Science fiction/fantasy in shmups

[Tar-Palantir]

OK, so I'm a total geek, but I'm a widely-read science fiction fan and since shmups started out as 'space games' and Spacewar was inspired by the Lensman books, I wonder how many science-fiction influences (both literary and visual) you can dig up in shmups.

Some common sci-fi themes/gimmicks I've seen are:

-The AI that decides to wipe out humanity/AI gone berserk (the Ray series, Silkworm, Acrobat Mission, and much more)
-Time dilation during the course of a game means our heroes cannot return to their home (one ending in Darius II)
-Being minaturised and sent into the human body (X-Multiply, so the arcade flyer claims)

There are, of course references to science fiction sometimes in games (Gun Frontier, Nemesis in Metal Black, and Fomalhaut in Thunder Force IV)

Graphically, I suppose a lot is owed to Matsumoto (every ship that vaguely resembles a naval battleship is his fault) for ship design and mecha to Gundam (which owe a bit to Robert Heinlein's powered armor), and every boss with a weak central spot can be traced back to the Death Star.

[iatneH]

X-Multiply is inside the human body??? So THAT's what's been irritating my bowels lately... or maybe it was the cranberries and ice cream...

[tehkao]

What does Fomalhaut refer to?

It's such a weird cool sounding name, I've always wondered where it came from....

[Tar-Palantir]

Fomalhaut is some world that crops up in the works of Ursula LeGuin.

[Cthulhu]

I think Fomalhaut is actually the name of a star system...

*checks* Okay, it's not, it's the name of a star. Apparently it's one of the closer stars to earth. Go check google if you want more info. ^_^

[ST Dragon]

Thunder Force V.
Can't get any better than this, as far as science fiction.
This game should have been turned into a movie.

[Randorama]

Almost all shmups have to thanks Matsumoto, design-wise. The whole idea behind gunfrontier and thus about that kind of steampunk (which is the basis of Battle garegga, the giga wings, etc: western steampunk as opposed as eastern steampunk of the Sengoku Blade kind) is due to "gunfrontier" by Matsumoto, a very old series (1973?) which should actually be a pure western anime, but was nevertheless influential.

Speaking of the Sengoku Steampunk, i'm pretty sure it is based on some actually influential anime, but i can't think of which one. If this is not enough, you should consider that Esp.Ra.De and similar stuff is mainly based on the usual teenager-based manga etc etc, so you can safely say that most of shmups are based on sci-fi.Note: the Mahou series is also more or less sci-fi, and it's the classical "after the nuclear war, mutations induced by radiations created the old races of myth and magic blah blah", like the setting of "Tragic Millennium" in Hawkmoon's fantasy series (by Michael Moorcock and no, Games' Workshop predated his work and not viceversa).

[Soldato J]

I think Fomalhaut is actually the name of a star system...

*checks* Okay, it's not, it's the name of a star. Apparently it's one of the closer stars to earth. Go check google if you want more info. ^_^

P'shaw Cthulhu, your relative Hastur lives there....you great old ones have to stick together!

(sorry, I feel silly today)

Edit: Any Lovecraft fans around?

[Tar-Palantir]

Me. My plush Cthulhu says hello!

@Rando: "Tragic Millenium" is found on which Hawkwind record(s)? Did Moorcock write a book on it as well? I remember Hawkwind writing a Jerry Cornelius song.

And of course, who can forget H.R.Giger and Alien (and thus, "Black Destroyer" by Arthur van Vogt)? I also like to imagine that the designers of ESPRade were thinking of "The Demolished Man".

[Randorama]

Hawkmoon, not Hawkwind

Speaking of GOP and Cecil the fighting cephalopod...Taito designers have a soft spot for CMoon's fellow citizen: the giant slugs in Metal Black are supposed to be the original creatures from space claiming the planet, and the great ones in G.Darius are anicent hybrid life-forms that awake from slumber, because their creators (also the great ones, or maybe the great old ones, can't remember the translation) designed them to be the defenders of the universe in case some menace should arise (the rise of man, of course).

[Soldato J]

Well, he wrote Hawkmoon and was in Hawkwind. Too bad there are no Hawkmoon songs by Hawkwind

Also, gotta mention Bane of the Black Sword (Elric stuff w/Hawkwind)...

[Nuke]

Edit: Any Lovecraft fans around?

Is Nyarlatothep the crawling chaos?

[Tar-Palantir]

Hawkmoon, not Hawkwind

Now to look for them.

