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Gaiapolis

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Gaiapolis
Promotional flyer art featuring prince Gerard Himerce, the fairy Elaine Shee, and the dragon Galahad
Promotional flyer art by Akihiro Yamada
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Director(s)Hiroyuki Ashida
Designer(s)Shūjirō Hamakawa
Programmer(s)
  • Hideo Shiozaki
  • Tadasu Kitae
  • Tomohiro Ishimoto
Artist(s)
  • Shūjirō Hamakawa
  • Yasuhiro Noguchi
Writer(s)Tadasu Kitae
Composer(s)
Platform(s)Arcade
Release
  • JP: April 1993
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gaiapolis[a] is a 1993 action role-playing video game developed and released for arcades by Konami. The plot follows prince Gerard Himerce, whose country was destroyed by Mordred, an evil god summoned by the king Darkness of the Zah Harc empire. Gerard embarks on an adventure joined by the half-fairy Elaine Shee and the dragon archduke Galahad to exact revenge. Throughout the journey, the player explores searching for keys and items, fighting enemies and bosses to increase the character's attributes.

Gaiapolis was created by the arcade division at Konami, in conjunction with Lethal Enforcers and Mystic Warriors. It was directed by Hiroyuki Ashida, who previously worked on Gradius II and Detana!! TwinBee. Animator Shūjirō Hamakawa, who also worked on Detana!! TwinBee, served as planner and character designer. Music and sound were produced by Satoko Miyawaki, Seiichi Fukami, and Yuji Takenouchi. The game was supplemented with a manga adaptation by Hamakawa and a two-CD album from King Records.

Gaiapolis proved popular among Japanese arcade players, receiving several awards from Gamest and Micom BASIC Magazine. Gaming publications praised the game for its audiovisual presentation, multiplayer, worldview, and password feature. Some publications considered its playstyle was more reserved for consoles, while criticism focused on the story and direction. It never received an official home conversion, however, Sachen developed and published an unlicensed port for the Famicom in 1994. The character of Elaine would later appear in other Konami titles. Retrospective commentary for the game has been generally favorable.

Gameplay

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The fairy Elaine Shee, followed by the mercenary beast Rollin, fighting enemies at Gaiapolis

Gaiapolis is an action role-playing game played from a overhead view.[1][2][3] The story follows prince Gerard Himerce, whose country of Avalon was destroyed by Mordred, an evil god summoned by the king Darkness of the Zah Harc empire.[2][4][5][6] Determined to exact revenge, Gerard embarks on a journey accompanied by Elaine Shee, a half-fairy and last survivor of the Shee fairy clan, and Galahad, a wingless dragon archduke exiled from the dragon kingdom.[2][4][5] The party meets a fire warrior, who tells them about three keys to open the path that leads to Gaiapolis, the tower where Darkness resides.[3][4][5][6]

The player can choose one of three characters, each with their own unique weapon, advantages and disadvantages: Gerard and Galahad are sword-wielding warriors, while Elaine is a tonfa-wielding martial artist.[2][4][5][7] Gerard is average but has high attack power; Elaine is weak but fast in close combat; and Galahad is slow but has great durability.[3][4] The player fights enemies by performing normal or consecutive attacks with the weapon. Using consecutive attacks can potentially land a critical hit on the enemy.[3][4][5][8] Characters can also perform a spin attack, a dash attack, and block enemy projectiles.[2][3][5][9] Defeating enemies grants experience to fill a level gauge. When filled, the player character levels up and receives a health boost. Characters can reach a maximum level of 30.[2][3][7][8]

Breaking crates and other objects reveals various items. These include weapons and shields that increase the player's offensive and defensive attributes, books that grant experience, food that replenishes health, treasures, eggs, and crystals.[3][5][8][10] Picking up an egg spawns one of three mercenary beasts, one for each character: Goblin the soldier (blue), Rollin the armadillo (brown), and Garuda the dragon (purple). The beasts follow the character and can be ordered to attack enemies, but they take damage and eventually die. Each beast can be recalled to automatically restore its own health.[2][3][5][8] Obtaining crystals allows the player to use single-use magic attack spells, and collecting more increases the magic level.[2][4][5][8]

