Batsugun
Contents
Batsugun バツグン
Batsugun (バツグン) is a Toaplan vertically scrolling shmup. It is regarded as an important step in the future development of bullet hell games. It primarily feels like a classic Toaplan shmup in the beginning but it eventually turns into a more bullet hell affair later on. It also features a RPG-like level up system where your shot increases in power as you shoot down enemies and gain experience points.
It was developed and released by Toaplan in Japan in 1993 and would be their last shoot 'em up they developed before declaring bankruptcy. The game was published by Taito in Europe and Unite Trading in Korea.
Batsugun Special Version was shown at the Amusement Machine Operators' Union (AOU) show in 1994 but was never released due to Toaplan's financial situation. The Special Version did eventually find its way onto the secondary market. It is prototypical of later Cave games and arrange modes. It features multiple loops which increase in difficulty with faster and a high number of bullets. Ships hitboxes are smaller, bombs are better clearing the screen, and the scoring is different.
A home console version was released for the Sega Saturn in 1996. It was developed Toaplan partner Gazelle and published by Banpresto.[1] The version features both the original version of Batsugun and Batsugun Special Version as well as an arranged soundtrack.
Gameplay Overview
Batsugun is a vertically scrolling shmup with 8 way directional movement, a shot button and a bomb button. It is similar in gameplay to other Toaplan shmups like Same! Same! Same! and Tatsujin but adds elements to them. There are 3 ship types to choose from, each with a different type of standard shot.
Controls
- Directional: 8 way directional movement
- A: Shot Button
- A (Press): Fire a bullet stream for ship A, fire a lightning stream with ship B, fire a wide shot for ship C
- A (Hold): Fire a bullet stream and then nothing for ship A, fire a continual lighting stream with ship B, and fire a narrow shot for ship C
- B: Bomb Button. Launches screen clearing bomb.
Unlockable Secrets
If a game features unlockable modes, extras, secrets character etc. such as the Mahou characters in Battle Garegga or Strong Style in DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu that are relevant to the basic system of a game, put these codes here. Otherwise, omit this section.
Characters / Ships / Styles
Type A
Type B
Type C
This section should include the characters or ships, if any, that the player can select in the game. Ideally, different "styles" (for games that use them, such as DoDonPachi) would also be included here.
If there is only one playable character and no elements to augment/customize your ship, this section can be omitted from the page.
Weapons
This section describes the weapons that you use in the game and elaborates on them further. Stuff like standard shots, focus shots, bombs, weapon pickups that differ in functionality, options, etc. This can be omitted if not relevant to the game in question.
Items
This section describes any and all collectibles that you acquire in the game. An example being any Power Up items or Medals from Battle Garegga. Include secret items such as extra lives as well.
Rank
If the game features a relevant rank system, use this section to discuss it in more detail. Otherwise, this can be omitted.
Loops
If a game features a loop system, elaborate on it in detail here. Otherwise, omit this section.
Scoring
This section should cover a general breakdown of the scoring system of the game. Feel free to put the meat and potatoes here. A great example of a scoring section is the DoDonPachi page.
Strategy
See (Template Page)/Strategy for stage maps, enemy and boss descriptions, walkthroughs, and advanced play strategies.
This section details some particular strategic information about the game and its gameplay, such as hidden 1UPs and some basic scoring tricks. For anything particularly deep or highly complex, you can probably leave it in the Strategy page.
(Currently evaluating whether or not this specific section should even include information outside of the separated Strategy pages. Worth thinking about as a community.)
Creating a new page
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- In the search box on the top right, type in the name of the page you would like to make, and then search. You will be taken to a similar page as above, prompting you to create the missing page.
Story
Basic story breakdowns, plot information, and endings are included here.
If there is no story at all, or any information about the setting, then this section can be omitted. Try to include at least small things here when you can.
Development History
If available, you can include information here about the hardware, the development of the game, and its general reception. Try to have as much information in this section cited as possible.
Version Differences
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Trivia
- Cool facts and random tidbits go here!
Gallery
See (Template Page)/Gallery for our collection of images and scans for the game.
Other
We have support for wikitables, giving us the potential to add lots of cool info in a small box on the page somewhere, but we are not using them at the moment. I'm just leaving this here so we can have it handy in case we decide to actually use them. Feel free to not use this section.
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References & Contributors
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