Pulstar
The basic gameplay is simple: you have to move through the levels in a spaceship, collect power-ups and protect the spaceship from destruction. The game has very obvious similarities in design and gameplay to R-Type. It is believed that some former Irem employees left the company to join Aicom, which used to work as a supplier for various coin-op manufacturers such as Jaleco or SNK. Despite the familiarity, Pulstar is not without innovation. There is the option to use the weapon power bar, which consists of two halves. The right side of the bar turns blue when you press the fire button. When fully charged, the ship emits a devastating burst of energy. The left side turns red when you press the button repeatedly and fires a barrage of smaller, rapid explosions. The graphics in the game are mostly pre-rendered 3D graphics, giving the interactive elements a much more realistic look. A lot of emphasis has been placed on really immersing the player in the world of the game, with cinematic cutscenes and pre-rendered movies. It's all about strategy and not just shooting everything in sight. Using the charged weapon is key and requires careful precision. Also, a small orb appears at the back of the ship once you have received a charge. This can be used as an advantage by deflecting or absorbing oncoming enemy fire and taking out small enemies that run into it.
Story
In 2248, the first recorded sign of extraterrestrial life was detected from Mars. The signal emanated from the planet, from which an object was moving out of the solar system at the speed of light. Scientists on Earth read the signal but did not know what it was and warned the world's defense systems in case aliens detected the signal and followed it to Earth to destroy it. Eight years later, the aliens followed the signal into the solar system and began attacking the human spacecraft that awaited them in orbit around Neptune. The battle between the humans and the aliens spread to the entire solar system; within two years, Neptune was disintegrated, Jupiter was transformed into a star, and more than half of Earth's continents sank due to rising sea levels and the planet's changing axis as a result. Kaoru Yamazaki, the lone fighter pilot of the Dino246, is one of the few survivors of the Pulstar attack force formed to save the solar system from the alien invaders; only through her might humanity have a chance to survive the alien threat.