Gaiares

From Sega Retro

For the 2022 aftermarket re-release, see Gaiares (Retro-Bit).

n/a

  • NTSC-U
  • NTSC-J

Gaiares MDTitleScreen.png

Gaiares MD JP TitleScreen.png

Gaiares
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Renovation Game (Japan), Renovation Products (US)
Developer:
Genre: Shooting[1][2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥8,400 (8,652)8,400e[3] T-49013
Sega Mega Drive
US
$69.9569.95[5] 49066
Sega Mega Drive
DE
DM 100100
Sega Mega Drive
FR
T-49013

Gaiares (ガイアレス) is a Sega Mega Drive horizontal shoot-'em-up developed by Telenet Japan. First published in Japan by Renovation Game in December 1990[2], it was later brought to the United States by Renovation Products the following March[4], and eventually brought to Europe later that year. One of the first Mega Drive games to utilize an 8 Megabit cartridge over the standard size of 4 Megabit, Gaiares (alongside Technosoft's Thunder Force III) was one of the earliest shoot-'em-ups to demonstrate the technical strengths of the 16-bit hardware.

The title combines "Gaia" (for Earth) and the suffix "-less," as the Earth has been lost to pollution in the far future according to the plot of the game (making mankind "Earthless").[6]

Story

Gaiares, Introduction.png

Alexis

In the year 3000, Earth has become an uninhabitable, polluted wasteland and the human race is almost extinct. A group of alien space pirates called Gulfer, led by the evil Queen Zz Badnusty, plans to use the pollution to fuel weapons of mass destruction. The United Star Cluster of Leezaluth sends a warning to Earth about their plans, stating that if they cannot stop them, Leezaluth will be forced to supernova Earth's sun to avoid war with Gulfer; but if the humans succeed, Leezaluth will use their technology to restore Earth to its former beauty.

Legendary space hero Dan Dare (Diaz in the Japanese original), a brave and skilled pilot from Earth, is chosen to be the pilot of a new starfighter to combat Gulfer. The ship is armed with a powerful experimental weapon from Leezaluth called the TOZ system, run by Leezaluth emissary Alexis, which can steal powers from the space pirates' own ships.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up. Stages have a miniboss and a boss; some stages feature branching paths that can be selected by flying high or low on the screen. The player's starfighter is moved in any direction with the D-Pad; its movement speed can be cycled between three settings with A. The ship fires its weapon with B, which can be held for rapid-fire. The TOZ module follows the ship and augments the ship's fire with its own.

Instead of collecting power-up capsules to gain new weapons, as in most shooters, the TOZ device can be shot out with C (in a manner similar to the Force in R-Type) to "steal" the weapon of an enemy that it contacts (destroying the enemy in the process). This weapon replaces the standard armament. Stealing the same weapon again increases the weapon level, up to three levels. Each weapon has a separate level, which the game remembers when it is equipped again. Weapons cannot be stolen from bosses. The player's ship cannot fire while the TOZ is deployed; it returns after a moment after it steals a weapon or if it cannot find an enemy to target. The TOZ module is invulnerable to damage and can protect the ship from enemy fire and destroy enemies it touches when deployed.

The ship is destroyed if it takes damage from an enemy or runs into terrain. The player starts over at a checkpoint with a new ship if the player has lives remaining, with the starting weapon and without any of the weapon levels acquired. If the player runs out of lives, the game ends, but it can be continued as long as there are credits remaining.

The configuration menu can be accessed by holding A, B or C when pressing  START  on the title screen. There are two difficulty levels (Normal and Very Hard).

Special Weapons

Gaiares, Special Weapons, P-Cannon.png

P-Cannon
Fires plasma balls in a cone and behind the ship.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, T-Missile.png

T-Missile
Fires multidirectional missiles that scatter and explode.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, H-Laser.png

H-Laser
Fires a long horizontal laser.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, S-Laser.png

S-Laser
Fires volleys of homing lasers.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, V-Laser.png

V-Laser
Fires tall, wave-shaped lasers.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, G-Beam.png

G-Beam
Fires a thick laser beam that passes through enemies and terrain.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, R-Collider.png

R-Collider
Fires lasers in cardinal and intermediate directions alternately.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, T-Vulcan.png

T-Vulcan
Fires bullets in a conical spread.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, E-Smash.png

E-Smash
Generates plasma balls that rotate around the ship; hold B to charge them and release to shoot them.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, F-Formation.png

F-Formation
Creates a formation of four TOZ modules that orbit the ship and each fire a fiery projectile.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, A-Bullet.png

A-Bullet
Fires high-damage rockets.

