Time Crisis (タイムクライシス Taimu Kuraishisu ) is a light gun shooter arcade game and the first installment in the main Time Crisis series. It was released by Namco in 1995 and was later ported for the PlayStation in 1997, bundled with the GunCon controller.
Gameplay[]
Time Crisis is a 3D first person rail shooter. The player aims and fires at on-screen enemies with a light gun. In addition, Time Crisis allows players to duck behind cover to avoid enemy fire and reload his or her weapon. The game consists of three stages, each with three areas and a boss fight.
Features unique to Time Crisis include:
- A foot pedal which performs multiple functions: when the pedal is released, players sacrifice their ability to attack by taking cover to reload and avoid damage. In the PlayStation port, a button command replicates the foot pedal's functions. Players lose a life if they are hit by a direct bullet or obstacle whilst not taking cover, with the game ending if they lose all their lives.
- A light gun (introduced in Namco's Point Blank) which utilized a special memory chip to synchronize areas of the screen's image as the player moves the gun around. The light gun also features a blowback function that simulates real-life gun recoil.
- A countdown timer, recharged by clearing an area of enemies, as running down the clock causes an instant game over. In the arcade version, players continue from where they left off if the time runs out; in the PlayStation version, they must start the level from the beginning. The timer goes up to a maximum of 60 seconds and runs down even during WAIT sequences. Time extensions are awarded for passing areas and shooting certain enemies quickly.
- A life recovery system which gives the player one life unit if 40 no-miss hits (includes shooting background objects) are achieved. The life unit to be given will flash above the time spent, becomes more solid per increasing no-miss hit and disappears if a miss shot is performed.
- The PlayStation port features an exclusive side-story mode, in which player's performance (such as how quickly they can clear an area) affects the path they take through the game, resulting in multiple possibilities.
Story[]
In 1996, Sherudo Garo, a cruel dictator who's believed to be last of his family, was overthrown in a coup d'état.[1] Holding free elections, the people elected the republic's first democratic president, William MacPherson. Sherudo had then started allies with a terrorist organization, Wild Dog, so he could revert Sercia back to its original autocratic state.
Six months later…[1]
Rachel was taking a break on her university campus to enjoy the August sun, until something happened...
A helicopter landed nearby and a man walked out to her and asked her if she was Rachel. He then grabbed her, pulled out a gun, and forced her onto the helicopter and left. Rachel was kidnapped!
During this time, there was a celebration for the country being freed. While President MacPherson was happy, one of his assistants ran in reporting that Rachel was kidnapped by Wild Dog, under the orders of Sherudo! The president of Sercia immediately calls the V.S.S.E. and hopes their top agent will get his daughter back…
The man on the video tape smiled. He held a knife in one hand, Rachel's hair tightly gripped in the other. "Such a lovely face. It would be shame if harm should come to it. President MacPherson, you have until sunset tomorrow to resign and reinstate me as ruler of Sercia and I'll let the girl live." Sherudo's image faded to black. "No way we are letting that madman back into power," the V.S.S.E. team Director said. "That castle is going to be filled with Wild Dog thugs and who knows what else. Can your man handle an infiltration?" Porter Davis pushed the transmit key on his laptop, sending the encrypted data speeding through cyber-space. "Mr. Director, if Richard Miller can't get her out of there alive, no one can."[2]
"Richard, there's an emergency. There's been a kidnapping! It's Rachel, the daughter of the president of Sercia! The kidnapper is believed to be Sherudo, the last blood relative of the royal family. He lives in an old castle on the northwest island. He's demanding military secrets in exchange for Rachel's life! The deadline is sunset. We don't have much time! Get into the castle and rescue Rachel! The organized crime syndicate "Wild Dogs" is also known to be involved. Good luck, Richard," The voice of Porter Davis ends on Richard's laptop computer, and Richard stands up and grabs his gun, loading in the clip fully.
