The grenade launcher (left). alongside the machine gun and shotgun in Time Crisis 5
The Grenade Launcher (グレネードランチャー Gurenēdo Ranchā) (abbreviated to GL), or simply Grenade (グレネード Gurenēdo), is a weapon featured throughout the Time Crisis series. It debuted in Time Crisis 3 and has appeared in all subsequent sequels.
Overview[]
The grenade launcher is an explosive variant of the handgun, obtained from the very start (Time Crisis 3, Time Crisis 4) or obtained later to be permanently added to the player's arsenal (Time Crisis 5). The spin-off, Crisis Zone would later introduce the grenade launcher in Special Mode (specifically in the Grassmarket District scenario) and Razing Storm would introduce the grenade launcher in Story Mode, both games do not have the grenade launcher in Arcade Mode. While enemy soldiers use explosive weapons (but not grenade launchers themselves) as early as Time Crisis, it was not until Time Crisis 3 that introduces the weapon into the player's hands.
After the Neodyne Industries satellite incident, the enemy military strength drastically improved. In response to this, the V.S.S.E. started to issuing portable grenade launchers in addition to a handgun to agents before the start of their mission, along with the machine gun and the shotgun.
Use by Non-V.S.S.E. protagonists[]
Crisis Zone weapon icon
Special Tactical Force (S.T.F.) operatives do not make use the weapon, as it is not part of the standard-issue inventory, but Claude McGarren can procure a grenade launcher briefly from a U.R.D.A. leader-class soldier inside the Belforte Hotel during Special Mode, later discarding it after clearing the slot machines room. Likewise, special forces unit S.C.A.R. did not have this weapon fielded by most operatives, only Delta team procured this weapon in Story Mode inside the Almada Penitentiary cell house. Similarly, Alicia Winston and William Rush also use grenade launchers, the former character can upgrade weapon with continuous use while the latter procured the weapon heading to the W.O.L.F. hideout.
Gameplay[]
Grenade launcher being loaded with one round already inside
The grenade launcher is an explosive partner of the basic handgun. Unlike the machine gun or the shotgun, the grenade launcher fires an explosive grenade round for every pull, the grenade detonates on impact (detonates moments after impact, in Crisis Zone) which deals an area-of-effect damage to anyone on the dead zone of the grenade. The weapon, more often than not, has a low ammunition capacity, making its use reserved for emergencies or in a large concentration of enemies in a single screen. It is the fourth and last weapon in the weapon switching system introduced in Time Crisis 3, upon switching from the grenade launcher, it will loop back to the handgun. In Razing Storm, this is the starting main weapon when battling against Paulo Guerra's robot and is only used to destroy the jets on its back.
Similar-functioning weapons to the grenade launcher exists throughout the series, the missile launcher (Crisis Zone), rocket launcher (Razing Storm), the automatic cannon (Time Crisis 4), the mounted rocket launcher (Time Crisis 5), the cluster shot (which also combines spread shot ability), VIGUM Missile (Guided Missile (
Statistics[]
| Game | Starting ammunition | Maximum ammunition | Magazine capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crisis Zone | Same as magazine capacity | N/A | 1 |
| Time Crisis 3 (Arcade/"Rescue Mission") | 2/2 | 5/2, 3, 4, 5, 7 (maximum upgrade level) | N/A / N/A |
| Time Crisis 4 (Arcade/FPS) | 2/4 (2 reserve grenades) | 5/8 (6 reserve grenades) | N/A /2 |
| Razing Storm | 42 (36 reserve grenades) | 42 (36 reserve grenades) | 6 |
| Time Crisis 5 | 1 | 2 | N/A |
- Special attributes: infinite magazines, available in certain sections (Crisis Zone Special Mode), deals area-of-effect damage, refills to starting ammunition capacity if a chapter is completed with less than starting ammunition capacity remaining (Time Crisis 4 "Full Mission" and Time Crisis 5).
- Ammunition appearance: silver projectile with red and brown casing (Time Crisis 3, Time Crisis 4), beige projectile with white and purple casing (Time Crisis 5).
Advantages[]
- Unlimited magazines (Crisis Zone only)
- Destroys Terror Bites (Time Crisis 4) or Seekers (Time Crisis 5) en-masse
- Deals area-of-effect damage to all enemies in the blast radius
- Devastating when fired towards a high concentration of enemies
- Deals high damage to bosses and higher-health targets
Disadvantages[]
- Only available on certain sections, then discarded afterwards (Crisis Zone only)
- Must be reloaded after 1, 2 or 6 shots (Crisis Zone, Time Crisis 4 FPS and Razing Storm respectively)
- Very low capacity, moreso in Time Crisis 5 (coupled with refuelling to only one grenade at start of all stages except Stage 2, and soldiers dropping grenades in Stage 5 Area 2 and Stage 6 only for the third shot) and the early stages of Time Crisis 3 "Rescue Mission"
- Easy to miss a shot, losing a rare grenade shell in the process
- Only one to two grenade shells can be obtained from soldiers (in rare cases, three is obtained if all three drops are grenades)
- Semi-automatic, must be fired for every trigger pull
- Grenade shell travels slowly and detonates moments after impact, making it hard to hit moving targets (Crisis Zone only)
- Resets no-miss streak even if it hits (Time Crisis 3 only)
- All enemy soldiers each register only one hit (in Time Crisis 3, all soldiers with lifebars will each be killed with one grenade and the kill shot registers as two hits) when killed and gives the least amount of points earned (arms/legs shots) for each hit. Hence, any enemy soldiers who drop ammunition will only drop one set of ammo when killed than the potential three (Time Crisis 3, Time Crisis 4 and Time Crisis 5)
- Blast radius may hit the other player or civilians, causing points to be deducted for the former in all games or one life to be lost for the latter in Time Crisis 3 "Rescue Mission"
Models[]
Each character/faction used varying models of the grenade launcher throughout the series:
Protagonists/Supporting[]
- Claude McGarren, Giorgio Bruno, Evan Bernard: M79
- Alan Dunaway, Wesley Lambert and Alicia Winston: Webley No. 2 Mark 1* (the last character can upgrade weapon with continuous use)
- William Rush: Double barreled HK69A1
- VSSE Trainees: Webley No. 2 Mark 1* (Time Crisis 3), M79 (Time Crisis 4)
- S.C.A.R. Delta team: Modified Milkor Mark 14
- Luke O'Neil and Marc Godart: HK XM320
Antagonists[]
- Randy Garrett: Unknown wrist mounted rocket-propelled grenade launcher
Trivia[]
- The fired projectiles have stabilising fins and rocket nozzles which are not present in projectiles fired from actual grenade launchers.
- The explosive splash damage from the grenade does not self-damage players who fired the weapon up-close, nor does it damage other players near the blast radius.
- The parts where the grenade launcher is actually called as such are in Time Crisis 4 FPS and Razing Storm to differentiate it from hand grenade. Crisis Zone, Time Crisis 3, Time Crisis 4 Arcade Modes and Time Crisis 5 calls it as grenade instead.
- During the reload animation of Razing Storm grenade launcher which shows the entire magazine being ejected, it shows the magazine having space for only 4 rounds.
Gallery[]
See Also[]
- Flame Thrower - Another extra weapon available in Crisis Zone's Special Mode
- Missile launcher - Another extra weapon available in Crisis Zone's Special Mode
- Laser Rifle - Another extra weapon available in Crisis Zone's Special Mode
- Gatling Gun - Another extra weapon available in Crisis Zone's Special Mode