Somer Assault
Encyclopedia
Somer Assault, known as Mesopotamia in Japan
, is a video game
originally released by Atlus
in 1991
for the PC Engine
(later in 1992 for the U.S.
TurboGrafx-16
release). This side-scrolling puzzle
-based action game
features an unnamed pink slinky
object/creature as the protagonist
which can fire bullets from its sides, jump, and slink along walls. The title "Somer Assault" is a play on the word somersault
, as the slinky somersaults around the stage while assaulting enemies.
sign, and sends them to create havoc. Only the slinky stands in the way of her quest for domination and has to battle through 12 stages of enemies, destroying each Zodiac boss
along the way, in order to reach the sorceress and put an end to her plot.
At the start of the game, the player is asked to enter his or her birthdate. This causes the player's Zodiac Boss to fire power-ups as gifts rather than damaging shots (for example, entering a birthday of April 27 will cause the Taurus
boss to fire power-ups at the slinky rather than damaging shots).
's "Top Ten Lame Lead Characters" list ("Apparently you're mad at some hot sorceress and want to foil her evil plans I dunno. Anyways, you're a freaking slinky").
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, is a video game
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
originally released by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
in 1991
1991 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Microprose creates Civilization, Sid Meier's most successful game .*Electronic Arts releases James Pond 2 and Road Rash for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, starting a series of games that were popular in the 1990s....
for the PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-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....
(later in 1992 for the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-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....
release). This side-scrolling puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
-based action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
features an unnamed pink slinky
Slinky
Slinky or "Lazy Spring" is a toy consisting of a helical spring that stretches and can bounce up and down. It can perform a number of tricks, including traveling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum.-History:The toy was...
object/creature as the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
which can fire bullets from its sides, jump, and slink along walls. The title "Somer Assault" is a play on the word somersault
Somersault
A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person does a full 360° flip, moving the feet over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground...
, as the slinky somersaults around the stage while assaulting enemies.
Story
The story (existing in the export version only) is presented in a short prologue sequence at the game's start. "In a time and world not of our own", a wicked sorceress uses her evil powers in an attempt to conquer the world. She summons twelve powerful minions, each of them representing one ZodiacZodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
sign, and sends them to create havoc. Only the slinky stands in the way of her quest for domination and has to battle through 12 stages of enemies, destroying each Zodiac boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
along the way, in order to reach the sorceress and put an end to her plot.
Gameplay
The slinky is able to move along the floor, walls, and the ceiling by slinking along them; it can also make a short jump to move between walls and platforms to slink to a different section of each stage. The slinky is also equipped with a machine gun that fires to both sides of it to take out the myriad of enemies that swarm you on each stage. The player is given several hit points which can be increased with power-ups as well as several lives should the player die and unlimited continues. A time limit is given for each level, and the goal is to reach the Zodiac boss of the stage and defeat it before time expires. On the final stage, the player must defeat all of the bosses in succession before being allowed to duel against the sorceress herself. When she's dead, a battle commences against the real end boss, "The Creator".At the start of the game, the player is asked to enter his or her birthdate. This causes the player's Zodiac Boss to fire power-ups as gifts rather than damaging shots (for example, entering a birthday of April 27 will cause the Taurus
Taurus (astrology)
Taurus is the second astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the 30th and 59th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between April 21 to May 21 each year...
boss to fire power-ups at the slinky rather than damaging shots).
Reception
The game's player character was ranked #9 in the GameSpyGameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
's "Top Ten Lame Lead Characters" list ("Apparently you're mad at some hot sorceress and want to foil her evil plans I dunno. Anyways, you're a freaking slinky").