Gunbird 2 is a 2D vertical scrolling shoot 'em up game developed by Psikyo and published by Capcom as a sequel to the original Gunbird. It was originally released in Japanese arcades in 1998, and was later ported to the Dreamcast in 2000 and released worldwide. An Android version was released in Korean in 2014, it came out worldwide on both Android and iOS in 2016. The arcade game was also included in Gunbird Special Edition for PlayStation 2.
Gameplay[]
There are seven stages in each game loop (two loops total). The first three stages are randomly chosen from possible four. At the second loop, enemies fire denser bullet patterns moving at faster speeds. Stage 2-1 takes place at the only stage not available in 1st loop, instead of the 1-1 counterpart. After completing the first loop with only one player, player can choose one of two choices for a wish with magic potion, with unique ending for each choice. If 1st loop is completed with two players, a combination-specific ending is played.
This was the first Psikyo shooter to feature medal-chaining: picking up 2000 point medals (when they flash) repeatedly results in a slight point increase and a coin chain, recorded separately from the score. This was later featured in Strikers 1945 III/Strikers 1999.
The arcade game supports both English and Japanese languages, chosen via arcade board dip switch settings. The language setting is Japanese if dip switches are set to Japanese, English otherwise.
Two exclusive playable characters in the Sega Dreamcast port of Gunbird 2, released in 2000, includes Morrigan Aensland from Capcom's Darkstalkers series and Aine from Psikyo's Samurai Aces series. Other new features include Internet ranking, gallery, and voices during intermission.
Characters[]
- Alucard (アルカード): The 300-year-old son of Dracula from Romania; a vampire, and capable of great inhuman powers. Although he is 'good' in comparison to his father, he still craves human blood. Voiced by Takehito Koyasu.
- Marion (マリオン): The little English witch from the original Gunbird returns. She would have aged to 17 by this point, but her wish from the end of Gunbird has reversed the aging process; she appears a 9-year-old girl for the duration of Gunbird 2. Voiced by Chiharu Tanaka in the arcade version and Ikue Ōtani in the console versions.
- Tavia (タビア): A bespectacled, 9-year-old German girl with a jetpack on her back residing in England. She is the niece of Ash (who cameos in some of her co-op endings) from Gunbird. Emotional and cries easily. When paired with Alucard, she falls in love with him. Voiced by Yuko Minaguchi.
- Valpiro (バルピロ): A robot from Russia, an improved model of Valnus from Gunbird. He may have sinister plans for the potion if he obtains it, depending on which ending the player receive. Voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe.
- Hei-Cob (ヘイコブ): An 18-year-old short, fat, turban-sporting man of Arabic descent. He rides a flying carpet. During his cut scenes he is sometimes proud, and other times ashamed, of his figure. Voiced by Yuji Mitsuya.
- Aine (アイン): A one-eyed Japanese samurai from the Sengoku Ace series. Whereas it is not clear in the Sengoku Ace games that he is an open homosexual (like Tetsu in Gunbird), such subtlety is thrown out the window in Gunbird 2, especially during the ending scene with Aine and another cooperative player, in which he takes his partner to bed with him (in his co-op ending with Marion, he does this to a Pom-Pom turned human, while in the ending with Tavia, he does so to Ash). In the arcade version, Aine is playable with a code; in the Sega Dreamcast version, he is always available; in the Android version, he can be unlocked upon meeting certain conditions. Voiced by Norio Wakamoto.
- Morrigan (モリガン): A Dark World succubus from Capcom's Darkstalkers series. In the Sega Dreamcast version, pressing up or down on the random character select allows the player to choose between Aine and Morrigan. Voiced by Rei Sakuma.
- The Queen Pirates (クイーンパイレーツ): The main enemies in Gunbird 2, a busty pirate woman named Shark (voiced by Noriko Ohara) and her sidekicks, a big muscular viking named Blade (voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe) and a skinny pirate named Gimmick (voiced by Joji Yanami), repeatedly ambushing the champions in their attempts to steal the elements for themselves. They are met and fought at the end of each stage, piloting various giant mecha robots. Their design is based on the villanous Doronbo Gang from the Time Bokan/Yatterman series as well as sharing the same voice actors.
- The Elephant God: The end boss and an obvious parody of Sato-chan, the mascot of a Japanese company Sato Pharmaceuticals. This is appropriate, given that the protagonists in the game are all searching for a 'cure' to their individual weakness, and Sato-chan is a pop culture icon in Japan.
- Janken Dog: The end boss and possibly the mascot of Taisen Hot Gimmick, given for the protagonists in the game that there searching for the 'cure' to theirselfs and individuals,
Credits[]
Dreamcast Version [Gunbird2 Project Staff][]
Game Produce: Shin. Nakamura
Character Design: Masato Natsumoto
Voice Actor: Ikue Ohtani, Kyosei Thukui, Norio Wakamoto, Rei Sakuma, Takehito Koyasu, Yuji Mithuya, Yuko Minaguchi, Noriko Ohara, Jyoji Yanami, Kazuya Tatekabe
Program: Shiori Saito, Kenichi Fujita, Kunihiko Nogomi, Katsuhiro Nishida, Katsuya Shikanouchi
Design: Hiroshi Yamada, Hideyuki Oda, Norikazu Takemori, Yoko Tsukagoshi, Emi Taniguchi, Keizou Fujita, Kunio Asahara, Masashi Kajikawa, Shinji Nohara, Naozumi Yorichika
Music & Sound: Masaki Izutani, Kensuke Satou, Toshiya Kobayashi
CS Project Staff: Isao Okano, Nobuhiro Mikami, Hiroyuki Takei, Kenichi Yaguchi
Special Thanks: Shinichi Yusa, Sachiko Sakamoto, Nobukazu Fukui, Daisuke Kato
See also[]
External links[]
- X-nauts website (Japanese, archive)
- Capcom website (Japanese, archive)