The player can take damage from an enemy attack. The game is over when a player loses all health or fails to defeat the stage boss in time.[8] The game features a continue feature and a password function: a password will be displayed when the game is over. Upon correct password entry, the player will resume the game from the last stage reached.[5][8] The player goes through 16 stages, some of which consist solely of a boss battle for the three keys.[3][5][7] Completing a stage grants the player additional experience depending on the time limit.[2][7] In Maharishi, a path to Koben is unlocked if the player reaches level 12, obtains three stone statues hidden in certain spots, and destroys a shrine to obtain an item. If the requirements are not met, the player heads to Neomosc to obtain a weapon.level.[2][7][9][10]

Development

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Shūjirō Hamakawa was responsible for most of the graphic design for Gaiapolis, including the in-game character illustrations

Gaiapolis was developed by the arcade division at Konami.[11][12] The game was directed by Hiroyuki "A.C.D." Ashida, who previously worked on Gradius II and Detana!! TwinBee.[13][14] Both the plot and story were written by Tadasu "Tadasuke" Kitae, who also served as co-programmer along with Hideo "Hides" Shiozaki and Tomohiro "Tom" Ishimoto.[13] Animator Shūjirō Hamakawa (credited under the pseudonym Shuzilow.Ha) served as planner and character designer under the direction of Yasuhiro "Idaten" Noguchi.[13][15][16] Hamakawa had previously worked on Konami titles such as Crime Fighters and Detana!! TwinBee.[15][16][17]

Hamakawa was responsible for eighty percent of the graphic design for Gaiapolis, including in-game and ending illustrations.[18] He revealed that Darkness was inspired by The Kurgan from Highlander.[19] A second quest was planned to begin after defeating Darkness and reaching the throne. It would involve facing a fallen character, whose strength would depend on the player's previous level. According to Hamakawa, it was discarded due to its prolonged playtime.[20][21] Light and dark weapons were also planned: light weapons would reform enemies, while dark weapons, with their high attack power, would corrode them. Hamakawa stated that these weapons were discarded due to the difficulty of explaining their system in an arcade game.[22] The promotional flyer was illustrated by Akihiro Yamada.[23]

Music

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The game's music and sound were produced by Satoko "Fairy" Miyawaki, Seiichi "Prophet" Fukami and Yuji Takenouchi (under the alias "Technouchi") respectively.[11][13][24] Fukami was responsible for the music in Gradius III, while Takenouchi had participated in X-Men (1992).[11][24] Miyawaki stated that Gaiapolis was created in conjunction with Lethal Enforcers and Mystic Warriors, with all their desks and instruments lined up to each other.[25] Fukami was responsible for the game's soundtrack, which included orchestral, ethnic, and cinematic music. He commented that development proved to be long and found it difficult managing the number of compositions he was working on, losing track of details as he approached the total of 40 songs.[25] Miyawaki said she would look at her co-workers' drawings and songs when having a writer's block. She mentioned that Kenichiro Fukui would request their help with tracks for Lethal Enforcers, when Takenouichi was occasionally humming a tune when thinking over new ideas during lunchtime.[25]

A two-CD album titled Konami Amusement Sounds '93...Natsu was distributed in Japan by King Records on August 21, 1993. It contained the original soundtracks for Gaiapolis, Lethal Enforcers, and Mystic Warriors, as well as arrangements by Fukami and Tappi Iwase.[26][27][28] In 1998, the tracks arranged by Fukami were later included as part of Kukeiha Club & Konami Kukeiha Club Best Vol.2, a compilation album distributed by King Records.[29] In 2024, a two-CD album titled Gaiapolis Game Sound Digital Collection was released under City Connection's Clarice Disk label, containing the game's original soundtrack and arrangements by Takenouchi.[30]

