Strikers 1945 III

Strikers 1945 III (Strikers 1999 in Japan) is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up released in 1999 by Japanese company Psikyo, publisher of all the Strikers 1945 series and Google Play, APX Software, and Mobirix for the Android version.

Story

Fall, 1999 A.D.

An extraterrestrial swarm of nanobots (microscopic robots) have invaded Earth and infiltrated military bases in every country and began to multiply. Military craft infested with these nanobots became fully automated and soon began indiscriminate attacks on every country in the world, resulting in mass devastation. Fear soon began to surface about the grim possibility of these extraterrestrial nanobots infiltrating the world's nuclear weapons, resulting in world nuclear war. The small number of military craft that have not been infiltrated yet by the nanobots have been recovered. A small combat force has been assembled to fight against the entire world.

When the Chaos Queen's nanites landed, it was not only the known militaries that were overridden. F.G.R., thought dispersed towards the end of 1945, had been working behind the scenes, looking for a time when they might be able to get rid of Strikers and no longer have a severe obstacle in the path to world domination. Recently, they had perfected six new shapeshifters that they figured would give them a very good edge against the Strikers--Spectre, Green Bender, Spike Arm, Thanatos, Warlord, and Ground Skater. Unfortunately for F.G.R., the nanobots would infect them as well, with the exception of Warlord.

Not wanting Warlord to get infected too, several F.G.R. VIP's and pilots ran to Strikers Command with the modified X-36--circumstances do now require that these two enemies cooperate...

The Strikers would really have preferred F.G.R. to not build the infected machines--especially since one of them, namely Green Bender, is completely invisible to every known detection system. Fortunately, the other four aren't so visible. The Strikers are immediately ordered to take down the battle groups headed by the four shapeshifters. Since they'd like to have some kind of world to rule, F.G.R. volunteers Warlord as well.

Aircraft

A slight change from the previous two titles; the WWII fighter planes have been replaced by modern fighter jets.

Unlocking in Android version

In the Android version, unlocking ships are easier. Initially only the Super Hornet is available by default. Every other plane costs 300 rubies to unlock, and opting for a random choice costs 1500 gold coins. The planes that can be unlocked are as follows:

F/A-18 Super Hornet (Default)
F-117 Stealth Fighter (Share the game on Facebook once)
F-22 Raptor (Defeat bosses 100 times)
AV-8 Harrier (Obtain 3000 medals)
F-4 Phantom II (Collect Daily Bonus 15 times)
X-36 (Upgrade 12 times)

You can also watch an ad to unlock a still-locked plane for free with an extra condition that you can only use it once.

Gameplay

The player chooses from one of 6 Modern jet fighter aircraft and shoots through eight stages (the first four levels are randomly chosen, and the last four remain the same for each play). Once the game is beaten, a report showing the statistics of the player are displayed, and the game 'loops' with the difficulty much higher. Each game (on default settings) begins with three lives, and an extra life is earned at 600,000 (or 800,000). When all lives are lost, the option to continue is given but the score is reset. After the defeat of the final boss, the player's time, number of medals, and number of enemies killed are added up for each level and, if high enough, marked with three stars. In the Android version, the score is carried on; however, the player must pay gold coins or rubies for each subsequent continues.

Continue	Payment
1st	1000 gold coins
2nd	2000 gold coins
3rd	50 rubies
4th	100 rubies

Another latest feature is the Technical Bonus. During a boss battle, a blue orb is revealed as the weak point. In order to get a 'quick kill', the fighter plane must be extremely close to the orb until it turns red by firing the orb while getting it close to it. Once the fighter plane 'embraces' the orb, the boss is destroyed quickly and adds points for the technical bonus. However revealing the orb from the boss will only take once when it unleashes an attack pattern that is also its weakness. For players, they have to memorize the attack pattern, use a Bomb to dissolve all the bullets, and while in effect, touch the orb while getting close to it for a quick victory.

Differences in the Android version

The Android version has the following extra and unique features

Players can link their scores to their Facebook and/or Google Plus accounts.
It contains a Multiplayer mode
Players can invite friends on Facebook to play the game
In-game currency in the form of gold coins and rubies that can be used for unlocking/upgrading planes, continuing after losing all lives and to purchase additional bombs after the stock has been depleted. It can also be obtained by succesfully completing misssions.
Rewards for each mission
Daily gold coin bonus (starting at 00:00 AM UTC).
All planes move as fast as the swipe inputs.

Basics

Each aircraft in 1945 III has three attacks:

Normal shot (Tap the A button or hold the C button. Auto-fire in the Android version): A spray of bullets that can be strengthened by collecting power-ups.

Charge shot (Hold the A button. Touching the explosion button in the Android version): An attack that varies for each aircraft is based upon a charge meter. The meter is composed of four levels ranging from empty to level 3 (in the Android version, level 1 is indicated by a green explosion, level 2 is yellow, and level 3 is red), and the more the meter is filled, the greater the power of the attack. Charge shots can be cancelled anytime by releasing the A button (in the Android version, charge shots will go on until the meter is empty).

