F98 Wisteria

Heroic Vehicle
Full Name	F98 Wisteria
Alias	Wisteria
Origin	Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth
Transportation	Starfighter
Creation	Special Interception Air Force
Location	Simulator Pacific Ocean Space port Mars outpost Derelict space station Mars surface Past space Jupiter Zeograd stronghold The Earth
Users	Unnamed Pilot (player)
Usage / Powers	Flight Space Travel Speed adjustment Backblast afterburner Defensive rolling maneuver Armaments Wave Gun Raid-firing capability GB Bomb (2 forms)
Purposes	Destroy the Zeograd Army
Status	Determinant
Type of Heroic Vehicle	Tank Spacecraft

The F98 Wisteria is one of three protagonists of the 1998 shoot 'em up Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (alongside its counterparts the F98 Venidium and the F98 Lathyrus). It is one of three starfighters built by the Special Interception Air Force to succeed the F92 Soldier Blade after it was rendered inoperable following the events of Soldier Blade. The Lathyrus focuses on large projectile hitboxes for its primary weapon.

History

In the year 2098 A.D., the Zeograd Army returns to seek retribution for its defeat six years earlier by invading Earth once more. Initially at a disadvantage following the loss of its iconic starfighter the F92 Soldier Blade, the Special Interception Air Force recovers the spacecraft's black box and recovered its combat data; there they learned a disturbing truth: that the Zeograds were not an ordinary alien race, but rather a race of highly advanced sentient robots. With this vital data, the SIA proceeds to use the data to construct a series of three starfighters to replace the F92 Soldier Blade: the F98 Series.

Following their completion, Wisteria along with the other two spacecrafts are launched against the Zeograds in order to defend Earth. They travel to various environments, where they battle numerous waves of Zeograds, destroying their forces whilst eliminating their commanders. Eventually after decimating their entire army, only one persistent enemy remains: the Duoss Core, who had somehow survived its defeat against the F92 Soldier Blade. Having been defeat twice by the fighters over the course of the game, it refuses to yield and instead creates a warp to escape towards Earth, but the three fighters following right behind it and proceed to duel the Zeograd leader above the Earth. Despite putting up an intense battle, the three starfighters manage to destroy the Duoss Core, this time for good, however in final twist, it releases a bomb that is designed to destroy the Earth!

Depending on whether or not the Wisteria destroys the bomb in time, one of two endings will occur:

In the bad ending, the bomb will activate, destroying not only the Wisteria, but also the Earth in the process.

In the good ending, with the Zeograds finally destroyed Wisteria and the two sister spacecrafts return to Earth, having finally brought peace to the planet for the foreseeable future. In a post-credit Duoss Core, thought to have been destroyed, appear and praise the player as an excellent pilot.

Specification

Wingspan	12.0 m
Length	11.1 m
Weight	13700 kg
Crew	1
Drive	Thrusters 4600 kgx6
System	Annihilationer
Armament	Wave Gun
Ex-Arms	GB Bomb

Weapons

Unlike most starfighters in the Star Soldier series, the F98 Wisteria only has one primary weapon. In this case it is the Wave Gun, a weapon based on weapons obtained by green power-ups in previous installments. The wave shot has rapid-fire capabilities, though its fire rate is notably slower than that of the other primary weapons. Due to the projectiles' large size, tt can hit most enemies in front of the craft, however they deal the least amount of damage of all the primary weapons. It can be upgraded up to three times to increase the number of shots fired, as well as the size of the main and side shots. At max power, it fires a total of eight wave shots, two large waves forward, four at angles to each side of the craft, and two large waves directly to the left and right of the craft.

In addition, the F98 Wisteria has a bomb-like Ex-Arms called the GB Bomb. The weapon comes in two forms:

• Ex-Arms 1 - fires a volley of large wave shots at an incredibly fast rate straightforward, dealing heavy damage to anything they hit.

• Ex-Arms 2 - releases a series of chain lightning that destroys all small enemies and projectiles instantly, whilst damaging larger enemies and bosses simultaneously.

For defense, Wisteria can perform Backblast Thruster (similar to OF-1 Daedalus' thruster blast); this activates when Wisteria's speed is adjusted every time. This emits an afterburn flame from Wisteria's engine thrusters for a brief period of time. It can singe and damage enemy crafts attempting to approach Wisteria from behind. Wisteria's second defensive maneuver is a defensive roll activated to temporarily dodge incoming enemy fire. After which a long cooldown period initiates before it can be performed again - but there is a secret trick to utilize Rolling continuously...

Gallery