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Juno First

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Arcade

Waves of aliens are trying to destroy your fighter craft. Waves increase in difficulty, with every third or fourth wave being a formation wave where the aliens appear and attack in a particular pattern. Aliens mutate into more dangerous forms the longer they survive, so they should be killed as q...

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Developer
Konami

Released on
1983

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Waves of aliens are trying to destroy your fighter craft. Waves increase in difficulty, with every third or fourth wave being a formation wave where the aliens appear and attack in a particular pattern. Aliens mutate into more dangerous forms the longer they survive, so they should be killed as quickly as possible. The radar at the top of the screen shows what kinds of aliens are approaching and where they will appear.
The aliens usually release white bombs these cannot be shot down, only avoided. They also release homing bombs, which are more dangerous but can be destroyed. Shooting the asteroid and capturing the “mystery” inside will stop the aliens from firing altogether for about 10 seconds, and give you bonus points for each alien you kill.

You have 99 seconds to complete each wave. The quicker you complete the wave, the higher your bonus. An extra ship is awarded every 100,000 points.

Using the warp button lets you escape from sticky situations. You have three warps for each wave, but warps do not accumulate from wave to wave.

Juno First

Overview & History

Released by Konami in 1983, Juno First is a visually striking and technically ambitious fixed-and-scrolling shooter that predates Konami's later mastery of the genre. While it shares conceptual DNA with Sega's Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom and Nintendo's Radar Scope, Juno First carved its own niche by introducing a pseudo-3D perspective combined with frantic multi-directional combat. The storyline casts the player as the pilot of an advanced starfighter tasked with defending distant star systems from an encroaching armada of biomechanical alien insectoids before they can overrun the galaxy. Unlike many contemporary arcade titles of the era that relied on static backgrounds, Juno First utilized cutting-edge raster-scaling effects to create a seamless sense of deep-space depth, making your ship feel as though it was truly plunging into the monitor's horizon.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay loop of Juno First is a brilliant hybrid of vertical scrolling and freedom of movement. Players pilot their ship across the bottom half of the screen while enemies warp in from the vanishing point on the horizon, swelling in size as they descend toward the player. A standout mechanic is the unique "Jump" or warp capability, which instantly teleports the player's ship to the top of the screen—a crucial evasive maneuver when the lower tier becomes overwhelmed with alien kamikaze attacks. Collecting debris dropped by defeated foes charges a temporary super-laser modifier, turning the standard twin-shot into a devastating wide-beam sweeper capable of clearing entire waves in seconds. The frantic pacing is amplified by an adaptive difficulty scaling system that aggressively rewards aggressive playstyles over passive corner-camping.