Slap Fight

Infobox VG
title = Slap Fight
developer = Taito
release = 1986
genre = Scrolling shooter
cabinet = Upright
platforms = Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Sega Mega Drive
display = Raster, standard resolution
input = 8-way joystick, 2 buttons

"Slap Fight" is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game by Taito. It takes its inspiration from "Xevious" (being a vertical scroller) and "Gradius" (from which it borrows the power-up system). The game takes place in an Earth-type environment with metallic, land-based enemies; some are mobile armor and others are fortifications embedded in natural terrain.

All enemies always appear in the same location, at every new game or wrap of the map. Certain enemies leave power-up stars upon destruction. Collecting these stars enables an upgrade menu at the bottom of the screen and moves a lit cursor through the list of power-ups described below. If the menu cursor is lit, but a ship is lost before a power-up could be selected, then when the next life begins, the star is "carried over" and the cursor is again lit.

Single hits to the unshielded main ship destroy it, as well as any accumulated upgrades including Speed. This means that successive lives are often difficult to keep in the heat of battle.

This game does not support Continues with extra credits, and is believed to be endless; that is, after the final boss, gameplay resumes at the beginning of the play map but at successively higher difficulty due to enemies shooting faster and more frequently. This has been tested to at least three "wraps."

Power-ups

These power-ups appearing on the upgrade menu are somewhat similar to those in "Gradius":

* Speed (upgradeable five times cumulatively)
* Side-Shot (rapid-fire assistant; remains with ship regardless of main weapon unless/until ship is destroyed)
* Shot (short-range, rapid-fire)
* Wing (accessory; increases both the width and the exposure of the craft; improves the power or speed of equipped weapon; upgradeable to three pairs; two external pairs can be used to absorb hits but the whole pair will be lost)
* Bomb (short-range, slow fire, area effect)
* Laser (long-range)
* Homing Missile (releases up to sixteen guided missiles)
* Shield (invulnerable; lasts approx. 25 seconds; ends with audible warning)

The major weapons affect the enemies and terrain differently. For example, certain enemy towers can only be destroyed with Laser or Homing Missile; other enemies are destroyed "much faster" with specific weapons to match. If Bomb or Homing Missile are equipped, certain bonus targets will appear, or parts of the landscape may be destroyed to reveal bonuses. If Laser is active, certain plants in the landscape can be shot repeatedly to 'grow' and earn extra points until they scroll off-screen.

Cheat modes

The arcade machine had a cheat mode. To activate it, when the game starts, survive as long as possible without shooting anything. If you die before getting to the ring-shaped pond, you will restart at the beginning of the game with full wings and homing missile. If you manage to survive beyond the pond and then die, you will gain a 150,000 point bonus and restart the game at a much later stage, again with full wings and homing missile.

There is also a feature (or perhaps unintended bug) which gives the ship about two seconds' invulnerability, immediately after adding Wing modules or changing major weapon types. This "relief period" can be used strategically for longer survival and high scores.

Ports

The game was ported to many 8-bit home computers in the European & North American markets. The game was also released for the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive / Genesis. This version included an additional game scenario that compromised different levels, sprite graphics and weapons. The music for that version was composed by Yuzo Koshiro, which is presented on the title screen.

References

* [http://toaplan.gamersgraveyard.com/slapfight/ "Slapfight" entry] from GamersGraveyard.com

External links

*moby game|id=/slap-fight|name="Slap Fight"
* [http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=9583 "Slap Fight" entry] and also related [http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6843 "Alcon" entry] from the KLOV
*WoS game|id=0004564