Bomb (Press the B button. Touching the Bomb icon in the Android version): An attack that varies for each aircraft; the aircraft drops a bomb to negate enemy bullets while also dealing massive damage. In the Android version, after all free bombs are used up, extra bombs will be charged worth 100 gold coins, then 200 gold coins, and finally 3 rubies.

Difficulty level (Android version)

In the Android version, players can select the difficulty of the game.

Difficulty	Score multiplier	Unlock condition	Payment
Easy	x1	Default	N/A
Normal	x2	Default	N/A
Pro	x3	Clear Mission 5 in Normal difficulty	750 gold coins
Master	x4	Clear Mission 5 in Pro difficulty	1500 gold coins

The "Master" difficulty seems to correspond to the arcade's second loop.

Items

Power Ups

Power-Ups are released by shooting certain enemies in Strikers 1945 III, mainly red colored ones. When a power up is collected, the player's normal shot becomes more powerful and a secondary shot (such as homing missiles) may become available to the player. Up to three power ups can be collected, any after that are worth 4000 points. It is possible to 'power down' at any time by colliding with an enemy craft.

Bombs

At the beginning of the game, the player has a stock of two bombs. By destroying certain enemy craft, mainly larger ones, a bomb icon will be released and bounce around the screen. When collected, another bomb will be added to the player's stock. A total of nine can be collected, any other icons will reward the player with 10000 points. In the Android version, if the player runs out of free bombs, three additional "charged" bombs can be used

1st	100 gold coins
2nd	200 gold coins
3rd	3 rubies

Medal Chaining

Medal Chaining works by collecting medals when they are worth 2000 points. Medals are worth 2000 points when they flash white for a split-second. The easiest way to chain is to find targets that release multiple medals when you destroy them (i.e. a medium tank). The medals spin at a consistent rate and complete one rotation even one second. The first medal you pick up to start the chain is worth 2000 points. Chained medals will be worth 2200 points, and counter with yellow numerals appear under your score, indicating how many medals you have thus chained so far (in the Android version, there is no chain indicator meaning you have to count the chained medals manually). Chaining requires precise timing while avoiding enemy attacks. Whatever chain you have accumulated will be broken if you collect a medal valued at less than 2000 points or die. You will then have to start all over if any of these things happen.

Upgrading Ships (Android version only)

In the Android version, the player can upgrade their ships through purchasing

Upgrade Type	Description	Cost
Charge Shot	Charge Shot starts at Level 2	100 rubies
Sub weapon	Sub weapon becomes twice as strong	200 rubies
Force field	Blocks enemy attacks once	300 rubies

Stages and Bosses

Like it's predecessor, Strikers 1945 II, the first 4 stages are in random order, whereas stages 5-8 are in proper order.

Stage 1 to 4 (random):
-United States of America: Grand Canyon, AZ
Boss: Spectre (Gunship Helicopter/stag beetle)

Enemies: Jets, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, Y-20.

-Japan: Offshore defensive platform, Nagasaki
Boss: Spike Arm (Hovercraft/water strider)

Enemies: Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyers, PT Boats.

-Russia: Heavy Armory, Kazan
Boss: Ground Skater (Super-Tank/spider)

Enemies: Tanks, Jets.

-Australia: Sydney, New South Wales
Boss: Thanatos (Military train/mantis)

Enemies:Tanks, AH-64 Apaches, CH-64 Chinooks, Military Trains.

Stage 5: Sea of Clouds
Boss: Green Bender (Heavy bomber/leaf insect)

Stage 6: Low Earth Orbit: Space Station
Boss: Cross Blade or Geo-Bite (both are Satellites; Cross Blade becomes a pair of houseflies, and Geo-Bite becomes a mosquito)

Stage 7: Hyperspace Warp Gate
Boss: Shadow Blinder (Space battleship-dung beetle hybrid)

Stage 8: Chaos Headquarters
Boss: Chaos Queen (Pupa/Demon queen bee/molted queen bee/base core)

Gallery

Trivia

The Chaos Queen is the only boss in the game that is purely organic, unlike the others, which are mechanical.
- Coincidentally, this boss does not let the player earn a Technical Bonus.
All of the bosses in this game are based on insects, save for Ground Skater, which is based on a spider, spiders being arachnids.
Thanatos is similar to Gliath in Strikers 1945 II, being a large heavily armed military train. However, Thanatos has a green color scheme, three train cars, and a different transformation.
Shadow Blinder is the only level boss with a single form.
Since this game are replaced with modern aircraft, all of the playable jet fighters are exclusive.
In Stage 6, you can choose which of the two bosses you will fight by positioning yourself on your screen before the pods containing them begin to move. If you are positioned above the middle ejection tube, Cross Blade will appear; if you are on the left or right, Geo Bite will appear.
This is the only Strikers video game to feature helicopter enemies, discounting Iron Casket in Strikers 1945 II.

Links

Sources

Strikers 1945 III at TRFE