Historical basis of Flying Shark

[doctorx0079]

Okay, 1942 is based on the Pacific campaign with Midway Island etc. The Super Ace is really a P-38 Lightning and some of the enemy planes are supposed to be Zeros. Not sure what the other planes are. But with Flying Shark I'm just not sure what it's supposed to be at all. WWII? WWI? If it's WWII why are there biplanes? What biplanes are they supposed to be anyway? The good guy plane could be a Sopwith Salamander, maybe. Wikipedia says it was a biplane designed to attack ground targets. Could it really destroy turrets by shooting at them? What are the other planes supposed to be? Any ideas?

[the2bears]

You need to suspend belief at least a little when playing a video game.

Anyway, there were some bi-planes in WWII, in the early stages. Other than that, though, reality makes for a boring game. Better to blow things up in a shmup

Bill

[Mortificator]

This has nothing to do with suspending disbelief. Does anyone think one little Lightning won the PTO, like in 1942? DoctorX is just wondering if Flying Shark also takes a historic conflict and shmup-ifies it.

Concerning biplanes in World War II shooters, there's the Model 75 you fly in 1943 Kai and the Swordfish selectable in Sonic Wings 3 & Special. I don't know that Flying Shark is supposed to be set during WWII at all, though. The little comic in the manual for the NES port says it is, but that was probably drawn-up for the U.S. version... it even shows the "Sky Shark" as being a monoplane.

Toaplan doesn't usually come up with much (or any) story for their games. My guess would be that Flying Shark is just a mishmash of various military technology from earlier in the 20th century, without really trying to fit it to a specific war like the 1942 or Strikers series do.

I also looked up Flying Shark on Wikipedia, and it says that one of the pilots from Batsugun is supposed to be from this game, but there's no source given. The arcade flyers might give more info if anyone reads Japanese, but with Toa, I wouldn't bet on it.

[doctorx0079]

This has nothing to do with suspending disbelief. Does anyone think one little Lightning won the PTO, like in 1942? DoctorX is just wondering if Flying Shark also takes a historic conflict and shmup-ifies it.

YES, that's what I mean.

Perhaps Flying Shark could take place between the World Wars? Which conflict would it be then? You fly over the desert and then open ocean. At one point you're shooting turrets on a battleship. But I don't know enough history to figure out what any of these things are likely to be. Any history buffs around?

[emphatic]

Flying Shark takes place in an awesome dimension, similar to ours, yet with impossible firepower, screen bouncing powerups etc. That is all.

[BIL]

I also looked up Flying Shark on Wikipedia, and it says that one of the pilots from Batsugun is supposed to be from this game, but there's no source given. The arcade flyers might give more info if anyone reads Japanese, but with Toa, I wouldn't bet on it.

I've heard that about Schneider (Type A/2P pilot) too, specifically that he was cryogenically preserved (or something). From Randorama's Batsugun ST to be precise. I wonder where it was sourced from, interesting little connection if true. Not like Toaplan games didn't do similar things (eg the fifth boss' "Dogyuun!" missiles in Batsugun itself).

[emphatic]

Perhaps the story could be:

Some awesome pilot got caught behind enemy lines, and found an old Bi-Plane inside a very dirty garage *cough*GAREGGA*cough* at an abandoned airfield. This pilot then fights his way through the enemies guarding their country. This would also explain how the plane can land between stages, yet never get attacked once the plane is on the ground. It would however not explain how the enemy planes also are Bi-Planes.

[doctorx0079]

Flying Shark takes place in an awesome dimension, similar to ours, yet with impossible firepower, screen bouncing powerups etc. That is all.

An alternate WWI taking place in the Awesome Dimension. Then in WWII they used DINOSAURS.

I think your plane in this game is like the SPAD S.XIII that Eddie Rickenbacker flew. I'm not who's colors they are though. Of course you can get ridiculous firepower which is what attracted me to the game in the first place, way back when I was like 10.

Perhaps the story could be:

Some awesome pilot got caught behind enemy lines, and found an old Bi-Plane inside a very dirty garage *cough*GAREGGA*cough* at an abandoned airfield. This pilot then fights his way through the enemies guarding their country. This would also explain how the plane can land between stages, yet never get attacked once the plane is on the ground. It would however not explain how the enemy planes also are Bi-Planes.

I thought of using a similar story for a game once. It would explain why you have one plane vs. everybody else. I'm pretty sure similar stories have been used for other games e.g. Einhander.

[doctorx0079]

crap i can't delete extra posts now.

[BIL]

a very dirty garage.

You've perfectly summed up the beauty of Garegga's oft-mentioned atmosphere in one elegant phrase!

[Ed Oscuro]

Perhaps the story could be:

Some awesome pilot got caught behind enemy lines, and found an old Bi-Plane inside a very dirty garage *cough*GAREGGA*cough* at an abandoned airfield. This pilot then fights his way through the enemies guarding their country.

And there are conveniently fuel depots all around the place to land at. OK, I don't remember seeing these in Sky Shark / Flying Shark per se, but they're in Fire Shark (similar game) and other similar types of games. Shit is bananas.

a very dirty garage.

You've perfectly summed up the beauty of Garegga's oft-mentioned atmosphere in one elegant phrase!

I thought the use of blacks was more Jonny Quest than dirty...for shadows and the like. The display of the selection of ordnance at the title screen seemed very orderly to me.

[BIL]

Garegga is Raiden in need of some caustic soda and a power washer. Lots of tarnished, weather-beaten metal on display in both level and enemy designs. The entirety of Plant comes to mind, but nothing looks entirely clean in that game. And that neatly ordered ammo makes vehicles and scenery look really shitty when put to use (it's neatly ordered in the HUD too!).

[doctorx0079]

I like the nice clean colors of Flying Shark!

[esreveR]

Did anyone ever figure out much to the plot of Dogyuun! or OutZone? It would be helpful.

I don't want to derail this though.

[Snake]

Given the aircraft and the tropical/littoral looking terrain, I always thought Flying Shark was set either in the Chinese Civil War or the second Sino-Japanese War. Both had air squadrons of Volunteer American and other Western pilots, which I took the player to represent. Biplate fighters and fighter-bombers were in use well into WW2, so the plane is still plausible. It might be a Fairchild KR-34CA, or a Curtiss "Jenny."

I don't know why Japanese game developers made games about American pilots shooting down Japanese (1942, etc) but they did. They are good sports.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Sino-Japanese_War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Volunteer_Group

[Mortificator]

Those wars make for an interesting context to think of the game in. I should read more about them.

Did anyone ever figure out much to the plot of Dogyuun! or OutZone? It would be helpful.

This page has a translation of Out Zone's intro text:

A.D. 2097.

At last, humans can't control repeated invasions to the Earth. As a last resort, the United Nations commissioned the strongest cyborg soldier to the legendary space death squad.

The human race confronted being wiped out by invasions of strong aliens of Waogira planet. At that time, a message was posted to U.N. The message said that there were excellent cyborg soldiers who undertake battle with money in the remote region, so-called "Out Zone", of the galaxy system.

I imagine this being like the town meeting where the shark dude shows up in Jaws. ("We'll go to your alien Out Zone for three, and we'll shoot everything there for ten.")