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Image Fight

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Image Fight is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Irem. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine (Japan-only), Sharp X68000 (Japan-only), and FM Towns (Japan-only) in 1990. On a fateful day in 20XX, the Earth's moon exploded into fou...

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Developer
Irem

Released on
1988

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Image Fight is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Irem. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine (Japan-only), Sharp X68000 (Japan-only), and FM Towns (Japan-only) in 1990.

On a fateful day in 20XX, the Earth’s moon exploded into four large fragments and a multitude of meteors. Aliens from afar had succeeded in destroying the West’s moon base. One after another, mankind’s other military industrial space complexes were being lost. What mankind dreaded had come to pass. Scores of unidentified fighters were in the area. In addition, the moon’s main computer, still intact after the explosion, had a strange vegetation coiled around it. Their trademark evil exploits being a dead giveaway, invaders from the Boondoggle Galaxy had arrived to take over the Earth. To counter these evil forces, leading scientists from all over the globe created the “OF-1” Fightership. Combat pilots depart the Earth to fend off the invaders and earn everlasting glory.

Image Fight was released one year after Irem’s successful horizontal scroller, R-Type, and, although not directly related, the two games have some similarities.

Image Fight

Overview & History

Released by Irem in 1988, Image Fight is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up that drops players into the cockpit of the OF-1 Daedalus. Set in the year 20X9, Earth's defense forces must launch a preemptive strike against the invading alien armada known as the Moon-Base X. Before facing the extraterrestrial threat, rookie pilots are forced through a grueling three-stage simulation training academy, followed by two stages of actual combat in deep space. Distinct for its tactical depth and unforgiving difficulty, the game established Irem's reputation for crafting masterclasses in arcade-era precision, preceding their legendary R-Type formula with an emphasis on manual weapon management.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard shmup titles where power-ups merely stack linearly, Image Fight introduces the unique 'Pod' (or Bit) mechanic. Players collect up to two orbital pods that can be fired forward as a projectile or locked in place to fire independently. Holding the attack button detaches and secures the pods in specific orientations—either mirroring the ship's movement or firing backward—demanding constant strategic placement based on enemy attack vectors. The game features a percentage-based scoring system at the end of training stages; failing to hit a specific accuracy threshold demotes the player to a remedial loop. Weapon colors dictate your arsenal: red for wide-spread lasers, blue for concentrated piercing beams, and yellow for homing missiles, all of which overheat if fired continuously.