The Ibis is the name given to one of the four playable spacecrafts in the 1995 PC Engine shoot 'em up Galaxy Policewoman Legend Sapphire. Flown by an aggressive pilot Jasmin Willoung, it is sent alongside three other respective police crafts of the Time Travel Counter-Crime Investigation Unit to stop a terroristic smuggling operation across time.
History[]
In the year 2092 A.D., a new anti-gravity agent known as NEMESIS is discovered by scientists. This new material becomes a major breakthrough, as it allows for mankind to be able to travel through time to both the past and the future, allowing them access to widespread resources and prosperity. However, fearing that NEMESIS could be exploited if it comes into the wrong hands, the agent is declared illegal for public use. This however does not stop an unnamed terrorist group from illegally obtaining the substance for use in a major smuggling operation of contraband across numerous time periods, causing crime rates involving time travel to skyrocket. In response to this growing threat, the Time Travel Counter-Crime Investigation Unit was established to quell this hostile operation. Jasmine Willoung, who pilots Ibis and is a rival of Sapphire White, was integrated into the unit which Sapphire is part of. The group consists of an all female team to track down and apprehend the most elusive of these operations. Each member has their own personal fighter built specifically to their specifications, allowing them to have different performances in combat.
The group first travels to the present in search of a cache full of missing mech weapons, their they encounter heavy resistance from a hostile terrorist group, but despite the difficulty Sapphire and her team manage to destroy their forces and recover the cache as a result. They then chase the enemy to 1136 A.D. to Medieval Europe where they encounter the terroristic forces held up inside a heavy fortified castle, after dealing with another one of their commanders, the police unit realizes that they are not dealing with an ordinary criminal, but rather a clever mastermind. Sapphire and her team then wrap to the year 625 A.D., and later 2982 B.C. where they battle more terroristic forces committing major time travel crimes in Ancient Japan and Egypt. Finally after catching up to the mastermind in the futuristic year of 2471 A.D., there they confront the crime lord nicknamed "DJ", in engages the team in a long, three-part battle. Despite their heavy arsenal, Sapphire and her team manages to destroy DJ's spacecraft, ending the terrorist raid for good.
During the epilogue, the Time Travel Counter-Crime Investigation Unit confronts a mortally wounded DJ, who reveals himself to be a Space-time investigator from the year 2482 A.D., he reveals he was forced to resort to terrorism following humanity's extinct in that particular year, but that he believes that time can be altered to avert this tragic fate. In his dying words, he tells Sapphire and her team to fight well against this future enemy to prevent humanity's downfall. With these words, he expires, having entrusted the team to his mission. Not long afterwards, the investigation unit gets word that a new threat is on the horizon, believing it to be more time-traveling terrorist, as Jasmin looks on at Sapphire's decision, the latter rushes to join her team...
Weapons[]
Ibis' performance is similar to that of Wild Bird, having medium speed and firepower. The main difference is that Ibis' main weapons have more concentrated shot patterns and initially start out weaker than the other crafts, thus requiring additional firepower even on weaker enemies. Once upgraded however, the shots will deal above average damage at the cost of requiring more precise aiming.
Ibis is armed with three main weapons as well as a limited use smart bomb. The main weapons can be switched by collecting differently-colored "P" power-ups that are occasionally dropped by certain enemies. In addition, these weapons can be upgraded twice by collecting the colored power-up that corresponds with the one currently equipped to the ship. Upon getting the first power-up, two options will be deployed to the sides of the craft, firing two rapid-fire shots at a 45 degree angle to the left and right of the craft respectively. When not firing, these options will charge up, which upon hitting the fire button will release the two options at the nearest enemy, dealing constant contact damage that's duration is determined by the length of the charge (indicated by how fast the options' charge is flashing).
- Precision Cannon - the default weapon of Ibis, it fires a single cannon shot forward that initially deals below average damage. When upgraded, the number of shots fired, their size, and their damage increases. A total of six shots will be fired in a small spread at full power.
- Arrow Pulse - fires an arrow-shaped pulse ray that penetrates targets with a high damage output. When upgraded, the size of the pulse increases.
- Explosive Missiles - fires a single missile forward which upon hitting an enemy, creates a small explosion that deal additional splash damage. When upgraded, the number of missiles fired will increase up to a maximum of four. Each upgrade will change the firing pattern slightly. At level two, a second missile will be fired from the back of the craft. At level three, the second missile's firing pattern will change so that it will be fired from the front. At level four, a third missile will be fired from the back in addition with the extra one at the front. At the final level, a fourth missile will be fired while the back missile's firing pattern will change so that the two aforementioned missiles will be fired from the sides of Ibis.
Smart Bomb - deploys a powerful bomb that destroys all enemies within the field of vision whilst causing heavy damage to bosses and negating enemies' attacks. The fighter only has a limited supply of bombs, so it must use them sparingly, strategically and replenish them by means of collecting "B" power-ups. B icons are few to come by (usually 1 per stage; 2 at most on occasion).