Pulstar (Shoot Em Up) (Arcade)

1995 · shooter · Arcade · The Data Archivist V0.01

PLAY ONLINE : https://archive.org/details/arcade_pulstar VIDEO LONGPLAY : https://archive.org/details/ExMosquitoPulstar Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulstar_(video_game) Pulstar [ a ] is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for arcades by SNK in 1995. Players control a starship in its mission to eradicate the Solar System of a hostile race of aliens that threaten mankind. Its gameplay has been compared to the R-Type series for its similar premise and mechanics; players must complete each of the game's eight stages by destroying constantly-moving formations of enemies and avoiding their projectiles. There are power-ups that can be collected that provide additional abilities for the player. It runs on the Neo Geo MVS arcade system board. Developed by Aicom , Pulstar is the first Neo Geo game to incorporate 3D pre-rendered visuals. Its music was composed by Harumi Fujita and Yasuaki Fujita , both of whom previously worked for Capcom on the Ghosts'n Goblins series. Pulstar has been ported and re-released several times, seeing conversions for systems like the Neo Geo CD and digital storefronts such as the Wii Virtual Console . The game and its re-releases have received mixed reviews from critics, who felt its gameplay and graphics were good but its difficulty was too high and it lacked originality. A sequel named Blazing Star was released in 1998, which aimed to correct the flaws present in the original. Gameplay The player facing off against a boss Pulstar is a horizontally scrolling shooter in the same vein as the R-Type series. [ 1 ] The player controls a starship, the Dino246, in its mission to protect the entirety of the Solar System from a hostile race of aliens. There are eight stages total, which become progressively more difficult as the player progresses. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] They scroll automatically, and the player is given a free range of movement. In these levels, the player must destroy constantly-moving waves of enemies and avoiding their projectiles, as well as dodging moving obstacles. [ 4 ] Levels conclude with a boss that must be defeated. The player's main form of attack is a forward-moving projectile. The player can hold down the button to charge their attack, with its power indicated by a meter at the bottom of the screen; the blue half creates a powerful charge shot, while the red half creates a barrage of rapid blasts. [ 1 ] Players can also acquire an auxiliary drone that acts as a shield by protecting them from enemy fire. It can also be used as a battering ram to destroy smaller enemies. The drone can also be destroyed to create a powerful bomb attack that can destroy anything in its radius. [ 1 ] Destroying large carrier-like enemies drops a power-up item that grants different abilities. These include capsules that increase the player's speed and smaller ships that follow the player and provide additional firepower. [ 5 ] Pulstar Developer(s) Aicom Publisher(s) SNK Composer(s) Harumi Fujita Yasuaki Fujita Platform(s) Arcade , Windows , Neo Geo AES , Neo Geo CD Release Arcade JP : 28 August 1995 Neo Geo JP : 29 September 1995 Neo Geo CD NA / JP : 27 October 1995 Genre(s) Scrolling shooter Mode(s) Single-player , multiplayer Arcade system Neo Geo MVS