|
|
|
|
|
| Full name |
Time Crisis |
| Developer |
|
| Publisher |
|
| Platform |
Various |
| Arcade System |
Various |
| Release Date(s) |
December 1995 |
| Media/Distribution |
Various |
| Controllers |
Various |
| Director(s) |
Various |
| Producer(s) |
Various |
| Designer(s) |
Various |
| Programmer(s) |
Various |
| Composer(s) |
Various |
Time Crisis (タイムクライシス Taimu Kuraishisu) is a first-person on-rails military light gun shooter series of arcade video games by Namco, introduced in 1995.
Overview
The Time Crisis series focuses on the exploits of a fictional international intelligence agency Vital Situation, Swift Elimination International Intelligence Agency[1] (V.S.S.E.) who assigns its best agents to deal with a major threat by a hostile organization, which has ranged from criminals, terrorists, to hostile military outfits, and mostly take place within fictional locations across the world. The Arcade series differed from other light gun shooters of its time by incorporating unique mechanics, including the ability to duck into cover to dodge attacks and reload the player's weapon, and forcing players to complete battles in each level within an allotted limited amount of time.
Over time, the series developed to incorporate additional features of gameplay, including two-player co-operative modes on arcade machines, the ability to use additional weapons in combat, and dealing with dangerous events. Alongside arcade machines, the series was also developed for consoles, beginning with a port of the first installment to PlayStation consoles in 1995, with all ported versions of arcade titles featuring additional content and game mechanics, such as additional stages, and different difficulty modes.
Alongside the main games in the series, it has spawned a number of spin-off titles that incorporate the cover mechanics and time limit gameplay elements, but with notable differences in combat situations and organizations involved in each game's story plot.
Gameplay
Time Crisis focuses on shooting all on-screen enemies in an area within a specific time limit to continue on to the next area and complete the level. The series' distinctive feature is its cover system: the player steps on a foot pedal to have the player character emerge from cover and attack enemies, and releases the pedal to get behind cover, protecting the character from enemy attacks but leaving them unable to shoot. In Time Crisis 5, the pedal has been redesigned as two pedals, one in the left and one in the right, to give the player 2 positions from which to emerge from cover and catch enemies unaware. The player must take cover to reload their standard (default) handgun.
Time Crisis 3 introduced new weapons: a machine gun, shotgun, and grenade launcher, that have limited ammunition but can be replenished by killing certain enemies. To switch weapons in Time Crisis 3 and Time Crisis 4, the player must press the trigger while behind cover; in Time Crisis 5, a separate button located on the left and right of the gun controller allows the player to switch weapons at any point.
Time Crisis II introduced segments which the player can use non-standard weapons for a limited time. In Time Crisis II, it is the machine gun with unlimited ammunition; in both Time Crisis 4 and Time Crisis 5, they are helicopter mounted weapons with unlimited ammunition in the form of the mounted machine gun, automatic cannon (only in Time Crisis 4) and rocket launcher (only in Time Crisis 5), and sniper rifle which needs the player to take cover to reload in Time Crisis 4 but is automatically reloaded with a delay between shots in Time Crisis 5.
The countdown clock prevents the player from remaining behind cover for too long and imposes a time limit to clear the stage of enemies. The player must manage their time in and out of cover to attack enemies on sight, while avoiding being hit by direct shots. In Time Crisis and Time Crisis: Project Titan, after the clearance of an area the game adds only a partial amount of time to the overall clock (which goes up to 60 seconds) while the timer keeps running down and the game ends if the time reaches zero. In multiplayer installments (starting with Time Crisis II), the clock resets after the player clears their immediate area of enemies (though it always resets during a WAIT sequence, a reset might happen once players cross past a certain point in an ACTION sequence mode) and will deduct 1 life unit if it reaches zero. Time Crisis 5 introduces new scenario-specific timed sequences apart from the standard countdown clock where the player must act within a specific timeframe: "Evasion Activity" (the player must press the indicated left or right pedal to avoid a hit from incoming debris or attack) and "Crisis Event" (shooting bullseyes painted on a target before they turn red and not being able to use the pedals).
Setting
The setting of each Time Crisis revolves around a serious threat to usually one nation. However, some games have involved a threat to either the world (Time Crisis II) or the protagonist (Time Crisis: Project Titan). The V.S.S.E. (Vital Situation, Swift-Elimination), a covert organization, must send in its highly skilled agents to eliminate any security threats. The first Time Crisis had three stages with four areas (location where the game starts) each. The second and third installments have three stages, each with three areas. The fourth installment adds a prologue for a total of 4 stages each with three areas (with the exception of the prologue, which has only one area). The fifth installment has an exclusive upgrade kit version of (True Mastermind edition, which is the full version of the game) to double the stages from 3 to 6, with 3 areas that were interconnected with each other, thus there would be no breaks/loadings after clearing an area (with the exception of the final stage, which only has one area).
