Rock-On

Rock-On (ロック・オン) is a shooter developed by Manjydo for the PC Engine, and published in Japan by Big Club in 1989. In Rock-On, which may have been intended to be translated as "Lock On", the player controls a small round ship named the "Macmillan MP4" as they battle through a variety of enemies, while attempting to collect treasure. The "Macmillan MP4" is capable of holding three types of weapons which the player can cycle through as they choose by pressing the run button.

The game has a notoriously odd control scheme. You must press, not , to fire a standard shot type which the Macmillan is always equipped with; press to fire whatever special weapon the player currently has equipped. Both shot types can be fired simultaneously. Furthermore, you must press, and not , to pause the game. is used to cycle through your available special weapons.

For a system that contains a number of highly regarded shooters, Rock-On is unfortunately considered one of the most difficult to play, ranking near the bottom of shooter games along with Deep Blue.

Story
The game's fast-scrolling intro details the game's basic scenario: People have become bored with everyday life so some have started to search for the treasure (the FISA) of a lost civilization, termed the "ancient people". These bounty hunters are called "busters". The player-controlled protagonist is the buster most likely to succeed, a man named "Mr. Zella". Of course, this future society craves dangerous entertainment, so the whole thing has apparently been turned into some sort of television show for the entertainment of the masses; most of the enemies are likely placed by the makers of the show to increase the entertainment value for viewers. Prize money is apparently awarded for an exciting performance (although this has no effect on gameplay).

Stages
The game has 4 "zones" which the player advances through in his search for the FISA and for the entertainment of the mindless masses.


 * SPACE ZONE:The first zone is in space. The second half of the stage takes place in an asteroid field; the stage boss is a giant battleship the player repeatedly circles, ala R-Type's stage 3.


 * DEJA-VU ZONE:This oddly named zone takes place over a cityscape as the sun sets. It is incredibly short; the boss is a small sphere which does very little.


 * LABYRINTH ZONE:No relation to the identically named area from Sonic, this zone begins in a cave-like environment. The player must maneuver carefully at points to avoid colliding with the terrain. Parts of the stage resemble a mechanized base, complete with pounding piston trips, and other parts are volcanic in nature. Eventually, the player arrives in an ancient temple; the boss is a large mechanical dragon.


 * EXIT ZONE:The final zone. The player continues to advance through mostly cave-like environments, with some variations; the are accelerates progressively, similar to some of the Gradius high-speed stages. Eventually the protagonist escapes back in to space, only for enemies to continue to assault him. The final boss is a resilient blue robot. The player should attempt to grab as much of the treasure as they can at the beginning, as it is the goal of the protagonist's journey.