Ultimate Ecology (Japan 931203)

Capcom CPS-II cart. published 31 years ago:

Ultimate Ecology (c) 1993 Capcom Company, Limited.

Ultimate Ecology is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up for one or two players with an ecological theme, in which the player takes on the role of 'Ice P. Molly' and must battle a ruthless mega corporation called 'Goyolk K.K.' whose pollution-generating industrial machines are slowly destroying the eco system of the once-beautiful planet Elwood.

The game features an interesting play mechanic with the addition of an extended metal arm mounted to the side of the player's ship. The arm has a powerful weapon on the end of it and can be rotated through 360 degrees. The rotatable weapon is also impervious to all enemy contact and can be used as a shield.

The weapon comes in four different forms, each of which can be powered up before being fired by holding down the fire button for several seconds (these are known as 'charge shots'). The four weapons and their corresponding charge shots are:

*Energy Ball*
Used for concentrated, rapid-fire attacks. High-energy balls can be fired using charge shots.

*Hammer*
Normal shot is a penetration bomb, uses charge shots for long-range attacks.

*Laser Sword*
Emits a continuous, powerful energy beam. Slashing it around increases both its reach and offensive power.

*Foil*
Normal shot is a scatter bomb that bursts in several directions. It's charge shots include tracers and penetration bombs.

In addition to the rotatable arm, the player's ship is also equipped with 'Sub-Weapons', these emit from the front of the player's ship and consist of three different weapon types:

* Vulcan (standard forward-firing lasers)
* Bomb
* Homing missiles

Both the sub and rotatable weapons can be powered-up by collecting the relevant icons.

- TECHNICAL -

Runs on the "CP System II" hardware.
Green Board [Japan]

Players: Up to 2.
Control: 8-way joystick per player.
Buttons: 3 per player.

- TRIVIA -

Ultimate Ecology was originally released in December 1993 in Japan. It was known as the third video game released on the CPS-II hardware.

The game was actually designed by a Japanese gamer, who won a Capcom-sponsored competition to design a game for the arcade giant.

The cabinet used an 8-way stick and 3 buttons, but the game was originally designed to use a spinner with push-to-fire like Forgotten Worlds.

The game is known outside Japan as "Eco Fighters". Here is a list of known export releases:
"Eco Fighters [Blue Board]"
"Eco Fighters [Grey Board]"
"Eco Fighters [Orange Board]"

Shinseisha/Gamest released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Ultimate Ecology - GCD-2) on January 22, 1994.

- STAFF -

Object Designers: S.Y, Imomushi, Chama(c), The Pin K, Dway Nishimura (Dway!), Ovava, Minobe Hiroaki (Minobeyan), Kakunaka
Scroll Designers: Go, Y.N, May, Ziggy, Oyami, Hiropon
Programmers: Yuuka, A. Komorini, Tilde Kaw, Commander Guchi, Some-P
Sound Designers: Toshio Kajino, Hiroaki Kondo
Music Composer: Syun Nishigaki (Syun)
Voices: Nishihara K-ta, Nemoto Yoshiya, Yokoyama Chisa
Planners: Meshi, Konou, Etos
Special Thanks To: Sho, Sensei, Nezumi, Buppo, Shin, Aoi Mix, Tarabar Hori (Tarabar), Y. Ida, Takuya Shiraiwa (Mr. Shiraiwa), Gamest
Producer: Yoshiki Okamoto (Kihaji Okamoto)
Original Planner: Mori Keisuke

- PORTS -

* HANDHELDS: