| Mobile Light Force | |
| Mobile Light Force Cover.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Psikyo |
| Publisher(s) | Arcade Psikyo Sega Saturn Atlus PlayStation XS Games Yahoo Mobile Cave |
| Designer | Hirofumi Nakamura (character) |
| Engine | Engine Missing |
| status | Status Missing |
| Release date | Arcade 1994 (JP) Sega Saturn December 15, 1995 (JP) PlayStation December 15, 1995 (JP) March 19, 2003 (NA) 2002 (EU) Yahoo Mobile 2002 PlayStation Network June 25, 2009 (NA) |
| Genre | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, 2 player Co-op |
| Age rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Yahoo Mobile, PlayStation Network |
| Arcade system | Psikyo 1st Generation [1] |
| Media | |
| Input | 8-way Joystick, 3 Buttons |
| Requirements | |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
Mobile Light Force, released as Gunbird (ガンバード Ganbādo) in Japan, is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up released in 1994 by Japanese company Psikyo. It was followed by a sequel, Gunbird 2, in 1998.
Story[ | ]
Gunbird uses anime-styled character as the player's chosen craft. A story plays out in between levels and before boss fights, telling a tale of how the protagonists are trying to collect pieces of a magic mirror to make a wish.
Gameplay[ | ]
When player collides with the body of an enemy unit, player loses a shot power level, and the P item flies around the screen and disappears as soon as it reaches the edge. If player's fighter is at the lowest level of shot, player loses a bomb instead.
Controls[ | ]
Each character in Gunbird has three attacks:
- Normal shot: Tap A button.
- Special shot: Hold A button until pose is changed, then release.
- Bomb: Press B button. It uses 1 bomb stock. When bomb blast occurs, all enemy enemies are destroyed, and player's fighter is invulnerable.
Items[ | ]
- P: Increase shot power. If fighter is already at maximum, player gets 2000 points.
- B: Increase bomb stock by 1. If fighter already has 6 bombs, player gets 10000 points.
- Bonus: Obtain this Coin-shaped item increases score by 200 points.
Characters[ | ]
- Ash (アッシュ): A 28-year old German man with a jet pack on his back, who in some of the scenes between battles is discovered to be a pedophile, and when 2 players choose Marion and Ash as cooperative partners, he takes an unhealthy interest in her.
- Marion (マリオン): A cute 13-year old witch from England who flies on a broomstick. She is accompanied by her talking pet rabbit, Pom-Pom. She frequently abuses the poor creature verbally and physically. She's fun-loving and thrill-seeking but also selfish, and has a mean streak (which Pom-Pom is often witness to).
- Valnus (バルナス): A big, fat robot created in Russia 6 months ago. Has some of the best firepower in the game. Secretly wishes to be human.
- Yuan Nang (ヤンニャン): A strong-willed and courageous woman whose character design is highly influenced by that of Sun Wukong from the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West, including a cloud-somersault parody, Ruyi Jingu Bang, and the size-changing headband that was used by the monk Xuánzàng.
- Tetsu (鉄): A strong, white-haired old man of 60 years. He is homosexual in a rather uncloseted manner and even calls himself a "faggot".
Marion and Valnus also appear as selectable characters in Gunbird 2 (though Valnus is renamed Valpiro).
Stages[ | ]
There are 7 stages in each game loop (2 loops total). The first 4 stages are randomly chosen from possible 5.
At 2nd loop, enemies fire denser bullet patterns moving at faster speeds. Stage 2-1 takes place at the only stage not available in 1st loop, instead of the 1-1 counterpart. The remaining 3 stages are chosen in random, but does not include the replaced stage.
After completing 1st loop with only 1 player, player can choose 1 of 2 choices for a wish with magic potion, with unique ending for each choice. If 1st loop is completed with 2 player, a combination-specific ending is played.
The cutscenes between the battles with 2 players fighting cooperatively are frequently packed with hilarious dialogue and situations. This is often a recurring theme with Psikyo games, the Gunbird games being no exception. There are no cutscenes when playing 2nd loop stages.
Korean arcade version[ | ]
It contains English dialog, but some sound samples are missing during play. That was fixed in World version.
Differences in Mobile Light Force[ | ]
- A Charlie's Angels-style cover picture, completely unrelated to the original characters or the game's theme.
- Character names were changed to those of XS' employees.
- Removal of the fan art gallery from the game (although the directories are still intact on the disc if inserted into a PC).
- Removal of all in-game plot, including the game's ending.
Playstation 2 version[ | ]
PlayStation 2 version of the game was based on arcade version.