Elemental Master is a top down shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up

Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...

 video game developed by Tecno Soft for the Sega Mega Drive

Sega Mega Drive

The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...

 and released 1990 in Japan, and in 1993 in USA by Renovation

Renovation

Renovation is the process of improving a structure. Two prominent types of renovations are commercial and residential.-Process:The process of a renovation, however complex, can usually be broken down into several processes...

.

Story

Long ago in the fantasy kingdom of Lorelei, the followers of an evil being called Gyra were sealed underneath the city’s castle. However, a seemingly heroic sorcerer known as Aryaag betrayed the king’s trust and unleashed the power of Gyra on the kingdom with the intention of letting the evil influence spread. Laden, the strongest sorcerer in the kingdom, was ready to attack Aryaag, but was stopped in shock when Aryaag revealed himself to be Laden’s brother Roki. Backed by Gyra’s most dedicated followers, Roki banished Laden from the conquered kingdom. However, Laden vows to stop Gyra’s influence from spreading and to stop Gyra’s ambitions.

Gameplay

The game is autoscrolling upwards. The player can choose to either shoot up or down. There are different weapons (types of magic) available, based on (naturally) the elements. Of the seven levels the game has, the player can choose the order of the first four.

Audio

The soundtrack was composed by Toshiharu Yamanishi, who also worked on Thunder Force III

Thunder Force III

Thunder Force III is a scrolling shooter game developed by Technosoft. It is the third chapter in the Thunder Force series. It was released in 1990 in Japan, Europe and the United States for the Mega Drive/Genesis game console. During the same year, it was retooled into an arcade game named Thunder...

, Thunder Force IV

Thunder Force IV

Thunder Force IV is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Technosoft as the fourth installment of the Thunder Force series. It was released respectively in July and September 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console in Japan and the United States, and in December of the same...

and Devil Crash (one song from Elemental Master was remixed into a new version in Devil Crash). The style of the soundtrack is synthrock with classical vibes.

Reception

Illusionware gave it the grade A/92% and stated that "Elemental Master strikes the perfect balance between graphics, music and gameplay" and a "excellent piece of gaming history". Sega-16 writer Benjamin Galway gave the grade 9 out of 10 and hailed the game with the words "It's a terrific, fairly original take on the vertical scrolling shooter and yet another feather in Technosoft's cap".

External links

• Elemental Master at MobyGames
  MobyGames
  -Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
  
  
• Elemental Master at GameFAQs
  GameFAQs
  GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...