Star Gladiator


Star Gladiator - Episode 1: The Final Crusade is a 1996 weapon-based 3D fighting game released by Capcom for the PlayStation-based ZN-1 arcade hardware. It was Capcoms first in-house polygonal fighting game. A PlayStation port was released in October 1996. It was followed by a single sequel, , in 1998.

Gameplay

Instead of the six-button configuration system seen in past Capcom fighting game series such as Street Fighter II and Darkstalkers, Star Gladiator utilizes a Soulcalibur series-esque four-button configuration system, which consists of two attack buttons for a character's weapon, a kick attack, and a guard defense. The fighters battle upon a hovering arena, and if a fighter is knocked off the arena they lose the round.
Plasma Reverses are two special guard moves that can be unleashed at any time from within a battle. A Plasma Reflect enables a fighter to deflect an opponent's incoming move and stun them, leaving them vulnerable for a few seconds, while a Plasma Revenge enables a fighter to counterattack an opponent's incoming move and strike back with their own fast attack. Characters can also use a Plasma Strike, which can cause huge damage to an opponent if it connects on sight, but a Plasma Strike can only be done once per round.
Star Gladiator also introduces the Plasma Combo System. Through a specific string of attacks, a fighter can combo their opponent even if the opponent is blocking. If a character strings together five hits and presses a specific button at the end of the combo, they initiate a Plasma Final, which unlocks a technique that inflicts a large amount of damage upon their opponent if used. This system was discarded in the game's sequel, Plasma Sword.
The arcade mode of Star Gladiator consists of ten fights. Depending on who the player chooses as their character, they will fight against a specific set of opponents. Gore, who serves as the sub-boss of the game is always fought at Stage 9 and Bilstein, who serves as the final boss of the game is always fought at Stage 10. Depending on how quickly the player defeats Bilstein, either the game ends with a false ending or the player is then taken to a special battle against an unplayable computer-controlled true final boss named Ghost Bilstein. Losing to Ghost Bilstein results in both a bad ending and a game over while defeating Ghost Bilstein results in the chosen character's own true ending.

Story

In the year 2348, humans have been exploring the vast reaches of outer space for four centuries and have established peaceful contact with various alien civilizations. People now emigrate from one planet to another. However, some problems arise with a couple of alien races, so the Earth Federation begins developing a Plasma-power weapon to protect the Earth from any outside threats. Dr. Edward Bilstein, a Nobel Prize-winning German-American physicist for the Earth Federation, uncovers the secret to humanity's "sixth sense": a technique for capturing the energy of the human mind, an energy source he calls "Plasma Power". The Plasma weapon is built, and Bilstein gains fame and fortune for the invention. It is discovered by the Earth Federation that Bilstein experimented on actual human bodies during his research on Plasma Power. He is arrested and exiled from Earth, imprisoned in a satellite that orbits the Planet Zeta, while development of the Plasma weapon is indefinitely suspended. Word of Earth's possession of a super weapon spreads throughout the universe and it reduces hostile confrontations.
Four years later, an Earth Federation army base is attacked and destroyed by a small group of rebels calling themselves the "Fourth Empire". Bilstein, who has built himself a powerful cyborg body and escaped from Zeta, is their leader. Realizing their pattern of attacks is leading back to Earth, a panicked Earth Federation searches for people who can utilize Plasma Power in their own given accord and stop Bilstein before he can conquer the universe with his nascent Fourth Empire. All of Earth's hopes rest in the project codenamed "Star Gladiator".

Characters

In an interview with Destructoid.com, Capcom's former senior manager of community Seth Killian mentioned that Star Gladiator was supposed to have been a Star Wars game.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Star Gladiator on their September 1, 1996 issue as being the sixteenth most-successful arcade game of the year. A Next Generation reviewer called Star Gladiator "a quirky, stylish game that is more subtle than obvious, with innovative gameplay and likeable character design." He especially praised the ability to move, attack, and defend in three dimensions, and the "intuitive and simple" controls for executing these moves. GamePro approved of the game's graphical effects, unique combo system, and characters, and deemed it a satisfying first foray into 3D for Capcom.
The PlayStation conversion also received positive reviews, with critics almost universally praising the characters and the variety of their fighting techniques, as well as the game's graphics, particularly the 3-D animated backgrounds. The most common criticism was that the game is too easy in single-player mode. GamePro said that Star Gladiators "visual appeal and outstanding control will put other 3D games on their backs." Next Generation was more moderate, saying that Star Gladiator "is a pretty good game all on its own", but is more of a harbinger of the more outstanding 3D fighting games they anticipated Capcom would put out in the near future. GameSpot assessed that "All in all, the surreal alien characters, weapon-based fighting, and overall quality make Star Gladiator yet another peal of the thunder in the resounding Capcom storm."
The PlayStation version of Star Gladiator held an aggregate score of 82% on GameRankings based on five reviews.