Hellfire is a 1989 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed by Toaplan and published by Taito for Japanese arcades; in North America, it was distributed by U.S.A. Players assume the role of Space Federation member Captain Lancer, taking control of the CNCS1 spacecraft in a surprise attack to overthrow the enemies using the spacecraft's titular weapon.

The Story Behind Hellfire

On 12 April 1991, a version for the PC Engine Super CD, developed by NEC Avenue, was released under the name Hellfire S. MegaDrive, designer Yuko Tataka stated that working with the Genesis proved to be equally difficult due to restrictions imposed by the hardware. An album containing music from Hellfire and other Toaplan games was released exclusively in Japan by Datam Polystar in June 1989.

Hellfires creation was helmed by Tatsuya Uemura, a former video game composer whose previous development works at Toaplan included Tiger-Heli, Flying Shark, and Twin Cobra. On 28 September 1990, Hellfire was ported to the Sega Genesis by NCS Corporation and first released in Japan by Masaya. Despite the difficulties and changes during the creation process, the team managed to finish the project.

How Hellfire Plays

Hellfire was conceived by Tatsuya Uemura during his time at Toaplan, and was developed in conjunction with Truxton. Players assume the role of Space Federation member Captain Lancer, taking control of the CNCS1 spacecraft in a surprise attack to overthrow the enemies using the spacecraft's titular weapon. Depending on the settings in the arcade version, Hellfire uses either a checkpoint system, in which a downed single player will start off at the beginning of the checkpoint they managed to reach before dying, or a respawn system where their ship immediately starts at the location they died at.

Captain Lancer, a member of the Space Federation, decides to initiate a surprise attack against Super Mech by piloting the only available space fighter craft, the CNCS1, loaded with Hellfire, the strongest weapon in the galaxy. Hellfire was met with positive reception from video game magazines since its release in arcades, though some critics drew comparison with Irem's R-Type due to its gameplay style. The first horizontal shoot 'em up title to be created by Toaplan, the game takes place in the year 2998, where a space matter known as Black Nebula, created by robot dictator Super Mech, spreads and threatens to engulf human-controlled galaxies.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Den of Geek noted it to be "a rare foray into the world of horizontally-scrolling shooters" for Toaplan. It is eventually revealed that the force behind this matter is Super Mech, a mysterious robot dictator from the farthest regions of space, with the only intention to destroy any resistance that it and its massive space armada faces. The first horizontal shoot 'em up title to be created by Toaplan, the game takes place in the year 2998, where a space matter known as Black Nebula, created by robot dictator Super Mech, spreads and threatens to engulf human-controlled galaxies.

The game was then ported to the Sega Genesis by NCS Corporation in 1990, followed by the PC Engine CD by NEC Avenue in 1991. Players assume the role of Space Federation member Captain Lancer, taking control of the CNCS1 spacecraft in a surprise attack to overthrow the enemies using the spacecraft's titular weapon. Hellfire was conceived by Tatsuya Uemura during his time at Toaplan, and was developed in conjunction with Truxton.

Hellfire — Frequently Asked Questions