Moon Cresta
Encyclopedia
is an arcade game
released in 1980 by Nichibutsu. Incentive Software
published a version of this arcade game for many 8-bit
home computer
s of the time. Dempa also released a port of both Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta
for the X68000. It was also released on the Wii
Virtual Console
in Japan on March 9, 2010.
's Space Invaders
and Namco
's Galaxian
. The player begins the game with a small spaceship armed with a single laser cannon. After successfully completing the first four waves of alien attacks, the player must attempt to dock his ship with the next 'stage' of the ship. This second stage has two lasers in addition to the original one. (Each docked stage is one of the player's "lives." This concept of docking two "lives" together to increase firepower would later reappear in Galaga
.)
After successfully clearing two more waves of aliens, the player must again dock with the third and final piece of the ship which also has two more lasers (giving the player 5 lasers in total). The trade-off for this is that the entire ship is a much larger target. Failure to correctly align the stages during either docking sequence causes the destruction of the stage being docked with.
After completing the first eight waves the player's ship reverts to the first stage and the process is repeated. If any of the player's three ships are lost along the way, the docking sequence occurs only after the first four waves have been completed.
Play ends when all three of the player's ship-stages are destroyed. If the player reaches a score of 30,000 points, he is awarded an extra stack of 3 more ship-stages.
, was met with average review scores. Your Spectrum awarded two hits out of three: the gameplay was felt to be close to the arcade original, but was showing its age. Sinclair User
awarded 3 out of 5 stars, and considered it only worth playing in order to win Incentive's prize for the first person to reach 30,000 points.
The following details the main variation differences:
Taito Moon Cresta
-------------------------------------
Wave 1+2 Aliens hover until several are shot.
Wave 5+6 D4 Eagle Aliens are never invisble.
Wave 9+10 Spears start with 1 flying downwards on first round and increase by 1 each round i.e. second time round there are 2 etc until all 10 fly down at once.
Aliens slow down in waves 1-4 if player killed.
Free game at 30000.
Spears fly faster at end of wave 4 plus from then on last alien flies faster i.e. round 5.
Similar to Taito is Fantazia with different Sprite colours.
Sega/Gremlin Moon Cresta
-----------------------
Wave 1+2 Aliens do not hover.
Aliens speed up on 3rd round.
2 spears drop on first round.
No invisible D4 eagles.
Aliens do not slow down in waves 1-4 if player killed.
Free game 30000.
Centuri Eagle Moon Cresta Clone
-------------------------------
Different sprites used throughout but essentially the same as Taito version except aliens speed up on 6th round.
Nichibutsu Moon Cresta
----------------------
As Gremlin plus:
Last alien on waves 1-4 moves differently
Last D4 Eagle is invisible
Super Moon Cresta
-----------------
Same as Taito revision only aliens fire 1 bullet plus player ships shoot faster.
.
Marcus McHaffie holds the high score for the Nichibutsu version submitted via M.A.M.E with 153,490 points (17/08/2011).
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released in 1980 by Nichibutsu. Incentive Software
Incentive Software
Incentive Software Ltd. was a British video game developer and publisher founded by Ian Andrew in 1983. Programmers included Sean Ellis, Stephen Northcott and Ian's brother Chris Andrew. Later games were based around the company's Freescape rendering engine...
published a version of this arcade game for many 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s of the time. Dempa also released a port of both Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta
Terra Cresta
is an arcade game that was released by Nichibutsu in 1985.- Overview :Terra Cresta is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up. The player controls a ship, initially with limited firepower. Numbered pods appear containing further parts of the ship that will increase firepower...
for the X68000. It was also released on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in Japan on March 9, 2010.
Gameplay
Moon Cresta is a two-dimensional, single screen shoot-em-up in the same mould as TaitoTaito Corporation
The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
's Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
and Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
's Galaxian
Galaxian
is an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...
. The player begins the game with a small spaceship armed with a single laser cannon. After successfully completing the first four waves of alien attacks, the player must attempt to dock his ship with the next 'stage' of the ship. This second stage has two lasers in addition to the original one. (Each docked stage is one of the player's "lives." This concept of docking two "lives" together to increase firepower would later reappear in Galaga
Galaga
is a fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan and published by Midway in North America in 1981. It is the sequel to Galaxian, released in 1979. The gameplay of Galaga puts the player in control of a space ship which is situated on the bottom of the screen...