[Cthulhu]

Lovecraft fans? I deny ever having had sexual relations with that tentacle. No further comments.

[Soldato J]

Ia! Ia!

How 'bout a "Stars are Right" Shmup? I can see some crazy endtimes Delta Green spacecraft gunning down Night Gaunts, Bhyakee, Mi-Go, Hunting Horrors, Colours Out of Space, Star Spawn, etc. Final showdown with something huge and horrible like a GOO? Heh, futile, I know, but some of the monstrosities that appear in past shmups approach Outer God/Great Old One status, no?

[cue maniacal laughter]

Ftagn!!!!

[Ghegs]

Hehe, a Lovecraftian shmup might be an interesting take on the mythos. Maybe there could be a "sanity meter" like in Eternal Darkness or something...the less sane you are, the more insane the bullet patterns become.

[SheSaidDutch]

Hehe, a Lovecraftian shmup might be an interesting take on the mythos. Maybe there could be a "sanity meter" like in Eternal Darkness or something...the less sane you are, the more insane the bullet patterns become.

lol imagine how frustrating that would be 1CC when the false error message comes up

[Skyknight]

Randorama: Is this to say you have the original Japanese story of G-Darius? AND official explanation of the endings? (I'm guessing this has to do with those extra ending files someone found on the Japanese disc)

...

NOW maybe I can make sure my fanstory doesn't conflict overmuch (or at all) with canon...

First, for comparatives:

http://www.geocities.com/hugedb/gameinfo/GDIntro.html

This is a direct transcript (with a few grammatical corrections from me) from THQ's manual. I noticed, after running the original Japanese text of the backdrop through BabelFish, that THQ culled religion references (what I noticed--the Caju force is really called Noah, the Amnelian carrier Angel Guard, Amnelia XXV's prophecy regarding the pilots...although that was still in the attract modes). There wouldn't be anything ELSE I should know about, would there?

Looking at the arcade attract mode, I don't think the ones who developed Thiima (what are they, anyway? Cyborgs? Enchanted machines?) saw just humanity's rise as a danger, but rather the technology to unmake the cosmos (i.e. original form of All-Nothing).

Playing with the endings...The Xi ending DOES imply that Thiima is holy in nature (after all, Accordion Hazard became part of that "new Silver Hawk"). Omicron...after finding the reference to Angel Guard, I'm now certain that Belser is in fact Amnelian in origin, and that the vessel that carted off Great Thing's wreckage was Angel Guard itself. Now if I could just make sense of the Nu ending (or Genesis itself, for that matter...there's a Dream Tender, "Embryon" means "something about to be born...)...

[Randorama]

Skynight: no, i have (at my home in Italy, i'm now in The Netherlands) the original soundtrack, in which there's a short explanation behind the plot and the design. One basic idea, though, that the thiima are actually experiments ("chimerae", from the greek mythology, etc etc) which have an implanted brain on an hosting body. This is an ill-fated idea of the great old ones (not sure about this translation...) as these creatures can't survive for more than 10 hours ( i don't remember well, maybe ten days, basic idea: short life-span). One idea behind the whole Darius series and design should be "the fight for survival", as the Thiima should represent the old life forms trying to unmake the new ones (the human beings, potentially a menace for the cosmos because of they are the new generation of life forms). Not too sure about this part, as i lcak the original text and the only translation i got was from a friend of mine who's just decent at japanese.


About the endings...if you can get a video/audio ripper for psx, the text explaining the endings are easily rippable, as easter eggs, actually. If you can do this job (i can't access any copies of the games, sorry), i suppose some member of the forum can translate them ( i remember Chutlhu gently offering to do it, and i forgot to upload the video, if you're reading this, Chtulhu, can you help ).

[Skyknight]

I can see, then, why the Thiima were so panic-stricken about All-Nothing's existence. Bad enough that they have a hard time existing for anything beyond a few weeks (I suppose Death Wings, Dimension Diver, et al. are exceptions. SOME Thiima must have the ability to live beyond the usual ten days, since it took them three years to get to Amnelia after All-Nothing's testing, Eclipse Eye was there for the initial attack on Mahsah, and several MORE years elapsed from then to the game's events), but now there's something that could obliterate them altogether...Too much stress?

But I have to wonder where the brains came from. Specially grown by the ancients, or those of the ancients themselves? If the latter, perhaps the Thiima were actually their attempt at immortality...And the Embryon, which can seemingly summon/generate additional vessels by itself, is the ancients' king?

