Star Luster



In 1979, Doug Neubauer programmed Star Raiders for the Atari 800 home computer. A revolution in 3D home gaming, it inspired programmers all over the world and led to the creation of more modern series such as Wing Commander and Star Wars: X-Wing. Programmers in Japan were no exception, and in 1985, programmers at Namco developed Star Luster, complete with its own Japanese flair. Like Star Raiders, Star Luster has you piloting a fighter craft from a first person view, and warping around sectors in space through a stellar grid to destroy enemies before they move in and destroy your bases. All the while, your ship can be crippled through destructive enemy shots, and must be repaired by docking at the base for supplies. Star Luster broke the Star Raiders mold by incorporating an adventure mode that provided the player with a greater goal than the complete extermination of every enemy in space.

Star Luster was only released in Japan, but it is easily accessible by English speakers since none of the game's messages are written in Japanese, only English. But like many other Japanese games developed around this time, it can be mercilessly difficult. It incorporates a few enemy designs that originated from Bosconian. Star Luster saw some life after the Famicom. Nintendo adapted the title for play in the arcade as part of their Vs. Arcade system, calling it Vs. Star Luster. A graphically enhanced version was developed for the Sharp X68000 that was otherwise similar to the original. In 1998, Namco included the original, along with an improved version on Namco Anthology 1 for the PlayStation. Shortly after that, Namco developed a sequel to the original, for the PlayStation, known as Star Ixiom.

Story
A hostile force known as the Battura has invaded the solar system of mankind. For reasons unknown, they intend to invoke another Big Bang that is designed to destroy all of outer space. Only the pilot of the Gaia has the power to stop the Battura and save the fate of the entire universe.

Gameplay summary

 * The player pilots the fighter ship Gaia. The view of the game is always shown from the cockpit.
 * Space is composed of an 8×8 grid, which can be occupied variety of bases, planets, and enemy.
 * Your ship has a supply of fuel, a shield energy level, and a damage indicator if parts of the ship are destroyed.
 * If you are running low on fuel, or need repairs, you must fly to and locate a base and dock with it.
 * The player must fly to each section of space occupied by an enemy and destroy all of the enemies in order to clear it.
 * Enemies will move around space in an attempt to attack bases and planets. If an enemy is next to a base or planet long enough, the will attack.
 * You then have a limited amount of time to destroy all of the enemies next to a base or planet before it is destroyed.
 * In Adventure mode, you must also collect all of the keys from each planet and find the location of the hidden dark planet to defeat the Battura.