Gain Ground SX

n/a

Gain Ground SX

System(s): Super CD-ROM²

Publisher: NEC Avenue

Developer: Bits Laboratory

Supporting companies: T's Music (audio), Fill in Cafe (graphics)

Licensor: Sega

Original system(s): Arcade (Sega System 24)

Genre: Action

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1992-12-25		NAPR-1032

Non-NEC versions
Arcade Master System Mega Drive

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Gain Ground SX (ゲイングランドSX) is a Super CD-ROM² port of a 1988 arcade game released for the Sega System 24 arcade platform. Unlike other versions of the game, this version only supports one player and features a Red Book audio soundtrack.

Turbo Technologies, Inc. demonstrated a North American version at Winter CES 1993, but this release was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Story

By the year 3000 AD, humanity had progressed to the point of near-perfection without any poverty, war or discrimination, however the long period of peace had diminished their survival instinct, leaving them with no idea how to defend themselves. The United Earth Government attempted to address this by developing a war simulation run by a super computer - the Gain Ground system - to revitalise the survival instinct in people should the need arise.

However, the system refused all input and went berserk during testing, and all of its creators were trapped in the simulation. Numerous rescue parties were sent into the simulation by the government, but they too were captured. The government was left with one last rescue party consisting of the most carefully selected soldiers to survive and save the captives - should they fail, the simulated world would have to be destroyed.

Gameplay

Called by developers as an "Algorithm Action Game", the core gameplay of Gain Ground is the same in all versions. Players must either eliminate all enemies on the level or evacuate all members from the level by moving them to the "EXIT" (which in some cases can be very time consuming and unnecessary). Every character in the game has strengths and weaknesses and only by using the right character for the right situation will help players finish the level. In addition to the enemies on the ground, some enemies are on the higher ground and can only be defeated with a character who possesses a weapon capable of hitting them.

Each character has one regular and one special weapon. Besides that, the only difference between characters is their movement speed. Each character's primary weapon can be fired with Ⅰ and the special weapon can be fired with Ⅱ. Each character has only one life and a single hit is enought to defeat them. When defeated, a small symbol of the character remains in the battlefield. That character can be rescued the same way as recruiting them: taking them to the "EXIT". If the character saving the downed character is also defeated, the previously defeated character will disappear. The game will be over if all characters are lost or time runs out.

Each "Era" is divided into ten stages. At the final stage of an Era, players will face against a boss. In this version of the game, a difficulty select with three options is accessed by pressing SELECT on the title screen.

Playable characters

	Athra
	Very fast. Main weapon is a short ranged but very fast firing spear throw. The special attack button lobs the spear towards any direction in a short parabolic arc, allowing the player to hit enemies above or those behind the obstacles. Useful for close range combat and rescuing other characters. Available from the beginning.
	Gascon
	Same as Athra except he can only fire his special weapon northwards in a strafing motion.
	Johnny
	Fast. Main weapon is a long ranged, fast firing semi-automatic rifle. Special weapon fires directly northwards while strafing, allowing players to fall back while firing. Available from the beginning. Useful as long as there are no enemies in the high ground.
	Professor
	Same as Johnny, except his special weapons can fire both left and right at the same time.
	Betty
	Fast. Main weapon is a medium ranged pistol. Special weapon is a short ranged grenade that can be lobbed over obstactes while strafing. Available from the beginning. Useful for close range combat and eliminating enemies in the high ground.
	Honey
	Same as Betty, except she can throw her grenade towards any direction.
	Verbal
	Very Fast. Main weapon is a medium ranged longbow. Special weapon is a very long ranged arrow that can hit enemies in the high ground or those behind the obstacles. Most useful character in the game.
	Mars
	Same as Verbal, except he can fire his long range arrow in a strafing motion.
	Lobby
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is an extreme range, elevated missile that can be fired any direction and hit enemies on the high ground. Good for eliminating such enemies.
	Mud Puppy
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is an extreme range, regular missile that can only hit enemies on the same level as the player. Great for sniping enemies on the low ground from long range.
	Cyber
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon fires a cluster missile that will spread northwards and affect a large area. Very useful for crowd control but not recommended for close combat.
	Kou
	Fast. Main weapon is a long range rifle. Special weapon is a three burst submachinegun stafing, which causes same damage but better hitbox.
	Kid
	Same as Kou except he can fire both sides at the same time with his special weapon.
	Mam
	Fast. Main weapon is a medium range pistol. Special weapon is a boomerang strafe that will come back after a while. Great for attacking hard to reach places.
	Valkyrie
	Same as above except she can throw her boomerang towards any direction.
	General
	Very Slow. Main weapon is a weak pistol. Special weapon is a very, very short ranged flamethower. Coupled with his slow speed, this makes him the worst character in the game.
	Fire Knight
	Medium speed. Main weapon is a powerful projectile. Special weapon is a napalm weapon that will remain in place for a while and kill any enemies who touch it. Rarely used.
	Glow Knight
	Same as above except his special attack is a rolling barrier that will damage any enemies who touch the knight. Useful for close combat.
	Water Knight
	Same as above except his special attack can freeze enemies about a few seconds. Useful for rescues.
	Zaemon
	Same as above except his special attack is a whirlwind that can bounce after hitting obstacles or enemies. His survival depends on a bit of luck.

Rounds

	Round 1: The Primitive Age

	Round 2: Europe in the Middle Ages

	Round 3: China Before Revolution

	Round 4: Robot in the Future

Production credits

Executive Producer: S.Ishihara
Producer: T.Tabeta
Director: S.Miyazaki, Max.Inde, K.Saitou
Programmer: K.Kuge
Support: Masas
Sound Composer: T's Music
Graphic designer: Mat.Kakisisu, Yax.Takahara, Nama.Ninnin, Momo, Fill In Cafe, Max.Inde
Special Thanks: H.Nakamura, Toruneko, S.Miyazaki, J.M.Kim, Sony.Kim, H.Mesuda, Y.Komatsuda, T.Kuwahara

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Gain Ground SX/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Super CD-ROM², JP
Cover
Disc File:Gain Ground SX PCE SCD-ROM2 JP Manual.pdf Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

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CRC32
MD5
SHA-1

CD-ROM (JP)

References

Sega Retro has more information related to Gain Ground