Either way, it explains the "Future is Over" subtitle for the arranged soundtrack--Thiima's creators don't fancy being replaced by "upstart" humanity. Future? The ancients don't want any more progression...Except maybe the ones bonded to Heavy Arms Shell and Accordion Hazard, if the Mu and Xi endings are any indication (and A.H. is pretty iffy even then). If anything...the ancients want to turn back the clock. As though a few remaining dinosaurs in our time wanted to reset the world to Cretaceous conditions, or anomalocarids to reset to Cambrian conditions.

As to Belser...perhaps an Amnelian officer who made a devil's deal with the ancient bonded to Great Thing. Immortality, in exchange for helping the ancients reclaim their grip on the universe.

Now if the life cores that were used to research the Silver Hawks were actually Thiima souls (ancients or crafted; doesn't matter), then maybe the Silver Hawks themselves are a kind of neo-Thiima. Ironically, the Amnelians found a way for the Thiima to get something resembling a meaningful lifespan. Now if Eclipse Eye et al. would kindly listen...

{quiet chuckle} It's strange that earlier, the ancients were the norm, but now, they're more like a nasty plague. At least, if the song names (normal and arrange alike) are any indication--"Phage", "B.T. Dutch", "Ravenous Cell", "H.G. Virus", and "Rabbit Epidemic" are the main ones.

Now we just have to wait to get the translations for those text files...

[Randorama]

I don't really know what exactly they meant by the whole concept of Chimera. Maybe the bosses are actually the n-th generation of that specific species...yes, 10 days of life span and years to have a plan to come to progression.

Also, the right translation should be "future perfect" (which is a future form which expresses an event which will be over..."After eating the food, i will be satisfied", just to be clear). The basic idea *should* be that that the future triggered by the events is the rest of the Darius series...

I think that there are some errors in the THQ plot, as G.Darius should use again the Metal Black idea (Metal Black being originally a Darius game then made a stand-alone title) of the humans using the aliens biotechnology to fight them back...the All-nothing device should be then the device based on the Ancients' technology to cancel away the Ancients' existance. Or, if you prefer, the Silver Hawk is the new that cancels the old by improving their inheritance...

Aside from the wild ramblings, the main plot should be strongly focused on "evolutionary" aspects, but i suspect that a more "relativistic" approach is also part of the plot. seriously doubt that the thiiima are seen as just black-and-white baddies.

[Skyknight]

I once ended up running the original Japanese manual story through Babelfish. Comparing with the THQ iteration, I found that All-Nothing really does predate Amnelia's encounter with the Thiima (now, whether All-Nothing was literally part black magic, or just demonic--the point is, did THQ translate the syllable "ma" the right way). Remember, according to the arcade attract movie, the "disappearance of a planet" (All-Nothing's test) was what got the attention of the Thiima.

Also, it took me a while to realize why I was having so much trouble figuring out how to correct the manual's entry on the Silver Hawk--THQ had apparently chosen the wrong way to translate one verb. Rather than "conquering" Thiima and All-Nothing, the Silver Hawk *combines* them into one neat little package.

While the Thiima themselves probably aren't evil (just panicky), I wonder whether the same can be said of the Mabaher (I doubt Our Heroes are visiting the place by chance, and if the Theta preview art is any indication...). From what I understand, a typical genre in popular Japanese entertainment is that "creating brand new life-forms"--especially the chimeraic variety (here, "chimera" means "genetic admixture/abomination")--is a Bad Thing (tm). And at the twilight of their rule, that's what the Mabaher did. SOMEONE didn't trust the cosmos to keep after itself...

I have a strong suspicion that the canon ending is actually a bit of an admixture--primarily the Mu ending, with parts of the Nu and Omicron endings adjusted to fit it. Specifically...

