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パラノイア
©1990 Naxat Soft
Release : 1990-03-01 (¥5800)
HuCard (2 Mbits) NX90001
Shooter / Horizontal
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Released in America as
PSYCHOSIS
( TGX020040 )
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Paranoia is a horizontal shooter published by Naxat Soft. An evil demon has seized
control of the player's mind and soul, and its is now his duty to travel within his own unconscious and
to prevent his inevitable descent into madness. The player takes control of
a ship with limited fire-power and special satellite options can be collected throughout the game
to boost its offensive capabilities.
The two satellites can protect the ship and also activate one of the three special weapons,
from Lightening Bolts (T), Fire Waves (W) to Lasers (B), and each one of them can be
upgraded a few times by collecting the same weapon-item twice.
Additionally, once collected, the satellites can be rotated around the ship allowing
the player to fire in a different direction.
Other items can be collected along the way, such as Speed Upgrades (S) or
Shields (colored orb).
Paranoia consists of five stages (called 'Causes') and is single player only.
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Paranoid is a game with a very unusual theme and content about mental illness.
But the weirdest part is most certainly the screen that appears each time the player completes
a stage - there, the antagonist reveals himself as a goblin-looking creature who provokes the player by
literally giving him a middle finger and shouting a muffled but still audible
'f**k you!'. This screen was obviously changed in the US Turbografx-16 version and
replaced by an index finger gesture and the questionable sound was replaced by a more
audible 'Come on!'.
Another interesting difference between the original Japanese game and the US version is
the order in which the levels are played - the second and third stage were switched around for
some strange reasons, arguably making the game more challenging.
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Teaser text from the American version:
Is your heart pounding ? Are your hands shaking ? You've got
PSYCHOSIS, the nerve shattering shoot-em-up that'll have you
crawling the walls! Blast all the freaky creatures before they
get you! But how do you keep a steady trigger finger when
they keep jumping out of nowhere! They're dropping from
the sky and popping out of the ground. They're behind every
corner! And just when you think it's safe... Shoot! Shoot!
PSYCHOSIS is all in your mind, and there's no way out!
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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The caterpillar:
There are a couple of hidden nuggets in Paranoia and the caterpillar is one of them.
At the beginning of the first stage, you will see two spider-like enemies chasing a
small pink caterpillar. If you rescue him (shoot the spiders without hitting him) he will
run away. He will reappear later in the stage as a pink cocoon. But most importantly,
he will turn into pink butterflies at the end of the level and help you against the boss
(pictures on the right).
The turtle:
The turtle is a lot more difficult to activate. You must reach the fourth level without
losing a life. When you do, a large turtle-like creature will appear and will project you.
Sound test screen:
At the tile screen, press and hold I, II, Select and Run to
activate the sound test screen (picture on the right).
Level Select (Turbografx-16 only):
At the title screen press Run to start a new game. Then press and hold II - the
screen should now stay black. While still holding II press Run five times to start
at level 2, press forty-five times for level 3, twenty-five times for level 4 and
a whooping hundred times for level 5.
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
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s
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Paranoia is such an oddball... I have to say, Naxat Soft did
really tried here to make something different - the game features a
fairly unique and unusual theme and is packed with the strangest
enemies. But
I feel that the gameplay never really gels and the difficulty is
annoyingly unbalanced - the game is brutally hard and power-ups
are sparse, which is a fundamental flaw in a game that strips you out
of all of your weapons when you die. One level even features a cheap dead end
that forces you to lose a life.
I would like to add that I still wonder why Paranoia was imported
to the US - I mean, W-Ring would have been a much
better choice (and it was released the same year).
Despite its unique theme and setting, Paranoia fails to convince that
it's anything more than a really average shooter, only purchase this one
if you find it cheap.
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