Viper Phase 1 is a 1995 scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu. Often regarded as a spin-off or spiritual successor to the Raiden series, the game shares many similarities in terms of gameplay mechanics and design.
Story[]
Space Calendar Year 2050
More than 2,000 years have passed since humanity launched a large-scale space immigration plan in search of a second Earth in the vast universe. People in each star system developed their own unique culture and science, but at the same time, their gradually growing desires knew no bounds, and before long, large-scale wars broke out between star systems. And now Earth is no exception. A rebel army from another star system, with overwhelming power surpassing Earth's scientific capabilities, has approached Earth's orbit with a giant space carrier and is demanding the unconditional surrender of the human race. With little time left, the Earth Defense Force is in a desperate situation and launches its final operation.
[First Class Operation Commander]
"Infiltrate the enemy space carrier and collect data on the enemy's main body."
"Seize the new fighter jet the enemy is developing and destroy the enemy aircraft carrier."
Furthermore, absolutely no evidence could be left that Earth was involved in this mission. Thus, operation command code S1, code name "Viper Phase 1", was activated.
Gameplay[]
Set entirely in outer space, players control a space fighter through eight stages, battling enemy fleets and challenging bosses. Opponents range from small fighters to larger cruisers, frigates, and vast space installations.
Scoring is calculated based on performance in each stage, factoring in collected medals, destroyed enemies, bombs remaining, and overall destruction rate. A final bonus is awarded at the game's conclusion, with deductions for continues used and lives lost. The endgame bonus is structured as follows:
- 1,000,000 points for completing the game loop
- 100 points per enemy destroyed
- 1,000 points per medal collected
- 500,000 points using no bombs during the entire run
- 500,000 points for no deaths, with 100,000 points deducted per death (minimum of 300,000 points).
New Version Differences[]
A "New Version" of Viper Phase 1 was released with several gameplay modifications. Known as Viper Phase 1 USA in North America and Viper Phase 1 New Version in Japan and internationally, the updates include:
- Secondary Weapons: In the original version, all secondary weapons have limited ammunition, indicated by an on-screen meter. These weapons are fully powered from the start and deal high damage. The New Version introduces permanent secondary weapons with four power levels and reduces their damage to compensate for unlimited ammunition.
- Bomb Deployment Time: The New Version accelerates bomb deployment, a feature later incorporated in the Raiden Fighters series for guest appearances of Judge Spear and Blue Javelin.
- Medals: Inspired by mechanics in Raiden DX, medals in the New Version briefly stop shimmering, granting extra points when collected. Enemy carriers of medals also appear more frequently.
Power-Ups[]
Viper Phase 1 offers six power-up types, with players starting each life equipped with a primary Vulcan cannon:
- P (Power-Up): In the original version, powers up only the main Vulcan cannon; in the New Version, it also powers up the active secondary weapon to a maximum of four levels.
- B (Bomb): Adds one bomb, with a maximum capacity of seven bombs.
- L (Laser): Similar to the Raiden series' Lightning Laser, this powerful secondary weapon deals high damage but lacks spread.
- M (Burst Missile): Cruise missiles that explode on impact, dealing secondary damage in a burst pattern. Featured in Raiden Fighters 2 as part of the loadout of the 2P ship (given the name "Blue Javelin").
- N (Napalm Missile): Releases green napalm explosions on impact, causing overlapping damage. Also present in Raiden Fighters as part of the loadout of the 1P ship (given the name "Judge Spear").
- W (Wide Vulcan): A secondary weapon with wide screen coverage but low damage.
Hardware[]
Viper Phase 1 runs on Seibu's SPI System hardware, with game software stored on ROM daughterboards compatible only with specific regional mainboards. For example, Japanese daughterboards are incompatible with European motherboards.
Stages[]
NOTE: Boss names in italics are unofficial.
| Stage | Name | Boss | BGM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spaceport | Protejour | Go Straight Ahead!! |
| 2 | Space Fleet 1 | Espada | Outer Space |
| 3 | Refueling Base | Iscariot | Mission Striker |
| 4 | Storage Facility | Iron Module | Forcing Breakthrough |
| 5 | Asteroid Belt | Battering Taurus | Invisible Enemy |
| 6 | Space Fleet 2 | Cyber Hawk | Counteroffensive |
| 7 | Space Colony | Balor | Unknown Threat |
| 8 | Missile Silo | Copper Caoineag | Destiny |
Music[]
The soundtrack for Viper Phase 1, composed by Go Sato, diverges from the traditional Raiden series sound, featuring synthesized instruments. In 2005, the soundtrack was released with a superplay DVD demonstrating expert gameplay. The soundtrack is also an unlockable feature in the Japan-exclusive Raiden DX for Sony PlayStation, allowing players to replace the default Raiden DX music with tracks from Viper Phase 1.
External Links[]
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
| Raiden video games | ||
| Raiden series | Raiden ● Raiden II (DX) ● Raiden III ● Raiden IV (Overkill) ● Raiden V (Story) | |
| Raiden Fighters series | Raiden Fighters ● Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive ● Raiden Fighters Jet (text transcript) | |
| Compilations | The Raiden Project ● Raiden Fighters Aces ● Raiden Legacy | |
| Other Seibu Kaihatsu/MOSS shmups | Stinger ● Scion ● Air Raid ● Viper Phase 1 ● Caladrius (Blaze) ● Raiden NOVA | |