Controls[edit]
- Joystick: Use the four-way joystick to make Sygnus march left and right, crouch, and hold up his laser cannon high in the air; similar to Mirai Ninja, pushing your joystick twice in the same direction will make him switch from a march to a dash, but it will take him a few seconds to slow back down.
- Firing Button: Use this button to make Sygnus fire shots from his laser cannon at the enemies; the cross-hair target shows what his auto-targeting system is aimed at and can be moved onto the next enemy which has appeared on the screen by pressing the not-very-well-known Target Button.
- Jump Button: Use this button to activate Sygnus's Vernier jump-jets; once he has landed it will take a few seconds for him to recharge them again.
- 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.
Characters[edit]
Sygnus (シグナス)[edit]
This red Transformer-like battlemech is the protagonist of the game; armed with a laser cannon, Vernier jump-jets, auto-targeting, and an automatic cooling system, he is on a mission to destroy the factory of monster weapon (known as "Gelphaust"), on the territorial planet of "Zone.Y.Jounis". Unlike many of the other Namco characters, he does not have a life meter but his energy is reliant on his temperature in Celsius (which increases when he is hit, and decreases when he is not) - and if he should overheat (which usually happens when there is too many enemies firing at him simultaneously), six texts about impossible continuation will appear, he will explode and the game will instantly be over.
Enemy Mechs[edit]
Karura (カルラ) - These green Transformer-like battlemechs appear on the first, second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds of the game; they will attack by marching towards Sygnus from the front (and behind) to fire shots from their own laser cannons at him and increase his temperature (and are worth 990 points when destroyed). Once you've destroyed one or several of these mechs in succession, you should wait for Sygnus to cool down, before continuing onward - and especially if he is close to overheating at the time of the mechs' destruction.
Haken (ハーケン) - Much like the Karura, these blue Transformer-like battlemechs are present upon the first, second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds of the game; they attack by dashing towards Sygnus from the front or behind to fire shots from their own laser cannons at him and increase his temperature, and are worth 2000 points when destroyed. Once you have destroyed one of these mechs, you should wait for Sygnus to cool down before continuing onward - again, especially if he is close to overheating at the time of the mech destruction.
Raiden (ライデン) - As with the Karura and Haken, these silver Transformer-like battlemechs are present upon the first, second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds of the game; they'll also attack by dashing towards Sygnus from the front and behind to fire shots from their own laser cannons at him and increase his temperature and are worth 3990 points when destroyed. As with the Haken, once you've destroyed one of these, you should wait for Sygnus to cool down - and especially as they take more hits to destroy than both the Karura, and Haken.
Dakishiosu (ダキシオス) - These yellow Transformer-like battlemechs are present upon the second, third, sixth and seventh rounds of the game; they attack by marching away from Sygnus while firing shots from their own laser cannons at him to increase his temperature as he marches towards them, and are worth 4200 points when destroyed. Once you have destroyed one or two of these mechs, you should wait for Sygnus to cool down, before continuing onward - and especially as they take more hits to destroy than the Karura, Haken, and Raiden.
Powered-Up Haken (パワードアップハーケン) - These cream-brown Transformer-like battlemechs appear on the fourth and eighth rounds of the game; like their original blue counterparts they'll attack by dashing towards Sygnus from the front (or behind) to fire shots from their own laser cannons at him and increase his temperature, and are worth 4000 points when destroyed. For the fifth time, you should wait for Sygnus to cool down after you have destroyed one - especially as they take more hits to destroy than the Karura, Raiden and Dakishiosu.
Panpa (パンパー) - As with the Powered-Up Haken these silver-blue Transformer-like battlemechs appear on the fourth and eighth rounds of the game; as with the Dakishiosu, they'll attack by marching away from Sygnus while firing shots from their own laser cannons at him to increase his temperature as he marches towards them, and are worth 2080 points when destroyed. For the sixth time, you should wait for Sygnus to cool down, after you have destroyed one - and there are also nine other types of enemies that you will all have to watch out for.
Other Enemies[edit]
Hanbaga (ハンバーガー) - These hamburger-like saucers are present on the first, second, fifth, and sixth rounds of the game; they will attack by flying out towards Sygnus in a zigzag pattern while firing several fast-moving projectiles down at him, and are worth 450 points when destroyed.
Ball (ボール) - Like the Hanbaga, these floating spherical objects will also appear upon the first, second, fifth and sixth rounds of the game; they attack by floating towards Sygnus and causing his temperature to increase significantly (or even causing him to overheat) if they touch him, and are worth 10 points when destroyed. They're the enemy that is worth the smallest point value in the game, but happen to be one of the most dangerous.
Tetra Pod (テトラポッド) - These streamlined structures appear upon the second, fourth, sixth and eighth rounds of the game and will always be accompanied by three Tetra Balls (see their description, below); they will attack by darting around above Sygnus while firing shots down at him, and are worth 2800 points when destroyed. Although not as dangerous as the Balls, they can still cause Sygnus's temperature to increase quite rapidly.
Tetra Ball (テトラボール) - Three of these streamlined balls will accompany the appearance of every Tetra Pod upon the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth rounds of the game; much like their escorts, they attack by darting around above Sygnus while firing thrice as many shots down at him, and are worth 1800 points when destroyed. Again, they are not as dangerous as the Balls but can still cause Sygnus's temperature to increase quite rapidly.
Jirai (地雷) - These electric force-field generators are on the third, fourth, seventh and eighth rounds (and are worth 1000 points when destroyed).
Bombs (癇癪弾) - These explosive devices appear on the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth rounds of this game; they come in two different colours (green and white), and will attack by floating towards Sygnus and causing his temperature to increase significantly if they touch him (much like the Balls will). They are worth 350 and 950 points when destroyed respectively - and the three Kanji characters for their Japanese name are bakudan.
Missiles (ミサイルズ) - These rocket-propelled weapons appear on the fourth and eighth rounds of the game; they come in two different colours (white - although it looks more like a darker blue - and green) and attack by dropping down from their positions on the rock formations at the top of the screen in order to home in on and land on Sygnus while he's passing under them. They're worth 7000 and 10000 points when destroyed respectively.