Midnight Resistance (ミッドナイトレジスタンス Middonaito Rejisutansu ) is a side-scrolling run-and-gun video game developed by Data East and released in 1989 for arcades. It was ported to the Sega Mega Drive in 1991 by Sega and to various home computers by Ocean Software.
Story[]
The great war that had engulfed the world was finally coming to an end. However, there was no glimmer of hope to be seen on the faces of the people who survived the rough seas of the war... For the end of the world war was not, in other words, the path to peace, but at the hands of one - who had acquired great power - an insane scientist....!?
"King Crimson"
Called a genius scientist, his research began to take a distorted direction at some point, and eventually, using his own body as a test bench, he advanced into a realm that he should never step into as a human being. As a result, he gained unimaginable power in exchange for his own body, and at the same time, he acquired the ability to manipulate people's minds at will, a terrifying thing called tele-learning! - So he began plotting to rule the world!
The terrifying slaughter group he controls, which came to be known as the Crimson Legion, began its secret maneuvers with the momentum to conquer the world. One day, Dr. Yen, a world-famous scientist, was attacked by the Crimson Corps, and the doctor and his family were kidnapped. Dr. Yen's research - for a mad scientist who was forced to live outside the atmosphere because he was unable to adapt to life on earth as he continued to modify his body, it was the most important thing. It was research into the effects of tetroxine that he wanted to obtain.
On the other hand, in the city that had been devastated by the Crimson Legion, people began to take up arms and rebel for their freedom. Called the "Tokyo Resistance", they fought bravely against the Crimson Legion. However, their desperate resistance was in vain, and their companions fell one after another, and their weapons began to run out...
Just as everyone threw themselves into the depths of despair and began to look up at the sky, there was a young man who bravely stood up from the rubble! The man was the son of Dr. Yen, Daichi, who was being held captive by King Crimson! Angered by the fact that his relatives were kidnapped, he carries a weapon...
"Father, mother, sisters! Stay alive!!"
With a roar that cuts through the dark night, the man begins his march towards the final battle!
Gameplay[]
Midnight Resistance plays similarly to other run and gun titles, with the player moving in a 2D plane and having to shoot down incoming enemies. The original arcade version utilizes a rotary joystick, allowing the player to aim in eight directions while moving in a different direction. The Mega Drive home port changes the control scheme, allowing the player to choose between four different configurations. While the Arcade version allows for co-op play, the home port is limited to one player only. The home port also allows for lives and continues to be set, up to a maximum of five each, as well as a Difficulty setting between easy, normal, hard, and very hard.
Nine levels of run 'n gun action awaits the hero(es) of the story. During the stages, a specific red-clad soldier will drop a key when defeated. These keys are used at the end of the levels where the player can spend them to obtain special weapons or power ups. Each power-up and amount shown inside the bunker is generally random, though 1-ups will typically always cost 6 keys. If a player loses their last life while having keys in their possession, they have a chance to use them if a continue is used to restart the level (as they are taken to the weapon bunker before the stage commences). However this cannot be done on the final stage, as no key enemies will be present.