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’99: The Last War

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Repulse is a fixed shooter arcade game released by Sega in 1985. It was renamed 99: The Last War when licensed to Kyugo (who developed the hardware) and Proma. There's also a bootleg version named Son of Phoenix. With a spaceship, the player shoots several kind of robotic enemies and spaceship...

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Developer
Crux

Released on
1985

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

Publisher
Proma

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Repulse is a fixed shooter arcade game released by Sega in 1985. It was renamed 99: The Last War when licensed to Kyugo (who developed the hardware) and Proma. There’s also a bootleg version named Son of Phoenix.

With a spaceship, the player shoots several kind of robotic enemies and spaceships. At the end of every stage (except for the first one), the player meets a huge enemy spaceship as the stage’s boss. Player’s spaceship is equipped with a limited force shield which allows it to resist any kind of attack, though energy drains both while its active and whenever the ship gets hit during. Power-ups are dropped by ally helicopters and spaceships, that bring to the player a new shot (much faster than the normal one) and refills his force field’s meter.

'99: The Last War

Overview & History

Released by Proma in 1987 during the golden age of vertical-scrolling arcade shooters, *'99: The Last War* stands out as a gritty, relentless sci-fi military expedition. Unlike its contemporaries that favored vibrant cosmic aesthetics, this title drops players into a desolate, war-torn dystopian landscape overrun by mechanized battalions and heavily armored insurgent forces. The narrative thrusts you into the role of the ultimate lone-wolf commando piloting an advanced hover-tank, tasked with destroying precisely ninety-nine heavily fortified enemy checkpoints to dismantle a rogue global defense network. Its distinct industrial visual design and unforgiving difficulty curve made it a formidable quarter-eater in smoky arcades, remembered fondly by retro purists for its bleak atmosphere and relentless pacing.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The game unfolds across a continuously scrolling vertical battlefield where positioning and firepower dictate survival. Players navigate varied terrain—ranging from bombed-out industrial sectors to subterranean bunkers—while blasting away waves of ground turrets, tanks, and aerial drones. The signature mechanic revolves around weapon upgrades dropped by high-ranking enemy commanders, allowing your craft to transition from a basic single-shot cannon to devastating spread-fire lasers and homing missiles. A secondary bomb mechanic clears the screen of standard projectiles, crucial for surviving dense bullet-hell sequences. Boss encounters at the end of key sectors demand precise dodging and relentless assault against multi-tiered mechanical fortresses, rewarding pattern memorization and quick reflexes above all else.