Initial release date 1981 | Genre Shoot 'em up | |
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Arcade system M6502 (@ 930 kHz)Custom audio Display Vertical orientationresolution: 224 x 256 64 colors Platforms Arcade game, Atari 2600, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family Similar Centuri games, Shoot 'em up games | ||
For the 2007 MMORPG, see Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
Contents
Vanguard (ヴァンガード) 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 one of the first scrolling shooters with scrolling in multiple directions. It is also the first color game released by SNK and 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 less successful sequel, Vanguard II, which has gameplay similar to Xevious with the ability to fly in multiple directions. There were no home console nor computer ports of Vanguard II released until SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 0 for the Sony PlayStation Portable.
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 similar to Scramble, in that the player controls a ship urged along a surrounding conduit and with a limited amount of fuel that constantly depletes. Unlike Scramble, fuel is replenished by destroying enemies, so running out of fuel is less common. Also unlike Scramble, some portions of Vanguard scroll vertically or diagonally.
The ship can fire lasers independently in any of the four cardinal directions using the four buttons. Flying into an energy pod makes the ship invulnerable for a short while, allowing both enemy ships and the tunnel walls to be destroyed by ramming.
The game is divided into two tunnel of multiple zones each. The first tunnel consists of 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 Mountain Zone, Stripe Zone, Styx Zone, Rainbow Zone, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery/Last Zone.
At the end of each tunnel the player must defeat a boss guarded by two moving force fields with holes in them.
Ports and related releases
Vanguard was ported by Atari, Inc. to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari 8-bit family.
Vanguard uses a number of custom sound chips to produce digitized voices 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, or the words "be careful" when a power-up is about to end. 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.
Reception
The Atari 2600 version of Vanguard was reviewed by Video magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was described as "a marvelous home-arcade translation" of the original arcade version. Reviewers commented that in contrast to some of Atari's other less-successful efforts with licensed titles, the "anonymous Atari designer made elegant simplifications in the graphics" that faithfully evoke the look and "the same breathtaking action" of the original. Note was also made of the fact that this version of Vanguard marked the first time a continued play option was offered in a game cartridge. The Atari 5200 version of the game was awarded "1984 Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Videogame" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards, where judges described it as "a scrolling shootout extravaganza" and praised its "outstanding graphics".