1. Sameluck and Lutia besiege Kazumn's northern hemisphere and battle Heavy Arms Shell. Whe H.A.S. is destroyed, Sameluck is apparently caught in its ruin. In reality, the "core" of H.A.S.--the spiked crystal from the boss intro--fled to Genesis space to survive, and somehow pulled Sameluck with it.
2. The Thiima in Genesis, commanded by the Embryon, try to eliminate Sameluck. Meanwhile, most of the Thiima on Darius and Kazumn start going after Lutia. She tries to escape through one of the ruined cities on Darius...or at least, get most of the Thiima off her tail. Great Thing is more than a little persistent, though...
3. Once Great Thing and the Embryon are destroyed, the Thiima finally decide that this just isn't worth the candle. Still, by all rights, with his ship ruined during the fight with the Embryon, Sameluck should have been consumed by Genesis. But something--either the Thiima in general, or a lingering ancient--has pity on him, and sends him to Darius to be reunited with Lutia...but with a kind of gift. Specifically, his genotype is slightly altered to be more in line with that of the ancients (from the Theta art, I'm guessing the ancients were themselves humanoid). Meanwhile, the Angel Guard picks up the wreckage of G.T. and H.A.S. Belser has plans to "breed" his own loyal army, and with these, the wrecks from previous Amnelian battles, and whatever he can get on Mabaher...

That just leaves taking Darius and Kazumn so he has a monopoly on Thiima-derived weapons...

I suppose the titles of the ending movies might help a bit...

Lambda: Birth of the People of Planet Darius
Mu: Birth of a New Human Race
Nu: Birth of Planet Darius
Xi: Birth of a New Silver Hawk
Omicron: Birth of the Belser Army

Speaking of Metal Black, was it ever explained WHY those naga-kin left Earth in the first place? Kicked off by Nodens, maybe?

[ST Dragon]

In RayStorm:

There are various references to Rome and Carthage's wars, (i.e. you land on the Ethruria region of Secilia...now, "Ethruria" was the old name of Tuscany, which was part of the Roman provinces, during the said wars).

Having studied a lot of the Greco-Roman history I find this a very nice corelation for a shoot em up.

Also in Metal Black, there's another Matsumoto's reference: the dried-up ocean you see on Earth, & the huge Red setting sun, basically (from "Captain Harlock" series).
Also the Aircraft Carrier on the crab's back, looks a lot like the destroyed Carrier "Prometheus" from Macross DYRL, when they arrive on the bombared earth.

[Randorama]

Uhm, after a quick glance i think that yes, the whole ending has to be a mix of the various endings, with the various inconsistencies. "Life creation goes bad" is also a typical theme of japanese science-fiction, does the name Godzilla ring a bell?

I can't make too much sense of the stages' names, though, any clues?

On metal Black: well, the human beings were created by the Amazon race lead by Emeralda in Harlock, by comparison i suppose that the Naga-kin get back to claim their planet from their experiment, and the drying ocean (other Harlock quote) is their terraforming process...

Finally, Secilia was not part of Carthago's empire, to my memory, during the Punic wars, so i think that Taito made a small mistake in "coherency"....

[Skyknight]

Raystorm: Also consider the names of the bosses...Almost all foes of Rome.

1: Pendragon
2: Vercingetorix
3: Zenobia
4: Hannibal
5: Genseric
6: Alaric
7: Spartacus, Yggdrasil

If I remember correctly, the first three were actually converted Earth battle vessels. Spartacus, of course, was probably built long before Secelia declared war on Earth. So that leaves Hannibal (of Carthage, Rome's mortal enemy), Genseric (king of the Vandals), and Alaric (leader of the Visigoths) as being specifically designed for the war effort. Unlike Pendragon et al., these three represent groups who were specifically after Rome's power, rather than simply resisting Roman authority (Spartacus can be thought of as both). I get the feeling that Secelia wasn't so much interested in freeing the other colonies from Earth's oppression as rather becoming the new dictator.

An interesting point is the name of the song that plays when you're fighting Alaric and Spartacus--"Molecular Clock". The term comes from evolutionary theory, and describes the way a protein's complexity progresses in a chain of evolutions. Is the implication that the Secelians see themselves as inherently superior to both Earth and the other colonies? "Secelia" might mean "an outside heaven", and its host planet is "Seraphim", the angelic choir that answers only to God...

Back to G-Darius...One of my sticking points about the only problem being the Thiima is the Embryon. At least one fansite I found (http://www10.ocn.ne.jp/~hazardz/darius/bte.html) specifically calls it the leader of the mechanical life forms. Now, this critter is based on the naked sea butterfly (Clione limacina limacina), a TINY pelagic mollusc (not much wider than a strand of hair, apparently) often compared to an angel. Of course, no mollusc has the obviously humanoid head that the Embryon does. The Mabaher ruins have a definite humanoid quality, though. In short, I'm wondering if the Embryon is a Thiima in the first place. Perhaps an ancient's vessel of immortality, or an automated life crafter (which, after all this time, might have found a way past the Thiima-don't-last-past-day-ten problem).

