Viper Phase 1 is a 1995 scrolling shooter arcade game by Seibu Kaihatsu. It is considered a spin-off/spiritual successor due to its many similarities with the games in the Raiden series.
Story[]
By the year 2050, mankind begins the colonization of multiple solar systems in the search for habitable planets. However, while the colonists establish original cultures and scientific studies, many of them begin feuding with each other and battles break out among them and the Earth. One rebel faction in particular rises to great power and makes Earth their primary target. Earth's response is Operation Viper Phase 1: to combat the rebels using advanced space fighters built from downed enemy ships.
Description[]
The setting of this game is exclusively in outer space. Players drive a space fighter through eight stages of enemy space fleets and tough bosses. Enemies include small space fighters, space cruisers, space frigates, and entire space installations.
Scoring is straightforward. A bonus is assessed at the end of each stage taking into account the number of medals collected, the number of enemies destroyed, the number of bombs in stock, and the total destroy percentage. At the end of the game, a grand tally is given bonus. Factors is taken penalty number of continues used and the number of life stock lost.
The end game bonus is tallied in this way:
- 1,000,000 points for completing the game
- 100 points for each enemy destroyed throughout the game
- 1,000 points for each medal collected throughout the game
- 500,000 points for no final bomb used
- 500,000 points for no death, 100,000 points lost per death (down to 300,000 points)
Differences in the New Version[]
A new version of Viper Phase 1 was released with gameplay changes. The new version is known as Viper Phase 1: USA in the United States. The known differences between the versions:
- Secondary weapons: The old version of Viper Phase 1 has limited ammunition stocks in the secondary weapons. The amount of remaining secondary weapon ammunition stocks is indicated by a meter on the screen. All secondary weapons in the old version are fully powered-up. The new version changes the secondary weapons into permanent weapons with different power levels. The new version's secondary weapons deal less damage than those in the old version to compensate for the unlimited ammunition stocks of the new version.
- Bomb deploy times: The new version speeds up the deploy time of the bomb. The Raiden Fighters series uses this bomb deploy time of the new version as part of the Judge Spear's guest appearance.
- Medals: Taking a cue from the mechanics of Raiden DX, medals stop shimmering for a brief moment, during which they award more points when collected. Enemies that carry medals appear more frequently in the new version.
Powerups[]
There are six types of powerups in Viper Phase 1. Players start with a primary vulcan cannon on each new life.
- P (Power Up) - Old version: Powers up the main vulcan gun only. New version: Powers up the vulcan (if the player is without secondary weapons) and the active secondary weapons (up to four levels).
- B (Bomb) - Adds one extra bomb. Players can carry up to seven bombs in stock.
- L (Laser) - This weapon is similar to the blue laser weapon in the original Raiden series. The weapon has no defensive spread, but it has the highest damage potential out of the available weapons. The ship's weapon module flashes blue when using this weapon.
- M (Burst Missile) - Cruise missiles that are fired in a burst pattern. When the missiles hit their mark, the resulting explosion deals overlapping secondary damage. The ship's weapon module flashes yellow when using this weapon.
- N (Napalm Missile) - Upon impact with a target, missiles release green napalm explosions in various directions. These explosions deal overlapping secondary damage. This weapon is included in the Raiden Fighters series along with the ship (later named Judge Spear) in a guest appearance. The ship's module flashes green when using this weapon.
- W (Wide Vulcan) - Grants the player a secondary widespread vulcan cannon. This weapon has the highest screen coverage, but has the least damage potential out of the available weapons. The ship's module flashes red when using this weapon.
Hardware[]
Viper Phase 1 runs on the Seibu SPI System hardware. The game software is stored on ROM daughterboards that are interchangeable on one SPI board. ROM duaghterboards and Seibu SPI main boards are region-specific. For example, the Japanese daughterboards are not compatible with the European motherboard and vice versa.
Stages[]
NOTE: Boss names in italics are unofficial.
| Stage | Name | Boss | BGM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spaceport | Protejour | Go Straight Ahead!! |
| 2 | Space Fleet 1 | Espada | Outer Space |
| 3 | Refueling Base | Iscariot | Mission Striker |
| 4 | Storage Facility | Iron Module | Forcing Breakthrough |
| 5 | Asteroid Belt | Battering Taurus | Invisible Enemy |
| 6 | Space Fleet 2 | Cyber Hawk | Counteroffensive |
| 7 | Space Colony | Balor | Unknown Threat |
| 8 | Missile Silo | Copper Caoineag | Destiny |
Music[]
The soundtrack of Viper Phase 1 is composed by Go Sato. Its style is vastly different from the original Raiden series, incorporating many synthesized instruments. The soundtrack was released in 2005 as part of a superplay DVD set showing expert players playing through the game.
The soundtrack is available as an unlockable in the Japan-exclusive release of Raiden DX for the Sony PlayStation. When unlocked, players have the option of changing the default Raiden DX soundtrack to implement music from Viper Phase 1.
External Links[]
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
| Raiden video games | ||
| Raiden series | Raiden ● Raiden II (DX) ● Raiden III ● Raiden IV (Overkill) ● Raiden V (Story) | |
| Raiden Fighters series | Raiden Fighters ● Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive ● Raiden Fighters Jet (text transcript) | |
| Compilations | The Raiden Project ● Raiden Fighters Aces ● Raiden Legacy | |
| Other Seibu Kaihatsu/MOSS shmups | Stinger ● Scion ● Air Raid ● Viper Phase 1 ● Caladrius (Blaze) | |