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Passagem Secreta Presents

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It's not a secret to anyone to say that Sega in the 80s was very successful in the arcades with games like Space Harrier, Hang-On and Out Run,

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that sought new gaming experiences with spectacular graphics for its time.

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These games have become classics constantly revived with new ports or even sequels.

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However, there is a game of the company that belongs to this category,

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but it always goes unnoticed by the lovers of old stuff.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the review of Galaxy Force II.

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The machine, released in 1988,

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offered a great alternative to the success After Burner was doing,

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and like this game, it is a continuation which the original game was never released.

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Sega's things, eh.

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But instead of shooting down enemy fighters,

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this time the player is put in control of a spacecraft

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passing by various planets with the aim of overthrowing the oppressive empire and all that usual stuff.

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But the gameplay is a bit more complex, take a look:

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the spacecraft starts with a certain amount of energy that decreases constantly.

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By defeating enemies with shots and lock-on missiles,

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the player accumulates more bonus energy that on some key points of the stage is added to the remaining energy the spacecraft has.

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The spacecraft also begins with a shield that after three or four attacks breaks up.

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Thereafter, any shot, hit or catastrophe deducts directly from the energy of the spacecraft,

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making things more complex than ever before.

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The stages consist in parts in open field and others in a closed tunnel,

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until you reach the core of the enemy base that must be immediately destroyed.

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Very original, eh?

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Early on, the game gives you the chance to choose which chapter to start,

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and you can even do certain strategies through this scheme,

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since you can choose a more difficult stage in the beginning, and then go to other less complicated later.

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The control scheme of spacecraft is very interesting,

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having a normal joystick and a special lever for acceleration and brakes, that is important at some times like this one.

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The deluxe version of the arcade cabinet had a hydraulic system that moved according to the action,

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showing once again the concern of Sega to offer an unique gaming experience,

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culminating in the terrifying R360 a few years later.

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>>Boy: I wanna get off!

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>>Rafael Fernandes: Anyway, the graphics were sensational at the time,

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using the maximum of the scale of sprites effects, rotation and any of that,

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Galaxy Force had very advanced graphics and much originality of design.

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It's really amazing how some elements of scenery

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would only be seen in some console in a decent shape only a few years later.

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On the other hand, the sound is great.

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The sound effects of shots and explosions are very well done.

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The game's soundtrack consists of great compositions,

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that somehow the instrumentation of the arcade sound chip does not match.

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Produced by Katsuhiro Hayashi and Koichi Namiki,

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this one with mustache and beret (no references, of course),

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the songs were rearranged in various ways by Sega,

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like this arrangement of Beyond the Galaxy, the music of the first stage, done by the S.S.T. Band.

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Galaxy Force Medley
Extracted from the S.S.T. Band Live History DVD

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Given these positive features about the game,

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why Galaxy Force is not as remembered as other classic Sega franchises?

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Well, let's speculate: the game is difficult and too complicated;

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of course you can say that After Burner drained the pockets of the players,

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but it did not have a scheme of decreasing energy style that only replenished for every downed enemy and that was only supplied at key points on the map.

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It was something much simpler than that.

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I have the slight impression that this excess of complexity in the end condemned the game.

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Now, a concrete fact which may have ended any chance of creating a franchise

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is associated with the ports that Sega did for consoles.

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It's okay that Galaxy Force has stunning graphics and special effects,

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and would be almost impossible to replicate at home without a hell of a kludge.

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However, rather than engage in doing something decent, like the ports of Out Run and After Burner, for example,

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the company simply threw it all away and turned the Master System version into a game with totally meaningless existence,

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as you can see in this freak there.

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As if that were not enough, the Mega Drive version fell into the hands of a company called CRI,

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that have done a job so badly that only a few could do such a thing.

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The graphics, the sound, everything was downgraded to mediocre,

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being comparable to Super Thunder Blade, one of the first games of the Mega Drive.

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There is an excess of flicker and slowness,

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and sometimes both are together, bringing the fear that the console will freeze forever.

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The tunnels of the enemy bases ended up turning into ventilation ducts, and everything seems badly done and awful.

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Undoubtedly these ports have served to sink the franchise, which could be at the same level of similar games from other companies,

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such as Nintendo's Star Fox.

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In short, Galaxy Force had excellent potential to move forward with sequels, but it just got wasted.

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To those who want to enjoy the original arcade version,

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there is a special version of this classic for the PlayStation 2, in the Sega Ages collection.

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Released in 2007, the re-release has an extended version of the game,

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supporting widescreen, with a rearranged version of the original soundtrack,

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and graphics with various corrections and filters applied.

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It's a good one for those who want to enjoy this lost classic amid Sega's buffoonery.

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Produced by Rafael Fernandes
@rafafernandes64

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http://passagemsecreta.com