Gunbird

When originally localized outside Japan by XS Games, Gunbird was retitled Mobile Light Force. The game was followed by Gunbird 2 in 1998 and was included in Gunbird Special Edition for PlayStation 2.

Publication is recorded by Psikyo and City Connection. The recorded date of publication is 1995. It belongs to the series Gunbird. It is associated with Japan. Recorded genres are shoot 'em up, vertically scrolling shooter and video game with LGBT character.

• Title — Gunbird • Border — yes • Developer — Psikyo • Publisher — Arcade Psikyo Jaleco (USA) Saturn Atlus PlayStation XS Games Yahoo Mobile Cave Windows (Steam) Console Classics (expired), City Connection PS4, Xbox One, Switch City Connection • Series — Gunbird • Producer — Junichi Niwa Shinsuke Nakamura • Released — Arcade Saturn December 15, 1995PlayStation December 15, 1995March 19, 2003Yahoo Mobile 2002 PlayStation Network June 25, 2009 Steam July 17, 2015 (Mobile Light Force) (Gunbird) Switch December 7, 2017PS4, Xbox One July 27, 2022 • Genre — Scrolling shooter • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Arcade, PlayStation, Saturn, Yahoo Mobile, PlayStation Network, Nintendo Switch, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One • Designer — Emi Taniguchi Wataru Yamazaki Hyoue Ogawa Hideyuki Oda Yoko Tsukagoshi Ikuya Yoshida Norikazu Takemori Hidenori Kamioka • Writer — Hiroshi Yamada • Director — Naozumi Yorichika • Programmer — Toshinori Sugita Seiki "SSS" Sato Shiori Saito Keisuke Takagi • Artist — Hirofumi Nakamura • Composer — Masaki Izutani • Arcade System — Psikyo 1st Generation

• Illustration — Marion battling the castle stage boss (arcade). When a player collides with the body of an enemy unit, the player loses a shot power level, and a power up flies around the screen and disappears as soon as it reaches the edge. If a player is at the lowest level of shot, the player loses a bomb instead. There are seven stages in each of the game's two loops. The first three stages are randomly chosen from possible four. In the second loop enemies fire denser bullet patterns moving at faster speeds. Stage 2-1 takes place at the only stage not available on the first loop, instead of the 1-1 counterpart. The remaining two stages are chosen at random, but does not include the replaced stage. After completing first loop with only one player, the player can choose one of two choices for a wish with a magic potion, with unique endings for each choice. If the first loop is completed with two players, a combination-specific ending is played. Each game (on default settings) begins with three lives, and an extra life is earned at 400,000 (or 600,000). The cutscenes between the battles with two players fighting cooperatively are frequently packed with hilarious dialogue and situations. This is often a recurring theme with Psikyo games, the Gunbird games being no exception. There are no cutscenes when playing second loop stages. The Korean arcade version contains English dialog but some sound samples are missing during play.

Gunbird uses manga-styled character as the player's chosen craft. A story plays out in between levels and before boss fights, telling a tale of how the protagonists are trying to collect pieces of a magic mirror to make a wish. • Ash (アッシュ): A 28-year-old German man with a jet pack on his back, who in some of the scenes between battles is discovered to be an inventor, and when two players choose Marion and Ash as cooperative partners, he takes an unhealthy interest in her. Voiced by Ryōtarō Okiayu. • Marion (マリオン): A 13-year-old witch from England who flies on a broomstick. She is accompanied by her talking pet rabbit, Pom-Pom, and frequently abuses the poor creature verbally and physically. Marion is fun-loving and thrill-seeking but also selfish, and has a mean streak (which Pom-Pom is often witness to). Voiced by Chiharu Tanaka. • Valnus (バルナス): A big robot created in Russia six months ago that has some of the best firepower in the game. Secretly wishes to be human. Voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe. • Yuan Nang (ヤンニャン): A strong-willed and courageous woman whose character design is highly influenced by that of Sun Wukong from the Chinese classical story Journey to the West, including a cloud-somersault parody, Ruyi Jingu Bang, and the size-changing headband that was used by the monk Tang Sanzang. Voiced by Naoko Matsui. • Tetsu (鉄): A strong, white-haired old man of 60 years. He is homosexual in a rather uncloseted manner and rides in a man-powered helicopter. Voiced by Sakunosuke Maya. • The Trump (トランプ): A group of sky pirates consist of Ace (voiced by Jōji Yanami), Claud (voiced by Kazuya Tatekabe), and their female leader Rouge (voiced by Noriko Ohara). They are not playable and serve as the players' rivals in the story.

The game was released in Japan for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn on December 15, 1995. The game was released in North America as Mobile Light Force for the PlayStation. All in-game plot in this version, including the game's ending, was removed and character names were changed to those of XS Games employees. The game featured a Charlie's Angels-style cover picture, completely unrelated to the original characters or the game's theme. The original's fan art gallery was also removed from the game, although the directories are still intact on the disc if inserted into a PC. Gunbird Special Edition was a version of the game was based on an arcade version, and included the sequel, Gunbird 2. It was released only for the PlayStation 2 in 2004–2005. Gunbird was included in Psikyo Collection Vol. 1 for Nintendo Switch along with Strikers 1945, Samurai Aces and Sol Divide in 2018. In 2022, the original arcade version was included as part of the Sega Astro City Mini V, a vertically-oriented variant of the Sega Astro City mini console.

The Sega Saturn version received an average reception from critics. Micom BASIC Magazine ranked the Saturn version eighth in popularity in its March 1996 issue, and it received a score of 22.2 out of 30 in a readers' poll conducted by Saturn Fan. In 2000, Gunbird earned an average score of 8.1878 out of 10 in a reader survey conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, raking among Saturn titles at number 335.