Gaiares, Special Weapons, T-Blaster.png

T-Blaster
Fires homing plasma balls. This weapon can be obtained by firing the TOZ six times in a row, missing an enemy each time, and then capturing an enemy on the seventh attempt.

Items

Gaiares, Items.png
Break Defender
Surrounds the ship in a barrier that protects it from three hits of damage. The screen flashes when the barrier takes damage.
Gaiares, Items.png
Dimension Quake
Eliminates all of the enemies on screen.

Stages

Gaiares, Stage 1-1.png

Gaiares, Stage 1 Subboss.png

Gaiares, Stage 1-2.png

Gaiares, Stage 1 Boss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 1-1.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 1 Subboss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 1-2.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 1 Boss.png

Floating Continent

Gaiares, Stage 2-1.png

Gaiares, Stage 2 Subboss.png

Gaiares, Stage 2-2.png

Gaiares, Stage 2 Boss 1.png

Gaiares, Stage 2 Boss 2.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 2-1.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 2 Subboss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 2-2.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 2 Boss 1.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 2 Boss 2.png

Glacial Planet

Gaiares, Stage 3 Subboss.png

Gaiares, Stage 3-1.png

Gaiares, Stage 3-2.png

Gaiares, Stage 3 Boss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 3 Subboss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 3-1.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 3-2.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 3 Boss.png

Space Sanctuary

Gaiares, Stage 4-1.png

Gaiares, Stage 4-2.png

Gaiares, Stage 4 Subboss.png

Gaiares, Stage 4 Boss 1.png

Gaiares, Stage 4 Boss 2.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 4-1.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 4-2.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 4 Subboss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 4 Boss 1.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 4 Boss 2.png

Space Colony

Gaiares, Stage 5.png

Gaiares, Stage 5 Subboss.png

Gaiares, Stage 5 Boss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 5.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 5 Subboss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 5 Boss.png

Stage 5

Gaiares, Stage 6.png

Gaiares, Stage 6 Subboss.png

Gaiares, Stage 6 Boss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 6.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 6 Subboss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 6 Boss.png

Stage 6
The stage reprises many of the minibosses from the previous stages.

Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 1.png

Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 2.png

Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 3.png

Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 4.png

Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 5.png

Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 6.png

Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 7.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 1.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 2.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 3.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 4.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 5.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 6.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 7 Boss 7.png

Stage 7
The stage reprises all of the bosses from the previous stages.

Gaiares, Stage 8.png

Gaiares, Stage 8 Subboss.png

Gaiares, Stage 8 Boss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 8.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 8 Subboss.png

  • Gaiares, Stage 8 Boss.png

Stage 8

History

File:GPSG US 0205.pdf

Development

During development, Gaiares was known by the name Aztion (アズシオン).[7]

According to developer Kouji Yokota, development began with a 4 Megabit ROM size. When it was doubled to 8 Megabit, the developers used the space for cutscene graphics.[6]

American advertising campaign

Main article: Jamie Bunker.

In 1990, Renovation Products selected one of their game testers, Jamie Bunker, to be the spokesperson for the upcoming Sega Mega Drive game Gaiares' United States advertising campaign.[8] Bunker posed with the game's United States release in a series of three advertisements, with each labeling the seventeen-year old spokesman a "professional gamer". Contrasting with the often juvenile and exaggerative statements of other game advertisements of the day, Renovation Products' advertisements simply featured a visibly genuine Bunker presenting the game with a recommendation of its quality, and has become one of the Mega Drive era's most fondly-remembered advertising campaigns.

Versions

The game's United States release shipped with a poster featuring the game's Western cover artwork.