Many of the fighting areas are dangerous situations, such as a steadily capsizing ship or a train dangling off a damaged bridge (as in Time Crisis 3). In the third and fourth installments, supporters from various organizations come in to assist the V.S.S.E. agents, sometimes to aid them in their mission, sometimes to protect their own reputations. Crisis Zone has a different plot. It takes place in the United Kingdom and concerns the Special Tactical Force's (S.T.F.) attempt to destroy the U.R.D.A., a terrorist organization. Razing Storm and Time Crisis: Razing Storm, which take place in the near future, involve an elite task force known as S.C.A.R. (Strategic Combat and Rescue) being sent to a South America country during a revolution to capture and defeat the mastermind who has orchestrated an attack on the United States together with several international military organizations, while battling enemy terrorists, other renegade soldiers and other combatants.
Games
Main series
- Time Crisis (1995)
- Time Crisis II (1998)
- Time Crisis 3 (2002)
- Time Crisis 4 (2006)
- Time Crisis 5 (2015)
Spin-offs
- Crisis Zone (1999)
- Time Crisis: Project Titan (2001)
- Razing Storm (2009)
- Time Crisis: Razing Storm (2010)
Mobile games
- Time Crisis Elite (2009)
- Time Crisis Mobile (2009)
- Time Crisis Strike (2009)
- Time Crisis 2nd Strike (2010)
Non-Time Crisis game
- Cobra The Arcade (2005)
Characters
.jpg "Buff Bryant in the arcade version (front).jpg (11 KB)")
Display Interface
.png "Buff Bryant lifting ICBM (arcade version).png (831 KB)")
.png "Helicopter gunships in Stage 3 Area 2 (PS2 version).png (417 KB)")
.png "Crisis Zone gyro helicopters (PS2 version).png (930 KB)")
Available Languages
- English (1995 - present)
- Japanese (1995 - present)
- French (1997 - present)
- German (1997 - present)
- Italian (1997 - present)
- Spanish (1997 - present)
- Portuguese (2001 - present)
- Dutch (2001 - present)
- Russian (2003 - present)
- Polish (2003 - present)
- Arabic (2003 - present)
- Korean (2003 - present)
- Simplified Chinese (2003 - present)
- Traditional Chinese (2003 - present)
- Filipino (2015 - present)
- Indonesian (2015 - present)
- Malay (2015 - present)
- Thai (2015 - present)
- Hindi (2015 - present)
- Vietnamese (2015 - present)
VSSE Team
- Character: VSSE AGENTS (Traditional Shooting) - English (International)
- VSSE SIDE: Gun Shooting - English (Southeast Asia)
- Character: VSSE AGENTS (ガンシューティング) - Japanese
- Personnage : Agents VSSE (Tir Traditionnel) - French
- Charakter: VSSE-Agenten (Traditionelles Schießen) - German
- Personaggio: Agenti VSSE (tiro tradizionale) - Italian
- Personaje: Agentes VSSE (Disparos tradicionales) - Spanish
- Personagem: agentes VSSE (tiro tradicional) - Portuguese
- Karakter: VSSE-agenten (traditioneel schieten) - Dutch
- Персонаж: Агенты VSSE (Традиционная стрельба) - Russian
- 角色：VSSE特工（传统射击）- Simplified Chinese
- 角色：VSSE特工（傳統射擊）- Traditional Chinese
- 캐릭터: VSSE 요원(전통 사격) - Korean
- VSSE SIDE: Pamamaril sa baril - Filipino
- VSSE SIDE: Penembakan senjata - Indonesian
- VSSE SIDE: Menembak senapang - Malay
- VSSE SIDE: การยิงปืน - Thai
- VSSE SIDE: Bắn súng - Vietnamese
- चरित्र: VSSEएजेंट (पारंपरिक निशानेबाजी) - Hindi
- الحرف: وكلاء VSSE (التصوير التقليدي) - Arabic
Action Voice
- English (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand): Various (1995-current)
- French (France): Various (1997-current)
- German (Germany): Various (1997-current)
- Italian (Italy): Various (1997-current)
- Spanish (Spain and Latin America): Various (1997-current)
- Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil): TC5 (2015-current)
- Russian (Russia): TC5 (2015-current)
- Dutch (Netherlands): TC6 (2023-current)
- Arabic (Middle East): TC6 (2023-current)
- Japanese (Japan): TC6 (2023-current)
- Korean (Korea): TC6 (2023-current)
- Simplified Chinese (China): TC6 (2023-current)
- Traditional Chinese (Taiwan): TC6 (2023-current)
- Hindi (India): TC6 (2023-current)
Credits
- Time Crisis/Credits
- Time Crisis: Project Titan/Credits
- Time Crisis II/Credits
- Crisis Zone/Credits
- Time Crisis 3/Credits
- Cobra The Arcade/Credits
- Time Crisis 4/Credits
- Razing Storm/Credits
- Time Crisis 5/Credits