The ERX-75 "Chameleon" is the main protagonist of the 1990 Sega Genesis shoot 'em up Arrow Flash. It is a space fighter that is capable of transforming into a mech in the midst of battle. It is flown by a female pilot who happens to be the daughter of the space fighter's creator. It is sent to battle an evil alien empire from taking over the universe.
History[]
Sometime in the future, a terroristic alien empire known as Great Hilagi (Zorgon V in the European Version) is bent on conquering the universe. In response to this threat, the United Government Space Force hired a scientist named Zerrek Keene (Herbert Schwinn in the European Version) to develop a special space fighter to combat the enemy. The result was the ERX-75 "Chameleon", which had the ability to switch between a spaceship and a mechanical form at any time. To carry out the difficult mission, the very daughter of the creator Zana Keene (also known as Anna Schwinn in the European Version and Starna Oval in the original Japanese Version) is tasked to confront the looming threat piloting the hybrid spacecraft.
Upon launching, the Chameleon immediately engages against the empires' forces over a cloudy sea. There, it witnesses a gargantuan space station fall from space crash into the sea below, clearing the clouds in the process. The fighter nonetheless continues the fight and destroys their commander Axe in the process. Afterwards, the Chameleon travels to three other otherworldly environments: through outer space towards the planet Jupiter, a strange dimension that leads to a crystal cavern, and descending onto an unnamed plant planet; in each environment, the fighter battles through more of the empires' forces, decimating their numbers whilst crushing their commanders.
Once these worlds are cleared, the Chameleon decides to launch a direct attack against the emperor itself. It battles through more of its forces in a cobweb cluster, demolishes the empires' fleet and infiltrates the lair of the emperor. After battling through the last of its forces inside the lair, it locates the alien leader and engages in battle against it. Despite its overwhelming size and frightening appearance, the space fighter manages to destroy it, causes the lair to begin the self-destruct. Fortunately, the Chameleon narrowly escapes the exploding lair in one piece.
Following its victory against the empire, the space fighter returns to Earth. Once on Earth, Zana/Anna/Starna stands atop of Chameleon's head tall and proud as the game ends.
Weapons[]
Item pod
When in battle, the ERX-75 "Chameleon" can transform between its ship and mech forms. Its ship form is slightly faster and more agile, while its mech form allows for wider coverage of its weapons and a stronger Arrow Flash attack. Both forms have their own formations for the Fire Claw weapons. In addition, the craft is armed with several weapons that allow it battle the alien empire with ease. Each weapon can be obtained by means of power-ups that are dropped from destroying Power-Up Carriers that regularly appear in-game. Each weapon can also be upgraded a total of three times by obtaining the power-up of the currently equipped weapon.
- Standard Shot - the default weapon of the craft, it fires a standard semi-automatic cannon shot forward, capable of destroying small enemies.
- Arrow Flash - the titular weapon of the ERX-75 "Chameleon" that comes in two forms. In the craft's ship form, it fires a large barrage of lasers that cover a very wide area forward, destroying weaker enemies instantly whilst heavily damageing larger ones and bosses simultaneously. In its mech form, it thrusts the mech forward, granting it temporary invincibility whilst draining any enemy it hits with contact damage. The weapon can be set to "Stock" or "Charge" in the menu. "Stock" allows the weapon to be fired instantly, but in turn has a limited use in the form of consumable "A" power-ups that can be obtained from carriers in-game, up to 16 can be held on the craft. "Charge" meanwhile has unlimited uses, but requires the craft to build up a power meter before it can deploy the weapon, preventing it from firing in quick succession unlike "Stock".
Laser I - fires a burst of stacked lasers, which deal more damage than the standard shot and has the fastest fire rate of all weapons. When upgraded, the number of laser shots per burst increases. The main shot fired by the craft itself will also double, traveling in a small helix-pattern.
Laser II - fires a volley of arrow-shaped shots that cover a wide area and can penetrate through most enemies. In the mech form, the two peripheral shots of the craft will fire diagonally, allowing for even wider coverage at the cost of less frontal damage. When upgraded, the shots become larger.
Laser III - fires a slow-moving wave shot that travels in a helix pattern and can penetrate through most enemies. It deals the most damage of the three Lasers, but in turn has the slowest fire rate. When upgraded, the size of the shot increases.
Missiles - deploys a pair of missiles that have different attack patterns depending on the active form. In the Ship form, they fire straight forwards. In the Mech Form, they have homing capabilities. They can be fired simultaneously with the primary shot. When upgraded, the number of missiles deployed will increase to four.
Fire Claw - deploys a Fire Claw Drone that will aid the craft in battle by providing additional fire in the form of the currently equipped primary weapon. In the Ship form, they will trail behind the craft in a manner similar to the Options from Gradius. In the Mech Form, they will have fix positions directly above and below the craft. Up to two Fire Claws can be active at once.
Energy Shield - displays a force field around the craft, which allows it to absorb up to three hits from any source of damage before being depleted. It can be replenished by obtaining the respective "E" power-up.
Speed Up - a useful power-up that increases the speed of the ERX-75 "Chameleon". It can be obtained up to six times. One must be careful though, as higher speeds render the craft harder to control.
Gallery[]