Release

[edit]

Gaiapolis was first showcased at the 1993 AOU Show.[4][1][31] The game was also shown at the 1993 American Coin Machine Exposition (ACME).[32] It was released for arcades by Konami in Japan in April 1993.[33][34][35] The game remains exclusive to arcades and never received a contemporary official conversion for a home console.[3][12] An unlicensed port for the Famicom was developed and published by Sachen in 1994.[3][12][36]

Reception

[edit]

In Japan, Game Machine listed Gaiapolis on their June 1, 1993 issue as being the tenth most-popular arcade game for the previous two weeks.[39] Monthly Coin Journal ranked the game as the twelfth highest-grossing arcade machine in Japan in June 1993 based on an arcade operator survey.[40]

French publication Joypad found the inclusion of a password system innovative for the arcade scene, but noted that the game's mix of action and adventure playstyles was more reserved for consoles.[41] Ação Games considered it an odd game from Konami, but commended its password feature and multiplayer mode.[42] Gamest praised the game's audiovisual presentation but criticized its uninteresting story and direction, noting that fighting enemies with the same combat actions felt monotonous.[43][44] Famitsu highlighted the game's graphics, particularly the backgrounds and player characters, and well-crafted worldview.[2]

Gamest gave Gaiapolis multiple awards at the seventh annual "Gamest Awards", placing 9th in the "Grand Prize", 4th in the "Best Action Award", 8th in the "Best Graphic Award", 7th in the "Best VGM Award", 3rd in the "Best Production Award", and 38th in the "Annual Hit Game".[37] Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine also gave the game several awards at the 1993 "Video Game Grand Prix", placing 8th in "Best Action", 9th in "Best Graphics" and "Best Sound Effects", and 2nd in "Best Production".[38]

Retrospective commentary for Gaiapolis has been generally favorable.[12][36] Sega-16's Ken Horowitz praised the game's Dungeons & Dragons-style hack and slash gameplay, character designs, and colorful visuals, but expressed disappointment at the lack of a home release, writing that "this one would have been right at home on the 32X".[36] MeriStation's José Manuel Fernández described it as a novel action role-playing game.[45] Retro Gamer commended the game's high-quality production, remarking that its graphics were among the best of its time, but questioned the lack of a home port, stating that it would have made a good release for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.[12] Revista PlayReplay's Eidy Tasaka was surprised by its vertical-oriented display, commenting that it was a risky and "successful" move by Konami to make the game more interesting.[46] Hardcore Gaming 101's Robert Naytor regarded it as "the most original of Konami's arcade brawlers", but compared it unfavorably to Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons games.[3]

Legacy

[edit]

A one-shot manga adaptation, written and illustrated by Hamakawa, was published in the August 1993 issue of Shinseisha's Comic Gamest manga anthology.[18][47] The character of Elaine Shee would later make appearances outside of Gaiapolis in other Konami titles; Elaine appears as an unlockable playable character in the fighting game Battle Tryst (1998).[48]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: ガイアポリス: 黄金鷹の剣, Hepburn: Gaiaporisu: Ōgon Taka no Tsurugi, lit. 'Gaiapolis: Sword of the Golden Hawk'

