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Judge Spear (ジャッジスピア in Japanese) is one of the protagonists of the 1995 Shoot 'Em Up arcade game Viper Phase 1 (along with its counterpart the Blue Javelin). Judge Spear's name was never mentioned in Viper Phase 1, but during its debut in Raiden Fighters, it earned the name Judge Spear for its good firepower and excellent speed. Its bomb attack as seen in Viper Phase 1 also returns as the standard bomb weapon for the Judge Spear. Originally one of two spacecrafts (the other being Blue Javelin) belonging to an enemy military, it was captured by Earth's spies and deployed into battle fighting for the side of Earth.

Plot[]

Booklet

In the future, mankind began pioneering and migrating onto space in search of habitable planets. Long time had passed and eventually by the year of 2050 U.C.(Universal Calendar), humanity managed to colonize multiple planets and established their own science/technology, cultures and laws. For a time, all was good but the antagonism that had been historical plague of humanity followed to planetary colonies like a bad cultural baggage. Antagonism led to feuds, and feuds led to wars between planets. Unfortunately, the spillover of planetary conflicts also spread to planet Earth: one outer planet a powerful rebel faction with pan-galactic hegemony in mind took over the said planet and began massive buildup of a grand military. Using superior science and technology the outer planet's military invaded, laid a planetary siege upon planet Earth, demanded an unconditional surrender.

In response, Earth Defense Military initiated Operation Viper Phase 1, a top-secret military plan involving of infiltrating into an enemy base, collecting data, capture the most advanced enemy fighter, and using the stolen (or constructed from salvaged enemy technology) fighter to fight against enemy military. Beginning with destroying the spaceport which served as the enemy's outpost, Judge Spear along with Blue Javelin tore through the enemy military as the two fighters stepped ever deeper into the enemy headquarter, crippling their foe's capacity to wage wars. Eventually Judge Spear and Blue Javelin smashed into the enemy's home world and destroyed the enemy capital. But the enemy still had one last dice to roll: in a final act of sheer spite, the enemy side launches its own WMD in a shape of gargantuan ballistic missile capable of wiping out a planet, and it was heading for Earth. Judge Spear and Blue Javelin have limited amount of time to intercept and shoot down the missile. But it will not be an easy task: remnants of enemy forces and Copper Caoineag which serves as the final boss of the game, accompanies the missile to ensure the missile fulfills its task. Even if Judge Spear and Blue Javelin succeed in shooting down the missile, they still have to contend with Copper Caoineag.

Depending on the old edition or new edition of Viper Phase 1, the ending can be quick or prolonged. In the old edition, if Judge Spear and Blue Javelin succeed in destroying both the missile and Copper Caoineag, then the game informs that the enemy forces used time warp technology at the last minute to send the starfighter pair back to the beginning of the war, thus the starfighter duo must repeat their war all over again with their enemy better prepared. If the duo starfighters fail to stop the missile in time, Earth is destroyed in a fiery Armageddon but this time it is Earth Military Defense who uses time warp technology to send the starfighter pair back in time to retry their final mission. The time warp in both endings are used only once, and if Judge Spear and Blue Javelin fail to stop the enemy WMD in the second loop, then Earth truly will be lost and the starfighter pair's mission would fail, resulting in a bad ending. But in the new edition of Viper Phase 1, there is no time warp technology existent so Judge and Blue have only one chance at stopping the enemy WMD along with Copper Caoineag. If they fail Earth is destroyed in a fiery Armageddon. But if Judge and Blue succeed Earth will be saved, as well as being greeted by the Earth's fleet.

The game ends with the final comment that the heroism of Judge Spear and Blue Javelin thwarting a hostile force's pan-galactic ambition will become a legend and be told for eternity.

Crossover Appearances[]

Raiden Fighters Series[]

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Judge Spear also appears in Raiden Fighters series as a guest character fighting for the side of Gun Dog squadron which seeks to overthrow tyrannical dictator and his loyalists. In this series, Judge Spear is armed only with standard focused main shots and napalm missiles - though the power of napalm had been significantly enhanced. Judge Spear here is equipped with very high speed and is able to control Slave drones. But while being fast is certainly advantageous, for Judge Spear it can be too much of a good thing as its speed is excessive to the point that the craft is unstable and will be difficult to maneuver through thick enemy fires. Also, activation of Dimension Mine does not occur immediately upon deployment; it is shot a few inches forward and then detonates, which causes split-second delay as well as allowing some enemy bullets to slip through Dimension Mine's blasting radius and to home in on Judge Spear, potentially leading to untimely deaths.

