Viper Phase 1

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Viper Phase 1

Promotional Flyer
Katakana バイパーフェイズ1
Developer Seibu Kaihatsu
Publisher Fabtek (US)
Tuning Electronic (DE)
Release date May 1995 (Old Version)
August 1995 (New Version)
Genre Shooter
Control 8-way Joystick, 3 Buttons
Orientation Vertical
Arcade hardware Seibu SPI system
Display 15KHz

Viper Phase 1 (バイパーフェイズ1) is a shooting game made by Seibu Kaihatsu and released in 1995. It is a spin-off of the popular Raiden series and the spiritual prequel to the Raiden Fighters series.

Story

By the year 2050, mankind begins the colonization of multiple solar systems in search for habitable planets. However, while the colonists establish original cultures and scientific studies, many of them began feuding with each other and battles broke out among them and the Earth. One rebel faction in particular rose to great power and made Earth their primary target. Earth's response was Operation Viper Phase 1: to combat the rebels using advanced space fighters built from downed enemy ships.[1]

Scoring

Scoring in Viper Phase 1 is similar to Raiden 1/2/DX. You collect medals for points. Your score tally at the end of each stage is calculated with this formula:
(Medals * 100 + Bombs * 300 + Kills * 10) * Kill-Ratio-Multiplier
The Kill-Ratio-Multiplier is determined by the percentage of enemies in a stage you kill: [2]

% Kills Multiplier
100% 100x
99% 50x
95% - 98% 40x
91% - 94% 30x
81% - 90% 20x
0% - 80% 10x

The final "End Game Tally" is calculated as follows:

  • 1,000,000 points for completing the game
  • 100 points for each enemy killed throughout
  • 1,000 points for each medal collected throughout
  • 500,000 points for no bombs used
  • 500,000 points for not dying, 100,000 points lost per death to a minimum of 300,000[3]

Medals

There are two types of medals. One is worth 500 points. The other is worth 1000 points. Periodically, a cargo pod (looks like an egg with propulsion thrusters) appears coming down from the top of the screen. Destroying it will release 5 medals. However, if you let the cargo pod live long enough to try to escape to the top of the screen, and then shoot it as it's moving up, it will release 10 medals. There are two types of medals in VP1, 500-pointers and 1000-pointers. After a while the medals will stop shimmering for a brief moment. If you can grab the medal at the moment it's not shimmering, you'll be awarded extra points. The medals will be worth 2000 and 3000 points respectively (New Version/USA only).

Scoring Tricks

  • On Stage 1, if you don't damage the medal box on the third moving platform at the start and let it go under the cover, when it comes back out, the medal is worth 30,000 points. Collecting this when it's not shimmering rewards the player with 100,000 points.
  • Destroying all the storage tanks in Stage 4 will give you a 40,000-point bonus.
  • Destroying a formation of the flying spheres in Stage 4 is worth 1,000 bonus points. Each additional consecutive formation you destroy will increase the bonus by 1,000 points all the way up to 10,000 points. Missing just one sphere in one formation will reset the bonus index back to 1,000 points.[2]

Revisions

Old Version

Released in May 1995, Initial release.

New Version

Released in August 1995. Known as Viper Phase 1: U.S.A. in the United States.

The known differences between the versions:

  • Secondary Weapons Systems: The original version of Viper Phase 1 has an exhaustible secondary weapon system. The amount of ammunition remaining in a secondary weapon is indicated by a meter on the screen. All secondary weapons in the original version are fully powered up, and are more devastating than in the new version, which gives the secondary weapons levels of power in lieu of unlimited ammunition and reduced firepower.
  • Bomb Deploy Times: The new version speeds up the deploy time of the Bomb, of which becomes the standard for when the ship appears in the Raiden Fighters series.
  • Medals: In the New Version, medals stop shimmering for a brief moment, during which their point values are higher than usual. This feature was also present in Raiden DX. Additionally, the egg-shaped medal carrier pods appear much more frequently in the New Version.[1]
  • Loop: Viper Phase 1: USA loops, while the Japanese Old Version and New Version do not.

References

External Links