Armed Police Unit Gallop

Infobox VG
title = Armed Police Unit Gallop


caption =
developer = Irem
publisher = Irem
release = 1991
genre = Scrolling shooter
modes = Single player
cabinet = Upright
platforms = Arcade
input = 8-way joystick, 2 buttons
arcade system= Irem M-84 system
cpu= V30 (@ 8 MHz)
sound=Sound CPU : Z80 (@ 3.579545 MHz)
display = Raster, 384 x 256 pixels, 512 colors

"Armed Police Unit Gallop" (a.k.a. "Cosmic Cop") is a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1991. It is part of the popular R-Type video game series.

tory

Taking place concurrently with R-Type Delta, "Gallop" sees the player as a member of the like-named private security organization tasked with hunting down autonomous vehicles driven berserk by the Bydo, dubbed "Mad Cars." [ [http://www.irem.co.jp/official/r/j/history/index.html Official "R-Type" timeline (Japanese)] ]

Gameplay

The player pilots an R-Type fighter, the R-11B "Peace Maker". As in most horizontal shooters the screen scrolls continuously to the right, but "Gallop" in unusual in that the scroll rate can be controlled by the player. The further right the player's craft is oriented onscreen, the faster the game scrolls.

Gameplay progress through five different "zones," each cumulating with a boss. Significant bonus points are awarded for completing the zones quickly.

The R-11B is armed with forward-firing guns, as well as a lock-on laser that automatically targets enemies, but whose energy depletes as it is fired. These weapons can be powered-up twice by picking up a letter "P" and the laser's energy can be quickly refilled by picking up a letter "L."

Picking up a letter "M" will equip the R-11B with a missile unit that will fire one of three types of munitions: anti-air missiles, anti-ground missiles, or napalm bombs. Contact with any terrain will cause the missile unit to be lost, however. [ [http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=1869 Arcade flyers describing game mechanics] ]

References to "Gallop" in other "R-Type" media

*The "R-Type Special" CD released in 1993 includes arrangements of the music from every "R-Type" arcade game, including "Gallop". [ [http://www.altpop.com/stc/reviews/rtyps.htm Review of "R-Type Special"] ]
*The R-11B has an entry in the library in the "R-Types" compilation for PlayStation 1.
*The R-11B is once again playable in R-Type Final, along with its improved successors the R-11S "Tropical Angel" and R-11S2 "No Chaser". "Final" also includes the anti-ground missiles that originated in "Gallop" as a weapon, usable by many of the craft in the game.
*The R-11S variant is an available unit in R-Type Command. [ [http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/psp/file/939773/51156 Unit FAQ, Earth side"] ]

References