In Raiden Fighters JET, Judge Spears appears as a simulation fighter training pilots of the new government's newly built air force. The simulation training involves several levels of virtual battles occurred in the events of Raiden Fighters and Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive. If a pilot performs poorly in his/her training, he/she is told to do better and the game ends. If the chosen pilot excels in his/her virtual simulation training with Judge Spear, he/she will have an honor of driving the new air force's latest state-of-the-art jet fighter named Ixion. Should the pilot pass his/her virtual training, he/she is immediately ordered to go fight the remnants of enemy military - deployed to an actual battle. Judge Spear then would not be seen for the rest of the game.

Weapons[]

Viper items 1

Judge Spear is equipped with three weapons that allow it to eradicate its enemies efficiently: a default primary weapon, a secondary weapon that can be obtained through power-ups, and a bomb. In the old version of the game, all the secondary weapons are exhaustible, and will be used up when enough shots are fired. In the new version, they have infinite shots, but deal less damage as a counterbalance. The ship's module will flash with the corresponding color of the secondary weapon once obtained.

  • Vulcan Cannon - the default primary weapon of the Judge Spear, it is a standard, rapid-fire capable cannon that can eliminate most small enemies easily. Initially it only fires two shots, but upon being upgraded, it increases to four, which become longer and thicker with further upgrades, thus increasing its firepower.
  • Laser (L) - fires a powerful, penetrating laser, similar to the Lightning Laser from Raiden, the laser has the poorest spread, but deals the most damage out of all the secondary weapons, being able to crush medium to large enemies quickly and decimate bosses the fastest. When upgraded, the width of the laser widens, thus increasing its damage.
  • Burst Missile (M) - fires a volley of cruise missiles that travel in a burst pattern, upon making contact with any enemy, they create a small explosion that deals secondary splash damage. Upgrading the weapon increases the number of missiles fired per burst.
  • Napalm Missle (N) - fires a large cruise missile that upon making contact with an enemy, will explode into a large napalm explosion, dealing secondary splash damage. When upgraded, the number of missiles fired increases to two, and the explosions will create a chain reaction, causing more explosions to appear around the vicinity of the first explosion. These explosions can be risky however, as they can cover up enemy projectiles. This is the Judge Spear's signature weapon, as it is used by the craft in Raiden Fighters.
  • Wide Vulcan (W) - fires a widespread vulcan cannon to the sides of the primary cannon. It has the highest defensive spread of all the secondary weapons, but is the weakest in terms of firepower. Upon being upgraded, the number of shots fired increases.
  • Dimension Mine (B): fires a powerful bomb that covers a wide area of the screen, destroying all small enemies and projectiles upon impact whilst also damaging larger enemies and bosses within the field. The weapon has a limited number of uses however, and must be used strategically.

Variants[]

Dark Sword[]

DarkSword

Dark Sword is the final fighter to unlock in Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive, as a secret character that is very similar to Judge Spear. This ship is a black version of the Judge Spear. Notice the connection between the "Viper" class of space fighters including Judge Spear and Blue Javelin. They all have names of medieval melee weapons. Dark Sword appears only in RF2.

Dark Sword's Vulcan Cannon remains the same as Judge Spear's, and its missile weapon is very cool. It is similar to the Blue Javelin's Burst Missile weapon, but much better. If fully powered up, Dark Sword can fire up to 25 missiles at once, covering almost the entire screen and giving itself a very good defense rating. The missile weapon is later on in Raiden Fighters Jet inherited by the Ixion but powered up even more.

Gallery[]

Navigation[]

           Raiden Logo

Raiden
Raiden | Raiden β

Viper Phase 1
Judge Spear | Blue Javelin

Raiden Fighters
Aegis | Beast | Chaser | Devastator/Eraser | Endeavor | Death Header | Flying Ray | Griffin | Hell Diver | Ixion

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