picture : flyer
snapshot : title screen
- TECHNICAL -
Main CPU : Z80 (@ 6 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Z80 (@ 6 Mhz)
Sound Chips : (2x) YM2203 (@ 1.5 Mhz)
Screen orientation : Vertical
Video resolution : 224 x 256 pixels
Screen refresh : 53.80 Hz
Palette colors : 768
Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 2
- TRIVIA -
A little game (the third developed by Nihon Maicom Kaihatsu (NMK) for Jaleco, after "Argus" and "Valtric") which did not have huge success, it nevertheless became a 'cult game' for many players thanks to the brilliant gameplay, hard-to-find secret bonuses and anime-like plot. The inspiration for the design of the five ESPers comes from several Japanese cartoons of the '70s where the physical aspect of main characters was strongly stereotyped to suit their psychological profile/fighting ability.
- TIPS AND TRICKS -
* Secret Bonus : There is a secret bonus in every round. To get them, you must hit the right [?] (question mark box) when your score fits a certain qualification.
1) The first level 'secret' is near the first phone. You should jump on the wall between the two bowls, then jump up and to the left. You'll land near a [?]. If you are in the right place, a walking clock should appear within 2/3 seconds. You can get a secret bonus from this box if you hit it when the thousands digit of your score is zero. (e.g. : 00000, 10500, 20900). The first secret is worth 10000 pts.
2) The second level 'secret' is near the first phone (yes, like the first one). There are 2 [?]'s on the lower-left corner of your screen (when you are near the phone); the upper one is a 'normal' [?], but you have to destroy it in order to reach the other one. You can get the secret bonus by hitting it when the thousands digit of your score is 1. This is worth 50000 pts.
3) The third one is near a phone, again, and near the fishbowl too. When you can reach the upper-right corner of the screen, and 2 umbrellas are floating above you, THAT is the right phone. There is also an extra bonus somewhere near that. You should use the short boy or the little girl to reach the secret bonus - it's at the end of the "small corridor" where the other 2 guys (the tall one and the fat one) can't enter. To get it you should hit the [?] when the thousands digit is 2. This should be worth 100000 pts.
4) If you miss a bonus, the thousands counter for the next bonus is modified accordingly. In other words, the thousands digit of your score must always be equal to the number of times you have previously gotten the secret bonus. Thus the tips above are correct only if you are getting every secret bonus without missing any - otherwise, deduct the number you've missed from the thousandth digit needed. Clear as mud? ;)
5) The 'ALL GOLD' bonus. Very simple to explain, but hard to do : When you break a bowl, the item you find in it is the same as the previous bowl, if you don't use your hammer after you hit the first and before the second. If you do, instead, the item "shifts", and you find the "next" in the order. If you go on hammering, the "rotation" can bring the first item back again. The first level has 4 items, so if you 'shoot' 0/4/8/12/16... times after breaking the first bowl, you find the same item in the second one. This is true unless you already 'finished' an item, otherwise you should "shoot" 0/3/6/9/12... times to find the item twice.
* Get Espers Sooner : Normally you get Makoto in scene 3 and Genzoh in scene 5, but you can get the espers sooner.
1) Get the 'All Gold' bonus in scene 1 and you'll find Makoto in scene 2.
2) Get Makoto in scene 2 and get the Secret Bonus in scene 3 and you'll find Genzoh in scene 3.
3) Get the 'All Gold' bonus in scene 3 and you'll find Genzoh in scene 4 (if you have not gotten him in scene 3).
- STAFF -
Hardware planned by : Lovely Yohsuke
Software created by : Naoki Hoshizaki (Ultra Man Naoki), Lonely Kazuhiro
Character designed by : Taeko Suzuki (Italiano Taeko), Donchi Naoko
Music composed by : Shin-ichi Sakamoto (Cheabow)
Sound effects & the 'Time Stop' theme by : Shin-ichi Sakamoto, Taeko Suzuki
Sound & music data entry by : Taeko Suzuki
- PORTS -
* Consoles :
Nintendo Famicom (1987, "Esper Boukentai")
- SOURCES -
Game's ROM.
from game history database (history.dat)
