Val & Rick

By: Tim

On: July 9th, 2006

Old news to some, but since it’s not on TIGSource yet (and we can never get enough of KC, can’t we) let’s talk a bit about Val & Rick. (direct download)

As translated by the2bears, Mr. Cho says: “Val & Rick was a sample game for people who want to create their own shmup, and I released it on the forum for shmup developers.” Makes you wonder what other goodies he has posted on this mysterious forum.

Back to the game. Val & Rick is probably the precursor to Gunroar, featuring similar controls but in a different environment. Only 2D sprites and backgrounds are used in what seems like a tribute to Xevious and Star Soldier.

It could be a prototype although the game is pretty much complete and bug free. No information page was ever made for it either. Press the Z key to shoot and hold down the X key to fix the direction of your aim.

A power-up icon in the shape of a tiny ship named Rick will appear if you collect enough blue orbs from defeated enemies, which is indicated at the bottom left of the screen. This will cause your ship to go into hyperdrive, that is until all energy is spent or your spacecraft takes damage from enemy bullets. Each successful hyperdrive attempt increases the counter by another hundred.

The X key can also be used to drop bombs on grounded objects. Tap the P key to pause. The closer your ship is to the top of the screen, the faster it scrolls.

For another excellent Star Soldier tribute, visit Studio SiestA’s Soldier Force page. This one is going to cost you, but it doesn’t disappoint. (just ask dess!)

(Image from the2bears)