Galaxy Force II Retrospective

In this special video for the blog Passagem Secreta we remember this classic arcade game from Sega lost in time and mediocrity of its ports for consoles

Passagem Secreta Presents

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,

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

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

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

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

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

The machine, released in 1988,

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

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

Sega's things, eh.

But instead of shooting down enemy fighters,

this time the player is put in control of a spacecraft

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

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

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

By defeating enemies with shots and lock-on missiles,

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

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

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

making things more complex than ever before.

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

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

Very original, eh?

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

and you can even do certain strategies through this scheme,

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

The control scheme of spacecraft is very interesting,

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

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

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

culminating in the terrifying R360 a few years later.

>>Boy: I wanna get off!

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

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

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

It's really amazing how some elements of scenery

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

On the other hand, the sound is great.

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

The game's soundtrack consists of great compositions,

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

Produced by Katsuhiro Hayashi and Koichi Namiki,

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

the songs were rearranged in various ways by Sega,

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

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

Given these positive features about the game,

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

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

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

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.

It was something much simpler than that.

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

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

is associated with the ports that Sega did for consoles.

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

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

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

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

as you can see in this freak there.

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

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

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

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

There is an excess of flicker and slowness,

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

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

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

such as Nintendo's Star Fox.

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

To those who want to enjoy the original arcade version,

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

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

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

and graphics with various corrections and filters applied.

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

Produced by Rafael Fernandes
@rafafernandes64

http://passagemsecreta.com