References

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  1. ^ a b "Game Paradise: アーケードパラダイス". Dengeki Oh (in Japanese). Vol. 3. MediaWorks. April 1993. pp. 64–65.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Derby (June 18, 1993). "Arcade Windows 3.0: Gaiapolis". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 235. ASCII Corporation. pp. 120–121.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Naytor, Robert (September 13, 2017). "Gaiapolis". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "感電倶楽部". Dengeki Mega Drive (in Japanese). Vol. 3. MediaWorks. June 1993. pp. 48–49. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sasaoka, Rikku (June 1993). "紹介: ガイアポリス". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 92. Shinseisha. pp. 15–17.
  6. ^ a b Sasaoka, Rikku (September 1993). "攻略: ガイアポリス". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 98. Shinseisha. pp. 50–52.
  7. ^ a b c d e Sasaoka, Rikku (August 1993). "攻略: ガイアポリス". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 96. Shinseisha. pp. 26–30.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Gaiapolis (Operator's Manual). Konami. 1993.
  9. ^ a b Sasaoka, Rikku (July 1993). "攻略: ガイアポリス". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 94. Shinseisha. pp. 70–72.
  10. ^ a b "ずばり遊べる人気GAMEだ: ガイアポリス 黄金鷹の剣". Game You (in Japanese). Vol. 4. Leed Publishing. August 1993. pp. 34–36.
  11. ^ a b c Greening, Chris (December 30, 2012). "Yuji Takenouchi Profile". Video Game Music Online. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
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  17. ^ Ōno, Junji (September 15, 1994). "Making of 極上パロディウス (開発者インタビュー): 極上パロディウス開発秘話公開!!". Gamest (Extra) (in Japanese). No. 125. Shinseisha. pp. 97–100. (Translation by It's Fantastic!. Archived 2021-03-28 at the Wayback Machine).
  18. ^ a b Auffret, Dominique (October 28, 2021). "Shuzilow HA, AKA Shujiro HAMAKAWA / 濱川修二郎". VGDensetsu. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  19. ^ Hamakawa, Shūjirō [@ShuzilowHA] (July 18, 2021). "#ガイアポリス のダークネスは映画「ハイランダー 悪魔の戦士」のクルガンからインスピレーションを得ています。 今見ると画力が足りず頭とヘルムのサイズは変ですねw" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 4, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Hamakawa, Shūjirō [@ShuzilowHA] (July 20, 2021). "#ガイアポリス で出来なかった小ネタ 企画当時2週目を想定していた(王子のみ) 2週目が始まる条件は「ダークネスを倒し玉座につく」とドラゴン戦が無く2週目に突入。ドラゴン又は妖精で王子(元プレイヤー)を倒すために旅に出る。元プレイヤーのレベルが高ければ高い程強敵 没理由:プレイ時間が長すぎw" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 4, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Hamakawa, Shūjirō [@ShuzilowHA] (May 11, 2025). "皇子(または他のメンバー)が闇堕ちして 闇堕ちした皇子を倒しに行くと言う2週目を想定していましたが、諸所の都合で止められましたw" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Hamakawa, Shūjirō [@ShuzilowHA] (July 20, 2021). "#ガイアポリス で出来なかった小ネタ 武器の属性:光属性と闇属性 光属性の武器、敵を改心させる事ができる 闇属性の武器、攻撃力が高いが闇に心が蝕まれていく 没理由:アーケードゲーム内での説明が困難、システムが複雑になる" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 4, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Hamakawa, Shūjirō [@ShuzilowHA] (June 29, 2019). "このポスターは僕が山田章博さんに直接電話してお願いしたんです(w) ラフが上がってきた時は嬉しすぎて枕元に置いて寝ました。" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2025 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ a b "多彩なVGMコンポーザによるライブやトーク，物販が行われた「東京ゲーム音楽ショー2017」をレポート。来年度は大田区PiOで開催". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas Inc. March 21, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  25. ^ a b c Miyawaki, Satoko; Fukami, Seiichi (August 21, 1993). "LINER NOTES: ガイアポリス". コナミ・アミューズメントサウンズ'93...夏 (in Japanese). King Records. p. 4. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  26. ^ Umemura, Zuruzuru (September 1993). "VIDEO & CD". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 98. Shinseisha. p. 93.
  27. ^ "Software House Hot Information: Konami Page 25 from DS-3". Micom BASIC Magazine [ja] (in Japanese). No. 135. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation [ja]. September 1993. p. 251.
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