Rapid Reload

Rapid Reload, known in Japan as Gunners Heaven (ガンナーズヘヴン), is a run and gun video game developed by Media.Vision and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in both Japan and Europe in 1995. The game was re-released on the PlayStation Network in Japan in 2007 and in Asia in 2010.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Rapid Reload is often compared to the Treasure game Gunstar Heroes.^[4][5][6][7] The players choose to play as either male character Axel or female character Ruka through the game's six levels.

The player can switch between four different weapons with a normal machine pistol, flamethrower, homing laser, and multi-directional cannons. The characters each have their own set of four weapons, totaling the weapons in the game to eight. Also available is a grappling hook that will latch onto any wall or ceiling. The player cannot be harmed while the player uses the hook. The player can also aim their weapons in any direction by holding R2 on the controller. The player can also throw their enemies in any direction, similar to how players Red and Blue can in Gunstar Heroes.

The unique feature in Rapid Reload/Gunners Heaven is the point system. Points will be dropped after the player destroys enemies. When the player collects these items, the counter on the top screen with rise and eventually will count down. As the player collects more points, their shots from the weapons will become more powerful than the ordinary shots. Occasionally, the player will find a booster item that will temporarily increase the player's weapon strength to unbelievable heights, making the player annihilate through any enemy easily. Unfortunately, the timer is unforgiving, and the player will have a very short time using the booster item.

The game has six stages and during the stages, there is one or two sub-bosses and the one true boss.

Plot

Upon hearing the legend of the treasure known as the Valkiry, treasure hunters Axel Sonics (voiced by Kazuki Yao) and Ruka Hetfield (voiced by Noriko Hidaka) embark on an adventurous quest to find the legendary stone. However, unknown to Axel and Ruka at the start, there is also a terrorist organization known as the Pumpkin Heads searching for the Valkiry, determined to use the stone for world domination.

In a race to reach the stone first, Axel and Ruka fight their way through the Pumpkin Heads' army of elite soldiers along several locations, destroying each of the three top captains and eventually reaching their hideout, where they confront the Master, who already has the Valkiry in his possession. Using the Valkiry to power himself, the Master engages Axel and Ruka in a decisive, final battle, but is eventually destroyed and the Valkiry is freed.

The ending differs for each character: if Axel defeats the Master, he is joined by Ruka, who in her excitement takes the Valkiry and runs off, with the weary Axel only barely managing to keep up with her; if Ruka defeats the Master, she accidentally drops the Valkiry and it shatters, and in her frustration, she vows never to hunt for treasure again, although a caption mentions that she eventually stayed in the business with Axel.

Reception

On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the PlayStation version of Gunners Heaven a 26 out of 40.^[8] The same version also received a 27 out of 40 from Famitsu PS.^[9] Maximum described the game as an extremely poor clone of Gunstar Heroes, elaborating that "The movement of the sprites, the enormity of the bossses, the ingenuity of the gameplay - in every respect the lowly 16-bit Sega title trounces this game. Rapid Reload doesn't even feature the simultaneous two-player mode of Gunstar ..." They also criticized the sloppy PAL conversion, and scored the game two out of five stars.^[7]

References

External links

• Rapid Reload at MobyGames
• Gunners Heaven at Hardcore Gaming 101