G-Vector

2

4 /5

G Vector is an on-the-rails shoot-'em-up game released exclusively for the Sega Saturn in Japan. It is best described as a fusion of Space Harrier (or Panzer Dragoon) and Layer Section.

Pressing the A button fires your main gun, while holding the C button autofires. The targeting reticle will mark anything it passes over, and larger objects can be targeted multiple times, up to a maximum of eight targets. Press the B button to fire lasers at all locked-on targets. You gain additional points for each target that's destroyed; a full volley of eight destroyed targets results in a total of 51,000 bonus points. Bosses will frequently have smaller targets nearby with which to gain big points.

The game is surprisingly cruel with resources. You get a single life with three hit points, and there are no recovery items in sight. There are continues; of course, using a continue throws your score away, and disables the ending. You normally have three continues, but can gain more with the following code: press Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right A B C on the title screen.

There is a total of six stages. As stages are completed in the "Standard Game", they can be accessed in the "Score Attack" for practice, where you're also invulnerable. Stage progress, scores, and the continue code are automatically saved to the Saturn's internal memory.