History VideoGame / Gorf

* AttackItsWeakPoint: The Flagship on Mission 5.

* GameplayRoulette: Each stage plays out somewhat differently, though "shoot everything" is still the general idea on most stages:

* HaveANiceDeath: When you (inevitably) lost, the game would taunt you, calling you a "Spaaaaace Cadet" (or whatever rank you achieved before losing).
* HitboxDissonance: The player's hitbox is larger than it appears to be.
* LagCancel: Firing the ship's "Quark Laser" while a shot is still on the screen will erase that shot and fire a new one.
* {{Mascot}}: The cute (?) little Gorfian Robot, which appears on almost every stage.

*** The home versions lacked the Galaxians stage, as mentioned, and the Atari 2600 version was scaled down further in most respects: no dome or Gorfian robots in Astro Battles; only one group in Laser Attack (but the laser regenerates if you don't kill the dive-bombers quickly enough); you have to destroy all the ships in Space Warp, because letting them go off the screen just resets them; and there's no dome or Gorfian Robots protecting the flagship, and pieces can't be knocked off of it, but its weak point is a little larger to compensate.

* FinalBoss: Widely credited with [[TropeMakers creating]] the concept (though {{VideoGame/Phoenix}}, which had a similar five-round progression ending in a boss fight, pre-dated it in the arcades)

* OneBulletAtATime: Played with. Like in many other shmups of its kind, you can only have one shot on the screen at any given time, ''but'' you can [[LagCancel cancel that shot to fire a new one]]. The drawback is that [[DamnYouMuscleMemory you can't button mash]], or else your shots won't travel far enough to hit anything.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: The flagship on Mission 5.

* GameplayRoulette: Each stage plays out somewhat differently.

* LagCancel: Firing while a shot is still on the screen will erase that shot and fire a new one.

Gameplay is broken up into five distinct "missions", each one essentially a mini-game in its own right[[note]]The first is a direct clone of Creator/{{Taito}}'s ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders'', which was released by Midway in the U.S.. The third doesn't even try to hide the fact that it's a clone of [[Creator/NamcoBandai Namco]]'s ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}'', which Midway also released in the U.S.[[/note]]. Successfully completing all five missions will increase the player's rank and loop back to the first mission. The game continues until the player loses all of their lives. The player can advance through the ranks of Space Cadet, Space Captain, Space Colonel, Space General, Space Warrior, and Space Avenger, with a higher difficulty level at each rank. Along the way, a robotic, synthesized voice heckles and threatens the player, often calling the player by their current rank (for example, "Some galactic defender you are, Space Cadet!"). Some versions of Gorf also display the player's current rank via a series of lit panels in the cabinet.

* RankUp: You start with the Space Cadet rank, and every six missions, you are promoted to the following, with each rank becoming more difficult: Space Captain, Space Colonel, Space General, Space Warrior, and Space Avenger,

* FinalBoss: Widely credited with [[TropeMakers creating]] the concept (though {{VideoGame/Phoenix}}, which had a similar five-round progression ending in a boss fight, predated it in the arcades)

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* OneBulletAtATime: Played with. Like in many other shmups of its kind, you can only have one shot on the screen at any given time, ''but'' you can [[LagCancel cancel that shot to fire a new one]]. The drawback is that you can't button mash, or else your shots won't travel far enough to hit anything.