Chouji Meikyuu Legion

[Drum]

So I ran a board search on this and basically nobody gives a shit about it and I can't figure out why, so I thought I'd start a pity thread.

Chouji Meikyuu Legion (Nichibutsu, arcade, 1987) - translates from Japanese as 'Time Dimension Mystery Legion' apparently.
It's actually a pretty staggeringly creative game - it is, as far as I know, the first game to have a 'rewind time' mechanic which the kids like so much these days. You have a set of smart bomb things that, when activated, send everything backwards except you for a couple of seconds. They aren't as effective as a standard bomb, but the game is pretty generous with them and they add a new dimension (har) to gameplay.
The power ups are people (pink and blue) whom you go around rescuing - they then hop on turrets on your ship and shoot at enemies. Every now and again a space ambulance flies by, giving you the opportunity to drop off some of the people you rescued (this is a somewhat tricky operation, as you have to hold still for a bit and sit in just the right spot) for a score bonus, at the cost of them no longer popping aliens in the face for you. I also really like the temporary power-up that creates a string of duplicates of your ship (presumably you from a different moment in time), using the spot where you picked it up as a tether point for the duplicates. Like the rewind bomb, it doesn't last nearly long enough though. There is also some sort of level select feature where you are presented with two doors at the end of each stage that you can blast open - one is called a 'short cut' but the level you go to seems pretty random to me. Requires more research.
The action is fast and there are a ton of enemies on screen at once, many of which look pretty nice for an '87 vert.

For some reason it never made it out of Japan (I am pretty sure), and running a Google search gets you nothing but MAME roms - no writeups or info that I could find.
It is currently emulated pretty poorly in MAME, but it's quite playable.
I'd post a youtube video, but there are none so have this instead: http://www.gamesdbase.com/game.aspx?mame=legion
Discuss.

[Adigun A. Polack]

About the “Reverse Time” mechanic idea for Chouji Meikyuu Legion, Drum, that was QUITE an innovative feature back in 1987 that was so many, many years ahead of its time... long before the 2008 platformer Braid even used that same method extensively. Very damn interesting stuff if you think about it!!! !

In the meantime, getting more on-topic, here is a better and much longer video from Nicovideo of the full 1st loop of the 1987 shmup Chouji Meikyuu Legion that I have just now spotted for you as it was being played from the *original* arcade machine itself, featuring all music and sound as it was meant to be heard from this game, believe it or not!! Though the screen output is TATE-based, here is the link for you right here:

• • http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm7128742

...and for those without a Nicovideo account and *still* want to see the video, you can go to the Nicovideo Redirector site at:

• • http://mmcafe.com/nico.html

...where you can copy the first video link in this post and paste it into the blank long box at the top-center part of that Nicovideo Redirector site indeed, followed by a single click of the “Watch” button. You will then go to the next screen where you will access the target video with the Play button in the center of the small screen of that video there. Press Play, and in just a few short moments, that much-longer video of the complete 1st loop of Chouji Meikyuu Legion is ready for easy viewing!!!

And apparently, Chouji Meikyuu Legion was one of the *very* few Nichibutsu shmups in the arcades (if not THE only one, if my guess serves me correctly!) that has a 2-player simultaneous feature, including in which the other player can buy-in at most any time during play, too.

Just want to share all that with all of you, just to better see how well this 1987 game holds up with us today, you know? =b

[BulletMagnet]

I'd never heard of this one...I'll have to give it a try.

[ShmupSamurai]

I've never heard of it ethir!

That's a pretty cool find.

[Drum]

About the “Reverse Time” mechanic idea for Chouji Meikyuu Legion, Drum, that was QUITE an innovative feature back in 1987 that was so many, many years ahead of its time... long before the 2008 platformer Braid even used that same method extensively. Very damn interesting stuff if you think about it!!! !

In the meantime, getting more on-topic, here is a better and much longer video from Nicovideo of the full 1st loop of the 1987 shmup Chouji Meikyuu Legion that I have just now spotted for you as it was being played from the *original* arcade machine itself, featuring all music and sound as it was meant to be heard from this game, believe it or not!! Though the screen output is TATE-based, here is the link for you right here:

• • http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm7128742

...and for those without a Nicovideo account and *still* want to see the video, you can go to the Nicovideo Redirector site at:

• • http://mmcafe.com/nico.html

...where you can copy the first video link in this post and paste it into the blank long box at the top-center part of that Nicovideo Redirector site indeed, followed by a single click of the “Watch” button. You will then go to the next screen where you will access the target video with the Play button in the center of the small screen of that video there. Press Play, and in just a few short moments, that much-longer video of the complete 1st loop of Chouji Meikyuu Legion is ready for easy viewing!!!

And apparently, Chouji Meikyuu Legion was one of the *very* few Nichibutsu shmups in the arcades (if not THE only one, if my guess serves me correctly!) that has a 2-player simultaneous feature, including in which the other player can buy-in at most any time during play, too.

Just want to share all that with all of you, just to better see how well this 1987 game holds up with us today, you know? =b

Thanks a ton for that link, even if it makes me want to stangle the person who uploaded it. I am not turning my monitor on its side to watch a video, dammit. Interesting that it has Japanese text where the MAME version I played has English - it also tells you which level it's taking you to at the path select area, so mystery solved there I guess.
I'd like to try playing it co-op, would be interesting to see how it handles rewinding time with two players.

When I stumbled on Chouji while dicking around on MAME by eyes bugged out of my skull because I had absolutely never heard of it but it seemed like something of a milestone game - not just for the genre but for games in general. I got quite smug when I searched around and nobody else had heard of it either. I am a cock like that. Omega Fighter is still better though!

One thing: I looked at some guides explaining how to sign up for nicovideo (I've recently been japacrapping it up playing fossilised J-computer games and want to look at some playthroughs) but they seem to be out of date as the registration process has changed. Anybody know how?