On the subject of ending mixing, I suspect the same for Darius Gaiden...

Initial: X and Y; both bosses are destroyed by both Proco and Tiat (well, apparently destroyed in Hysterical Empress's case). The ruin of the sky base will stop the attacks on Vadis (and the impending attacks on Olga), and the destruction of Odious Trident's contingent will ensure the safety (for now) of the indigenous wolf-bear people.
Juncture: Tiat tackles the Storm Causer, while Proco chases down Belser himself, having to take a route through the ocean depths. This, of course, means he runs into Risk Storage.
End result: Storm Causer is destroyed, which should allow repopulation to actually take place...once Belser has been dealt with, that is. However, Tiat receives a desperate message from Proco (he destroyed Risk Storage, but the damage he incurred is slowly crushing his vessel). He has discovered that if Belser is destroyed (by destroying his personal host, Curious Chandelier), the resulting chain reaction will also destroy Darius and Kazumn. Tiat and the rest of the Vadis forces have no choice but to retreat, and hope that they and Olga can find a way, some time in the future, to safely reclaim the system.

The good news: Belser knows better than to go after Vadis or Olga right away. The bad news: He's found a good place to extend his conquests. A planet that is currently reeling from a bad run-in with the ancients' old enemies, the Nemesis...Even with the hundred years it'll take to assemble a good...school...of pledged Thiima, he shouldn't have much trouble...

[Randorama]

Quick reply on Raystorm:

I suppose the programmers were making a reference to our current situation, as Secilia, the once enslaved colony, wants now to be the enslaver. It sounds like they're making a reference to the USA administrations and their attitude, from my point of view.

On G.Darius: i don't really know, in the sense that the Embryon seem to hint to something else...maybe the ancients themselves were hybrid, and their heritage is a "pure" human form?

[ST Dragon]

Raystorm: Also consider the names of the bosses...Almost all foes of Rome.

1: Pendragon
2: Vercingetorix
3: Zenobia
4: Hannibal
5: Genseric
6: Alaric
7: Spartacus, Yggdrasil

If I remember correctly, the first three were actually converted Earth battle vessels. Spartacus, of course, was probably built long before Secelia declared war on Earth. So that leaves Hannibal (of Carthage, Rome's mortal enemy), Genseric (king of the Vandals), and Alaric (leader of the Visigoths) as being specifically designed for the war effort. Unlike Pendragon et al., these three represent groups who were specifically after Rome's power, rather than simply resisting Roman authority (Spartacus can be thought of as both). I get the feeling that Secelia wasn't so much interested in freeing the other colonies from Earth's oppression as rather becoming the new dictator.

An interesting point is the name of the song that plays when you're fighting Alaric and Spartacus--"Molecular Clock". The term comes from evolutionary theory, and describes the way a protein's complexity progresses in a chain of evolutions. Is the implication that the Secelians see themselves as inherently superior to both Earth and the other colonies? "Secelia" might mean "an outside heaven", and its host planet is "Seraphim", the angelic choir that answers only to God...

Back to G-Darius...One of my sticking points about the only problem being the Thiima is the Embryon. At least one fansite I found (http://www10.ocn.ne.jp/~hazardz/darius/bte.html) specifically calls it the leader of the mechanical life forms. Now, this critter is based on the naked sea butterfly (Clione limacina limacina), a TINY pelagic mollusc (not much wider than a strand of hair, apparently) often compared to an angel. Of course, no mollusc has the obviously humanoid head that the Embryon does. The Mabaher ruins have a definite humanoid quality, though. In short, I'm wondering if the Embryon is a Thiima in the first place. Perhaps an ancient's vessel of immortality, or an automated life crafter (which, after all this time, might have found a way past the Thiima-don't-last-past-day-ten problem).

On the subject of ending mixing, I suspect the same for Darius Gaiden...

Initial: X and Y; both bosses are destroyed by both Proco and Tiat (well, apparently destroyed in Hysterical Empress's case). The ruin of the sky base will stop the attacks on Vadis (and the impending attacks on Olga), and the destruction of Odious Trident's contingent will ensure the safety (for now) of the indigenous wolf-bear people.
Juncture: Tiat tackles the Storm Causer, while Proco chases down Belser himself, having to take a route through the ocean depths. This, of course, means he runs into Risk Storage.
End result: Storm Causer is destroyed, which should allow repopulation to actually take place...once Belser has been dealt with, that is. However, Tiat receives a desperate message from Proco (he destroyed Risk Storage, but the damage he incurred is slowly crushing his vessel). He has discovered that if Belser is destroyed (by destroying his personal host, Curious Chandelier), the resulting chain reaction will also destroy Darius and Kazumn. Tiat and the rest of the Vadis forces have no choice but to retreat, and hope that they and Olga can find a way, some time in the future, to safely reclaim the system.

