Judgement Flasher (ジャッジメントフラッシャー in Japanese), also known as Type C, is one of the three protagonists of the 1992 arcade shoot 'em up Batsugun (alongside Sky Mirage and Dragon's Whisper). It is a jet fighter utilized by the Skull Hornets in their rebellion to stop king Renoselva A. Gladebaran VII from taking over Epsilon Centauri Prime.
History[]
On the Earth-like planet of Epsilon Centauri Prime, a plan is set into motion to radically change the course of the future...
Concerned with the problems of overpopulation and the destruction of nature that plague the planet, King Renoselva A. Gladebaran VII devised the ambitious Project Epsilon to enable mankind to colonize space. However, the government ignored his plan, causing Gladebaran to stage a coup d'état. Within two weeks, more than 10 million people are killed in the ensuing conflict, and many of the planets' governments are quickly overthrown as a result. In response, Prince Olisis R. Gladebaran VIII, the merciful and incorrupt son of Renoselva, joined forces with the Skull Hornets. But his lineage dogged him and caused tense relationship with some of Skull Hornets pilots (especially with Beltiana, whose bluntness certainly didn't help matters).
Many of the planet's scientists who were loyal to the prince devised three specially-made aircraft to take on the dictator's forces: Sky Mirage, Dragon's Whisper, and Judgment Flasher. Each of the aircraft has the unique ability to not only fly, but also dive underwater.
Just as the fighters are about to launch however, Renoselva's forces attack the underwater base. The Sky Mirage, alongside its counterparts are subsequently launched, destroying Renoselva's forces before they have a chance to end the rebellion before it began. Over the course of the counterattack, the three fighters battle Renoselva's forces across the planet, gradually crippling their hold on their dominance. Eventually they locate and confront the psychopathic leader of the Epsilon Plan: King Renoselva himself, where they proceed to destroy the giant machine he is commandeering, effectively putting an end to his tyranny.
After the successful mission, Olisis became the new head of the state, intending on purging bloody messes his father left behind. But alluding that there will be tough times ahead for the young head of the state. His partner Iceman the mercenary, is rehired by Olisis to work for him. Ironically, in a twist of fate, the Renoselva's plan of solving the overpopulation was also fixed.
Weapons[]
Judgement Flasher's arsenal consists of two weapons: an upgradable primary weapon and a bomb. Its primary weapon's power is determined by a level meter, which slowly increases whenever enemies and environmental objects are destroyed, or by collecting "P" power-ups. The weapon will gain a minor upgrade at the halfway point of each stage, and once the weapon reaches a new level, its appearance drastically changes, increasing both its coverage and damage simultaneously. It will also allow the craft to fire a secondary weapon. The max level for the meter is Level 3, and once at max power, the meter will instead reward points when it is filled.
Spreadwave - a rather unusual primary weapon, it fires one of two types of shots: a wide shot consisting of several green arrow-shaped bullets in a fan spread when fired in rapid succession, and a concentrated wave shot if the fire button is held. The shot is the most versatile of all the primary weapons, as it combines Sky Mirage's defensive spread with Dragon Whisper's power, though knowing which shot to use is important to survival. At Level 2, both shots turn blue, with the number of shots from the wide shot and the wave shot's width increasing, whilst dealing more damage; at the same time, two options will appear at the side of the craft, firing a thin, penetrating laser for added support. At Level 3, the number of shots from wide shot will decrease but become larger in size, whilst the wave shot will become thicker and wider, both of which will deal even more damage than before; the lasers meanwhile will change to a neon pink/green effect and become slightly thicker, whilst dealing more damage too. At max power, several additional shots are added to the wide shot that will home in on nearby enemies, while the wave shot's thickness becomes denser than the craft itself.
Bomb - deploys a bomb that creates a large explosion when detonated. The blast deals massive damage to all enemies within its radius, and destroys enemy fire simultaneously. Judgement Flasher only has a limited supply of this weapon, so it must be replenished by means of the "B" power-up to use it effectively.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The 2P craft is flown by the Skull Hornet's leader and son to the main antagonist, Prince Olisis R. Gladebaran.