naxat Soft and published exclusively in Japan on 18 December 1997 under the name Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus featuring changes and additions compared with the original version Twin Cobra II has been met with mixed critical reception from critics and reviewers alike since its release on the Saturn as an import title Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development and release 3 Reception 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksGameplay edit nbsp Arcade screenshotTwin Cobra II is a military themed vertically scrolling shoot em up game that plays similarly to the previous Twin Cobra where players take control of their respective attack helicopter through six levels in order to defeat the returning enemy forces 5 6 The title initially appears to be very standard as players control their craft over a constantly scrolling background and the scenery never stops moving until a helipad is reached Players also have only two weapons at their disposal the main gun that travels a max distance of the screen s height and three bombs capable of obliterating any enemy caught within its blast radius 5 6 Like most other Toaplan games non Japanese versions have a lower difficulty level There are three types of weapons in the game that can be switched between after destroying incoming carriers by picking up color changing P icons ranging from the balanced Red Fang the wide area Blue Smasher and a powerful green shot unique to each player side 5 6 The blue helicopter 1P is controlled by a male pilot and the Thunder Claw while the red helicopter 2P is controlled by a female pilot and the Binchou Laser 5 6 Red and blue weapons require pressing the shoot button rapidly for more firepower green weapons do not 5 6 Players can convert normal bomb stocks to powerful Hyper Bomb by collecting B icons after reaching the full five stock of them 5 6 There are multiple scoring methods for reaching high scores to obtain extra lives in the game apart from destroying enemies which are awarded by reaching certain score thresholds Points can be gained from collecting stars that increase their value after grabbing them Dying resets the star s value back to their original state 5 6 The game employs a respawn system where in which a downed single player will start off immediately at the location they died at Getting hit by enemy fire will result in losing a live as well as a penalty of decreasing the ship s firepower to its original state and once all lives are lost the game is over unless the player inserts more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing Unlike previous shoot em ups titles from Toaplan there are no additional loops after completing the last stage Development and release editTwin Cobra II was originally under development by Toaplan but the company closed their doors in 1994 until Taito allowed Takumi Corporation an offshoot of Toaplan to finish work on the project as their first release 6 7 8 9 10 Masahiro Yuge and Takayuki Chiba acted as the game s programmers 8 Masanori Ōse alongside several artists were responsible for the pixel art 8 Takashi Furukawa served as composer for the soundtrack under the alias BLASTMAN F 8 10 Twin Cobra II was released in arcades on 30 November 1995 using the Taito F3 System board 5 11 On 17 May 1996 an album was co published exclusively in Japan by Scitron and Pony Canyon featuring an arranged song composed by Furukawa 10 In December 1997 Twin Cobra II was ported to the Sega Saturn by Naxat Soft under the title Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus 12 featuring an exclusive Saturn Mode with a new stage and other additions 6 Reception editReceptionReview scoresPublicationScoreFamitsu Saturn 58 100 12 Joypad Saturn 25 13 Saturn Fan Saturn 5 3 10 14 Sega Saturn Magazine JP Saturn 4 66 10 15 In Japan Game Machine listed Twin Cobra II on their March 15 1996 issue as being the thirteenth most popular arcade game at the time 16 The game has been met with mixed critical reception from critics and reviewers alike since its release on the Sega Saturn as Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus 17 Notes edit Also known as Kyukyoku Tiger II Japanese 究極タイガーII Hepburn Kyukyoku Taiga Tsu lit Ultimate Tiger II in Japan References edit Akagi Masumi 13 October 2006 タイトー Taito in Japanese 1st ed Amusement News Agency p 45 ISBN 978 4990251215 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help 第9回 ゲーメスト大賞 究極タイガーII Gamest in Japanese No 162 Shinseisha January February 1996 96 AOU ショー 駄菓子屋ゲーセンよ 永遠に 究極タイガーII Gamest in Japanese No 167 Shinseisha 15 April 1996 アーケードゲーム業界サミット 究極タイガーII Gamest in Japanese No 170 Shinseisha 15 May 1996 a b c d e f g h Twin Cobra II arcade flyer Taito EU a b c d e f g h i Zverloff Nick 5 February 2011 Twin Cobra II Hardcore Gaming 101 Retrieved 2020 01 07 Overseas Readers Column Toaplan Goes Bust Game Machine in Japanese No 472 Amusement Press Inc 15 May 1994 p 26 a b c d Takumi Corporation 18 December 1997 Kyukyoku Tiger II Sega Saturn in Japanese Naxat Soft Level area Staff roll Neal David December 10 2008 A History of Toaplan Post Toaplan Insomnia a b c PCCB 00214 Kyuukyoku Tiger II vgmdb net VGMdb Retrieved 2020 01 07 Salon AOU 96 Le Japon En Direct Kyukyoku Tiger II Consoles in French No 53 M E R 7 April 1996 p 39 a b 究極タイガーII PLUS レビュー 評価 感想 セガサターン ファミ通 com Famitsu in Japanese No 471 ASCII 26 December 1997 p 37 Szriftgiser Gregory February 1998 Zoom Zapping Japon USA Saturn Tiger Heli II Plus Joypad in French No 72 Yellow Media p 88 Now On Sale Saturn Soft Impression 究極タイガーII PLUS Saturn Fan in Japanese No 24 Tokuma Shoten December 26 1997 p 189 Weekly Sega Saturn Soft Review 究極タイガーII PLUS Sega Saturn Magazine in Japanese No 81 SoftBank Creative 26 December 1997 p 220 Game Machine s Best Hit Games 25 TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア Video Game Software Game Machine in Japanese No 514 Amusement Press Inc 15 March 1996 p 25 Delpierre Christophe Seddiki Reyda Sam Magic March 1996 L arcade depasse les bornes Tiger Heli II Taito Player One in French No 62 Media Systeme Edition p 30 External links editOfficial website Arcade Official website Saturn Twin Cobra II at Killer List of Videogames Twin Cobra II at MobyGames Portals nbsp 1990s nbsp Japan nbsp Video games Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Twin Cobra II amp oldid 1216585132, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