A proper European release was planned by Ubisoft[9] but ultimately did not materialize, and Europe instead received the Japanese version with an additional multi-language manual.[10]

The game was re-released in 2022 by Retro-Bit.

Production credits

  • Game Design: M.Yamamoto, K.Yokota
  • Character Design: T.Iwata, K.Yokota
  • Graphic Design: K.Yokota, T.Iwata, Y.Kuzumoto
  • Program: M.Yamamoto
  • Sound: S.Ogawa (Business Support Co., Ltd.)
  • Special Thanks: K.Fukushima, Y.Fukushima, J.Fukushima, T.Fukushima, Y.Abe, T.Kinoshita, E.Kikuchi, T.Miura, T.Matsuzawa, A.Suzuki, Y.Shimizu, K.Ohta, Y.Yamauchi, T.Umezu
(C) Telenet Japan 1990
(C) Renovation Products 1990
Source:
In-game credits
Gaiares MD credits.pdf
[11]


Digital manuals

Magazine articles

Main article: Gaiares/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Gaiares/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
30
[12]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
68
[13]
Computer + Video Giochi (IT)
91
[14]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
88
[15]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
50
[16]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
60
[17]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
100
[5]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
60
[18]
Joystick (FR) NTSC-J
79
[19]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
72
[20]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
90
[21]
MegaTech (UK)
83
[22]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
84
[23]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
84
[24]
Player One (FR)
89
[25]
Power Play (DE)
78
[26]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC
84
[27]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
69
[28]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
74
[29]
User (GR) NTSC
70
[30]
Video Games (DE)
76
[31]
Sega Mega Drive
75
Based on
21 reviews

Gaiares

Mega Drive, JP
Gaiares MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
Gaiares MD JP CartTop.jpg
Gaiares MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Gaiares md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
Gaiares MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Gaiares md us cart.jpg
Cart
Gaiares md us manual.pdf
Manual
Gaiares MD US Poster.jpg
Poster
Gaiares MD US pcb.jpg
PCB
Mega Drive, EU (JP Import)
Gaiares MD EU Box Back.jpgNospine.pngGaiares MD EU Cover.jpg
Cover
Gaiares MD JP CartTop.jpg
Gaiares MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Gaiares MD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
Gaiares md jp manual.pdf
JP Manual

Technical information

Main article: Gaiares/Technical information.

External links

References

  1. File:Gaiares MD JP Box.jpg
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  3. Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 8
  4. 4.0 4.1 https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video/c/mQhzybiPA0g/m/6KoVO6mzZG4J (Wayback Machine: 2023-12-26 03:21)
  5. 5.0 5.1 GamePro, "March 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 78
  6. 6.0 6.1 http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/gaiares/ (Wayback Machine: 2018-05-04 14:20)
  7. File:Mdfan JP 1990-08.pdf, page 79
  8. http://cinnamonpirate.com/2007/07/unpublished-the-real-jamie-bunker/ (Wayback Machine: 2010-10-30 20:12)
  9. Sega Force, "January 1992" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 10
  10. http://www.guardiana.net/MDG-Database/Mega%20Drive/Gaiares/#v393 (Wayback Machine: 2008-06-28 03:47)
  11. File:Gaiares MD credits.pdf
  12. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 83
  13. Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 36
  14. Computer + Video Giochi, "Aprile 1991" (IT; 1991-xx-xx), page 46
  15. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 18
  16. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 316
  17. Famitsu, "" (JP; 199x-xx-xx), page 1
  18. Hippon Super, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-04), page 43
  19. Joystick, "Mars 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 124
  20. Mega Drive Fan, "March 1991" (JP; 1991-02-08), page 99
  21. Mega Play, "March/April 1991" (US; 1991-04-xx), page 42
  22. MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 78
  23. MegaTech, "February 1992" (UK; 1992-01-20), page 40
  24. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 138
  25. Player One, "Décembre 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 60
  26. Power Play, "4/91" (DE; 1991-03-15), page 128
  27. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 65
  28. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 86
  29. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 15
  30. User, "Mártios 1992" (GR; 1992-0x-xx), page 83
  31. Video Games, "1/91" (DE; 1991-03-27), page 84


Gaiares

Gaiares MDTitleScreen.png

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