.)
After successfully clearing two more waves of aliens, the player must again dock with the third and final piece of the ship which also has two more lasers (giving the player 5 lasers in total). The trade-off for this is that the entire ship is a much larger target. Failure to correctly align the stages during either docking sequence causes the destruction of the stage being docked with.
After completing the first eight waves the player's ship reverts to the first stage and the process is repeated. If any of the player's three ships are lost along the way, the docking sequence occurs only after the first four waves have been completed.
Play ends when all three of the player's ship-stages are destroyed. If the player reaches a score of 30,000 points, he is awarded an extra stack of 3 more ship-stages.
Critical reception
The ZX Spectrum conversion, published in 1985 by Incentive SoftwareIncentive Software
Incentive Software Ltd. was a British video game developer and publisher founded by Ian Andrew in 1983. Programmers included Sean Ellis, Stephen Northcott and Ian's brother Chris Andrew. Later games were based around the company's Freescape rendering engine...
, was met with average review scores. Your Spectrum awarded two hits out of three: the gameplay was felt to be close to the arcade original, but was showing its age. Sinclair User
Sinclair User
Sinclair User, often abbreviated SU, was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum...
awarded 3 out of 5 stars, and considered it only worth playing in order to win Incentive's prize for the first person to reach 30,000 points.
Variations
The most difficult version of Moon Cresta is the Nichibutsu version since in this version in the D4 Eagle waves, the last D4 Eagle becomes invisible.The following details the main variation differences:
Taito Moon Cresta
-------------------------------------
Wave 1+2 Aliens hover until several are shot.
Wave 5+6 D4 Eagle Aliens are never invisble.
Wave 9+10 Spears start with 1 flying downwards on first round and increase by 1 each round i.e. second time round there are 2 etc until all 10 fly down at once.
Aliens slow down in waves 1-4 if player killed.
Free game at 30000.
Spears fly faster at end of wave 4 plus from then on last alien flies faster i.e. round 5.
Similar to Taito is Fantazia with different Sprite colours.
Sega/Gremlin Moon Cresta
-----------------------
Wave 1+2 Aliens do not hover.
Aliens speed up on 3rd round.
2 spears drop on first round.
No invisible D4 eagles.
Aliens do not slow down in waves 1-4 if player killed.
Free game 30000.
Centuri Eagle Moon Cresta Clone
-------------------------------
Different sprites used throughout but essentially the same as Taito version except aliens speed up on 6th round.
Nichibutsu Moon Cresta
----------------------
As Gremlin plus:
Last alien on waves 1-4 moves differently
Last D4 Eagle is invisible
Super Moon Cresta
-----------------
Same as Taito revision only aliens fire 1 bullet plus player ships shoot faster.
Legacy
- Moon Cresta (1980)
- Terra CrestaTerra Crestais an arcade game that was released by Nichibutsu in 1985.- Overview :Terra Cresta is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up. The player controls a ship, initially with limited firepower. Numbered pods appear containing further parts of the ship that will increase firepower...
(1985) - Dangar - Ufo RoboDangar - Ufo RoboDangar - Ufo Robo is a arcade game released by Nichibutsu in 1986. It's a videogame of the Moon Cresta series: sequel to Terra Cresta and a prequel to Terra Force. The game is inspired by the Transformer Armorhide, known as Dangar in Japanese.-External links:...
(1986) - Terra Force (1987)
- Terra Cresta II (1992, PC EngineTurboGrafx-16TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
) - Terra Cresta 3D (1997, Sega SaturnSega SaturnThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
)
Moon Cresta in Popular Culture
A Moon Cresta machine can be seen and heard in the background of the Boardwalk Comics Shop in the 1987 film The Lost BoysThe Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
.
High Scores
Bill Awalin holds the high score for the Sega/Gremlin version with 152,100 points (29/02/1984).Marcus McHaffie holds the high score for the Nichibutsu version submitted via M.A.M.E with 153,490 points (17/08/2011).