The good news: Belser knows better than to go after Vadis or Olga right away. The bad news: He's found a good place to extend his conquests. A planet that is currently reeling from a bad run-in with the ancients' old enemies, the Nemesis...Even with the hundred years it'll take to assemble a good...school...of pledged Thiima, he shouldn't have much trouble...

The Roman Generals were constantly warning the Senate about the rising threat of Carthage & the need to destroy her.
Also A faction within the Senate, led by Cato the Elder, began to agitate against Carthage. Was it right, they asked, that Carthage should prosper while Romans toiled? Was Carthage's new prosperity not potentially dangerous? After all, the city had twice troubled Rome. And, in any case, Carthage was harming Roman mercantile interests.

Cato took the lead in these arguments. He was a prestigious statesman with a prestigious reputation. He was the classic virtuous Roman and he didn't mind that others knew it. His public career was spotless, his marriage was perfect, his oratory was compelling, his values were conservative, and all in all he got on some people's nerves.
Cato began to urge that the only sure defense against a resurgent Carthage was to destroy it. Rome would never be safe so long as Carthage stood. He made a campaign of it: Carthago delenda est! -- Carthage must be destroyed!
In the 150s this was Cato's slogan, repeated endlessly. At parties he would bring it up -- Carthago delenda est! In the Senate he might be speaking on any subject, but always found a way to work in his slogan: the harbor at Ostia should be expanded . . . and Carthage must be destroyed! the appointment of Gaius Gaius to provincial governor should be approved . . . and Carthage must be destroyed! A vote of thanks to a loyal tribal chieftain . . . and Carthage must be destroyed!
In the end, Cato got his wish. I might claim that Rome went to war simply to hush the old boy up, but alas Carthage gave Rome all the excuse it needed.


The three Punic Wars encompassed incredible & epic battles led by some of the greatest commanders ever. The challenge of these conflicts promoted ingenuity and creativity in producing new weapons and battle techniques. All these factors combined to create one of the pivotal points in history, when the balance of power shifted from Carthage to Rome.
Hanibal 1st led his armies of elephants against Rome, but Rome retaliated & destroyed Carthage in the end of the 3rd Punic Wars. This correlates with RayStorm Story as the Sicilian Forces 1st attack Earth & then the earth forces strike back with the R-Gray ships destroying the Carthage Base.
No Secilia was not part of Carthage's state. Ethruria region of Secilia...now, "Ethruria" was the old name of Tuscany, which was part of the Roman provinces, during the Punic Wars.

But Genseric, after procuring the restoration of his son, took Carthage by surprise, on Oct. 19, 439….
The whole of Africa now fell into the hands of Genseric, and also Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic Islands. His fleets yearly sailed from Carthage in the early spring, and ravaged all the Mediterranean coasts. When leaving Carthage on one of these expeditions, the helmsman asked Genseric whither he should steer. "Against those," he replied, "who have incurred the wrath of God." His object was not only to plunder, but to persecute. Spain, Italy, Dalmatia, Campania, Calabria, Apulia, Bruttium, Venetia, Lucania, Epirus, and the Peloponnese all suffered from his ravages. After the death of Deogratias, A.D. 457, Genseric did not allow any more bishops to be consecrated in the proconsular province, the peculiar domain of the Vandals, so that of the original number of 164 only three were left in Victor's time.

So I guess that’s why TAITO refers to as Secilia part of Carthage.
But yes it’s kind of mixed up there.

Also Alaric did Sack Rome in 410. No foreign army had occupied the “Eternal City” for nearly 800years!

By the way is “Pendragon” referring to King Arthur, because if it is, I don’t quite consider him an enemy of Rome, as Rome had already lost Britain before his reign.

I’m not sure if Spartakus was seeking power? He’s primary objective was to free the slevs & flee from the Italian peninsula.

Also where did you read the names of the RayStorm Bosses?
LAre they in that order by the way?
The 1st Tank Boss - 1: Pendragon
….
links?
I didn’t notice them in the manual!
But they’re cool names for Bosses.