Home /
TurboGrafx-16

Image Fight

TurboGrafx-16

TurboGrafx-16

Image Fight is an intense vertical shooter by Irem and is the conversion of their own arcade game released back in 1988. The player takes control of the OF-1, a powerful Orbit Fighter ship codenamed Daidalos on a mission to annihilate the Moon defense system which suddenly went out of control. Th...

Download

0/5 Votes: 0

Report

Developer
Irem

Released on
1990

Size
1 Player

Version
TurboGrafx-16

Requirements
NEC TurboGrafx-16

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Wikipedia
View article →

Report this app

Images

Description

Image Fight is an intense vertical shooter by Irem and is the conversion of their own arcade game released back in 1988. The player takes control of the OF-1, a powerful Orbit Fighter ship codenamed Daidalos on a mission to annihilate the Moon defense system which suddenly went out of control. The rather unique feature of Image Fight is the “simulation mode” (called ‘Image Fight’) that precedes the “real battle” (called ‘Real Fight’). The game counts a grand total of eight zones – the first five are Combat Training Stages and happen in a virtual space where the player must at least achieve a whooping 90% destruction ratio. If successful, the Real Combat reveals itself and the player gets launched in outer space and fly through three more stages. Just like with any traditional shooter, the ship can be upgraded by collecting flying capsules. They come in two flavors – the first are colored pods (blue and red) which hang around the ship and either fire straight ahead or in the opposite direction the fighter is facing. Those pods can also be thrown at the enemies to inflict more damage. The other kind are various devices that attach at the front of the ship and greatly improve its fire power – they include Bubble lasers, Homing Lasers, V Lasers or the powerful Drill Laser. Sadly, only one can be collected at the same time and the only way to dispose of them is to get hit. Finally, the speed of the ship can be adjusted anytime during the game and the resulting blast of energy can even be used to damage enemy ships.

Image Fight

Overview & History

Developed by Irem and originally launched in arcades in 1988 before being ported to the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) in 1990 by Hudson Soft, Image Fight is a notoriously difficult, military-themed vertical scrolling shoot 'em up. Set in the 21X0s, the storyline thrusts players into the cockpit of the OF-1 Daedalus fighter craft. Earth's defense force has gone rogue, and humanity's only hope is a simulation-turned-real assault against a heavily fortified, artificial space station controlled by a rogue defense AI. Unlike standard space shooters of its era, Image Fight is famous for its grueling training academy staging ground in the early stages, serving as a brutal gauntlet designed to weed out inadequate pilots before facing the actual alien threat in deep space.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay mechanic revolves around managing two distinct types of forward-facing armaments: up to two detachable, indestructible option pods (called "pods" or "cannons") that can be secured to the front or back of the ship, or fired as high-powered missiles. Positioning these pods is critical, as they can absorb enemy fire and dramatically alter your attack spread. Stages are divided into two distinct halves: a vertical 2D scrolling phase followed by a simulated "VR" boss arena where pilots must destroy specific targets within a strict time limit. Collecting red P-chips upgrades your firepower, while blue chips cycle through specialized weaponry like homing lasers and wide-angle plasma bursts.