Plot[]
Original Story Mode[]
Japanese version | English version | Remarks |
---|---|---|
Sometime, somewhere, someone is plotting a government overthrow...a small republic is in danger. It's time for the one man army... | Opening narration |
The main plot of Time Crisis involves an attempted coup in the fictional republic of Sercia. For over 500 years,[1] the Garo family ruled Sercia with an iron fist (leading one historian to liken the Garo Imperial rule to "Exceeding the combined cruelty of Stalin, Hitler and Vlad the Impaler").[1] In 1996, William MacPherson, sent by the V.S.S.E. International Intelligence Agency, successfully toppled the Garo regime and became its first democratically-elected president.
Sherudo Garo, the last remaining member of the Garo family, seeks to recapture the throne. He hires Wild Dog, the leader of a criminal syndicate, to kidnap the president's daughter, Rachel. Sherudo demands military secrets and re-instatement as "Ruler for Life" position in return for Rachel's safe return,[1] or he will kill her by sunset. V.S.S.E. sends its best agent, Richard Miller (nicknamed "The One-Man Army"), to infiltrate Sherudo's castle and rescue Rachel.
Miller makes his way through the lower levels of the castle only to find a trap set up by Moz, one of Sherudo's henchmen. After defeating Moz and being directed to the clock tower, Richard works up through the upper levels of the castle and finds Rachel and Garo. Miller kills Sherudo, but Wild Dog reappears and kidnaps Rachel.
Miller confronts Wild Dog on a bridge outside of the castle. Wild Dog begins detonating the castle and plans to fly away on a helicopter, shooting Rachel in the arm as she tries to escape. After a fight, Miller shoots Wild Dog, causing him to drop his radio detonator and become engulfed in the destruction, losing his left arm in the process. Richard and Rachel escape as Sherudo's castle goes down in flames.
Special Story Mode[]
Japanese version | English version | Remarks |
---|---|---|
リチャード |
Richard, long time no see. I hope you are ready. Here is your next objective. Your mission is to uncover the plan of the organization "Kantaris". This is their headquarters. The hotel is actually a front for their weapons factory. This is their leader, also known as Kantaris. Intel came up empty on Kantaris. We don't even know a real name or gender. However, we do have positive verification that they are Wild Dog's arms supplier. Good luck, Richard. | PlayStation Special Mode Story |
The Kantaris Deal is a special side-story exclusive to the PlayStation version of Time Crisis. Miller recieves orders to infiltrate Chateau de Luc, a mysterious hotel operated by Kantaris, leader of the smuggling network of the same name. The V.S.S.E. confirms that Kantaris supplied arms to Wild Dog, and tasks Miller with disbanding the organization.
The player's performance will alter the routes Miller takes through the game, and subsequently how the mission occurs: Miller may face off against Kantaris' pet cyborg "Web Spinner" in the ballroom; a giant robot in the lounge; a Spider-like tank in the parking lot, or the Kantaris gunship at the heliport.
There are also two endings. If the player manages to gun down Kantaris's car, destroy the robot in enough time so that it pushes Kantaris out the window, or shoot down the gunship, the story ends with a "Mission Complete" message; failure to do so results in a "Mission Failed" message. It is likely that Time Crisis: Project Titan takes place after the mission, if it was failed.
Characters[]
Soundtracks[]
In 1997, an album titled Time Crisis Arcade Soundtrack was released. Another album, Time Crisis 3D Sound Ensemble, was released later that year. The latter contains audio dramas that depict events during or before the game, such as Miller's battle against Garo.
Reception[]
Time Crisis was met with positive reception. GameRankings gave the PlayStation version a score of 85.50%.
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Aggregator | Score |
GameRankings | 85.50% |
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
Allgame | 4.5/5 STARS (ARC) 4/5 STARS (PS) |
Edge | 8 / 10 |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.75 / 10 |
Game Informer | 8.25 / 10 |
GamePro | 4.5/5 STARS |
Game Revolution | B+ |
GameSpot | 8.4 / 10 |
IGN | 8 / 10 |
Play Magazine | 90% |
Gallery[]
Attract modes[]
Credits[]
References[]
External links[]
- Official arcade website (Japanese)
- Official PlayStation website (Japanese)
- It is announced on October 2017 that warranty support for this game on arcade cabinets has ended. Link: End of warranty support (Japanese)