Warning Forever

Warning Forever is a freeware 2D shoot 'em up written by Hikoza T Ohkubo and released under the name of his software house, Hikware.

The premise of the game is to fight a constant stream of bosses. The gameplay is broken into stages; each stage is a single boss battle. To progress to the next stage, the boss must be completely destroyed within the time limit. The game starts with a default time limit of 180 seconds (which can be changed to the maximum of 999 seconds in Options), with 30 seconds being gained for every boss defeated. 20 seconds are lost every time the player is destroyed.

The main gameplay feature is how the bosses change from stage to stage. Based on how you fight a boss, the next boss will adapt itself to defend against your strategies, and prey on your weaknesses. For example, if you destroy the front part of the boss first, it will increase armor on the front. Likewise, if you are killed by a certain kind of weapon, but still defeat the boss, the next boss will probably have more of that weapon.

The player flies a relatively small green ship. There are no power-ups - the player's only weapon is a very rapid-fire revolving cannon which can fire in any direction, and widen or concentrate its projectile spread.

As is common in manic shooters, the area of the player's ship vulnerable to collisions is much smaller than the ship itself. This enables the ship to squeeze through small gaps.

Boss evolution


The initial form of the boss is called the Pure Heart. The Pure Heart will take on new characteristics in response to the player's assault.

The top and bottom halves will each choose a characteristic based on the method of attack the player uses against the four corner pieces of the boss:


 * Wide - Result of destroying the corner(s) from the side
 * Attack - Result of destroying the corner(s) from the top or bottom
 * Armor - Result of destroying the corner(s) from a diagonal

Once the Pure Heart chooses a top and bottom characteristic, its evolution path cannot be changed. The name of the boss at this point is derived from its top and bottom characteristics:


 * Wide top + Wide bottom: Double Wider
 * Wide top + Attack bottom: Wide Attacker
 * Wide top + Armor bottom: Wide Armor
 * Attack top + Wide bottom: Attack Wider
 * Attack top + Attack bottom: Double Attacker
 * Attack top + Armor bottom: Attack Armor
 * Armor top + Wide bottom: Armored Wider
 * Armor top + Attack bottom: Armored Attacker
 * Armor top + Armor bottom: Double Armor

Each of the three characteristics has two possible evolutions, one for the top and one for the bottom. The speed at which the Pure Heart evolves to this form depends on how consistent the player's attack pattern is.

Top half evolutions:


 * Wide ---> Wing
 * Attack ---> Busterd
 * Armor ---> Tornado (spins round repeatedly)

Bottom half evolutions:


 * Wide ---> Arms
 * Attack ---> Striker (aims for and thrusts at the player)
 * Armor ---> Defender

Once both characteristics have evolved to this point, the boss will continue to evolve to its final form regardless of the player's attack pattern. There are nine possible evolution paths:


 * Double Wider ---> Wing Arms ---> Asura ---> Infinity
 *  Wide Attacker ---> Wing Striker ---> Phoenix ---> Infinity
 * Wide Armor ---> Wing Defender ---> Hammer Head ---> Catastrophe
 * Attack Wider ---> Busterd Arms ---> Scorpion ---> Infinity
 * Double Attacker ---> Busterd Striker ---> Muramasa ---> Infinity
 * Attack Armor ---> Busterd Defender ---> Big Magnum ---> Catastrophe
 * Armored Wider ---> Tornado Arms ---> Hekatoncheir ---> Armageddon
 * Armored Attacker ---> Tornado Striker ---> Berserker ---> Armageddon
 * Double Armor ---> Tornado Defender ---> ISE-ONE

The Double Armor path does not evolve past ISE-ONE.

Boss parameters
Before each battle a chart pops up showing the strengths of the upcoming boss. There are six categories:


 * Front - Indicates forward strength
 * Rear - Indicates rear strength
 * Defense - Indicates defense
 * Core - Indicates strength of the core (the centre piece; destruction of the core destroys a boss)
 * Search - Indicates boss' ability to track down the player
 * Generator - Indicates quantity and speed of enemy gunfire

Weapons

 * Vulcan - Basic machinegun turrets. Stronger generator increases projectile amount and speed.
 * Laser - Laser cannons that shoot pink beams. Stronger generator increases duration and width of beams.
 * Cannon - Cannons that shoot a spread of blue energy-balls. Stronger generator increases amount of shots per spread.
 * Smash - Turrets that shoot shotgun-style projectiles. Stronger generator increases projectiles fired.
 * Needle - Turrets that fire a stream of thin green bolts over a duration of time. Stronger generator extends the firing time.
 * Homing Missile - Homing missile launchers. Stronger generator increases duration of time in which the missile can home in towards the player.

The bosses can also have thrusters with which they charge at the player; mobile arms; wide spreading and multidirectional vulcan guns; and defensive shielding.

The spreading and multidirectional vulcan guns can come from any piece that had a mounted weapon but it was removed by the player's gun. The heart with no pieces also uses these "unseen" weapons. They always shoot over a wide arc three times, with a stronger generator increasing the speed and spread of the arc, and finish with three multidirectional bursts and then repeat the pattern.

Game modes

 * 180 seconds - The normal, time-limited mode.
 * Three Ships - No time limit. The player begins with three lives, and gains an extra life for every hundred pieces blasted off a boss.
 * Five Minute attack - The player has a time limit of five minutes to get as far as possible.
 * Sudden Death - The player has one life and no time limit.

How to Unlock Specific Transformations

 * Asura - Choose one side of the Pure Heart and destroy both corners on that side. Continue to attack the core until it explodes. Continue with this pattern on subsequent levels, being careful not to destroy anything on the other two corners. Over the next several levels the Pure Heart will evolve into Double Wider and eventually Wing Arms. Once this evolution is reached, defeat the boss any way you choose and it will eventually evolve into Asura.
 * ISE-ONE - Start by destroying one whole corner on the Pure Heart. Then, destroy the corner diametrically opposite to the one already demolished. Continue destroying the other two corners in any way, it doesn't matter which ones, but get them both. Now, as the stages progress, continue with the same destruction pattern (the initial choice of corner does not matter, as long as the pattern is adhered to). Alternatively, there is another way to unlock the ISE-ONE that most players will find easier. Simply attack the Pure Heart by firing directly downward on the top left and right corners (in any order) to destroy them, then destroy the core without destroying either bottom corner. After a few rounds of this, the boss will evolve into the Armor. Once this has happened, attack the bottom left and right corners from their respective sides of the screen, firing sideways, then finish the boss by destroying the core again, without destroying either top corner. After a few rounds of this, the Double Armor will appear. The boss will evolve from Pure Heart to Double Armor, to Tornado Defender, and finally to the ISE-ONE. Once the ISE-ONE has evolved, it can be destroyed in any way and it will remain an ISE-ONE, with variations. If the same destruction pattern (as the first method to unlock it) is adhered to, it will evolve variants such as Death, Crazy, Excite, and so on. Once the boss has evolved into Double Armor form or beyond, the player can blast off parts on any corner.
 * Hekatoncheir
 * Muramasa
 * Phoenix
 * Berserker
 * Scorpion
 * Big Magnum
 * Hammer Head