At that time, the shooting games in the game collection cards we played were basically "little bees", but its picture was monotonous and magical, and it was always given a new name in a card with hundreds of cards. But when the player found the "Shaloman snake" in the game card, everything changed.
This game has made countless players crazy, and the ever-changing game scenes and special weapon systems are constantly refreshing players' impressions of the game. At that time, we probably didn't understand why the fighting game shooting in the universe was called "Shaloman snake". We just think the name sounds tall, but how did it come from?
In fact, the Shaloman snake is just one of the derivative sequels of the classic shooting game Space Cruiser. For our domestic players, because it often appears in pirated game cards, and the Chinese name of Shaloman snake is more vivid, its name far exceeds that of space cruiser.
Speaking of Shaloman snake, we must mention the classic first-generation space cruiser, which has established a unique weapon upgrade system, which is based on this system in many branches of sequel, and even becomes the reference object of many shooting games.
So what is the charm of the "space cruiser" released by Kelemei Company?
The English name of the space cruiser is Gradius, which is a 2D horizontal scroll shooting game developed by Japan Kelemei Company. 1985 was sold on arcade, and the orthodox sequel continued to the fifth generation. The derivatives based on Space Cruiser are even more dazzling, the most famous of which are Solomon Snake and Extreme Crazy Shooting.
The era before the red and white machine can be said to be the world of Space Cruiser, and all the series except arcade are transplanted to home computers. However, due to the performance of home computers, the transplanted works have been adjusted, such as the level or weapons have shrunk, but it still does not affect its position in the shooting game world.
Space Cruises was transplanted to Nintendo's red and white machine in the second year. The most common shooting game on the early red and white machines was Burt's Bees, but repeated enemies and checkpoints will soon make players feel bored. Later, with the progress of game technology, whoever can create a brand-new shooting game can create history, and this opportunity was seized by Kelemei's space cruiser.
The first generation of levels immediately left a deep impression on players, whether it is many types of enemies, rich terrain or the most important weapon upgrade system. At the beginning of the game, like other shooting games, there were only basic one-way bullets. If you defeat a specific enemy, there will be an energy ball. The blue ones can instantly destroy the general enemies, and the red ones can choose various weapons to strengthen them. You can choose from the menu below. Speed, missile, two-way bullet, laser, submachine gun, question mark.
The speed can be increased by five levels. If it is too fast, it is easy to crash in narrow terrain. Missiles can fire missiles obliquely downward. Bidirectional bullets can fire more bullets that attack obliquely upwards, and lasers can penetrate attacks. These two weapons can only be selected at the same time, and they should be selected according to the enemy and the terrain. The sub-machine completely copies your actions and weapons. You can use it to deal with enemies in special terrain, but because of the performance of the red and white machine, the sub-machine can only carry two. The question mark can form a protective cover, which can resist 16 enemy bullets.
This upgrade system has also become the basis of the whole series of "Space Cruiser", and more will be added to the sequel energy grid, allowing you to choose more fighters with different weapons. It is worth mentioning that the famous Kelemei cheats were born in this game. After pressing the start button in the game, you can add two cell phones+missiles+shields. After this cheating, it is even more popular than the game itself. Kelemei also cleverly regards cheating as a feature of his game.
The previous flight shooting game has always been the same background and theme with the progress of the level, and the only change is the increasing difficulty. However, the background and theme of the "space cruise ship" are different at each level. With the continuous progress of the game, various scenes such as volcanoes and statues are displayed in front of the players in turn.
At that time, it can be said that no game did this, and many of its designs are still models of designing games today, and they also have a certain position in the history of STG.
Although the first and second generation space cruisers sold on the red and white machines have a high status in Japan, it is its derivative work Shaloman Snake that is really popular in China. The name "Shaloman Snake" can evoke memories of old players, because in that era when there were many pirated tapes, its real name was rarely used directly.
In fact, the two are very similar, but there are also differences in attributes. For example, Space Cruiser is only horizontal, while Salomon Snake is vertical. Although they are all infinite bullets, the theme of the level is completely different. The theme of Space Cruiser is the world of science fiction, and the theme of Solomon Snake is monsters.
The name "Shaloman snake" comes from the last Boss. When the player reaches the monster core, a snake-shaped monster lies behind a round bloody heart. This snake is called Shaloman snake.
Compared with the space cruiser, the scene of Shaloman snake and enemy is more vivid, but there are also many pirated cards and transplanted versions, which may be different for everyone. If you want to experience it again, I suggest you play the arcade version. Home computers are generally abridged versions, and the effect of arcade version can still make you memorable even now.