Line #45 VideoGame/GigaWing


1	[[quoteright:360:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GigaWingTitle.png]]
2
3	''Giga Wing'' is a vertical ShootEmUp series developed by Takumi and published by Creator/{{Capcom}} for arcades.
4
5	It is perhaps best well-known for two features:
6	* The Reflect Barrier shield, which takes whatever [[BulletHell masses of bullets]] touch it and reflect them back, often inflicting massive damage upon enemies.
7	* The scoring system. Due to some scoring mechanics in which collecting one of many, many medals increases the value of the next one, and your medal count acting as a score multiplier, it is easily possible to have a [[PinballScoring score well beyond the scale of most other games' scoring systems]].
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9	%% Placeholder for plot description.
10
11	The series spans three games:
12	* ''Giga Wing'' (Arcade/Dreamcast, 1999). Re-released in 2021 as part of ''Capcom Arcade Stadium''.
13	* ''Giga Wing 2'' (Arcade/Dreamcast, 2000)
14	** Uses 3D graphics instead of 2D, and adds a new kind of reflect attack, the Reflect Laser. Also introduces the "volcano" mechanic: if enough medals are on the screen, a "volcanon" of medals will erupt, producing even more medals. The Dreamcast port adds a 4-player option, a rarity for a shoot-em-up.
15	* ''Giga Wing Generations'' (Arcade/[=PS2=], 2004)
16
17	Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/ZeroWing''.
18	----
19	!! The ''Giga Wing'' series contains examples of:
20	* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: Stage 5 is set on a flying one, built by the AbusivePrecursors using the Medallion's power.
21	* ArtifactOfDoom: [[spoiler:The Medallion not only doomed the AbusivePrecursors, but its influence was also responsible for bringing about untold conflict among humankind.]]
22	** The Ark is this in the second game.
23	* OneUp: There is one available in item form near the end of the fourth stage. However, it won't appear unless you've died at least twice by that point (which on default settings means you're on your last life).
24	* BossOnlyLevel: [[spoiler:The Guardian of the Sealed Shrine, the ClimaxBoss of Stage 6, and the Medallion and the Stranger, the pair that comprises the SequentialBoss[=/=]TrueFinalBoss of Stage 7.]]
25	** In ''Giga Wing 2'', the last ''three'' out of 7 stages are boss-only levels.
26	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:This happens to Limi in the second game upon saving her sister Romi from being possessed by the Ark, leaving her ship to be piloted by Dewey, which is a sentient program installed by Kart on Limi's ship. After defeating the FinalBoss, Limi's survival depends on your choice in the ending.]]
27	* BulletHell: But by employing the Reflect Barrier properly, you can turn it into Bullet ''Heaven''.
28	* {{Cap}}: The maximum multiplier in the first game is 49,999,999 which can be reached near the end of the game by very skilled players. In the second game, the maximum multiplier is 999,999,999; this can be reached in the third stage out of 7 with skill. Amazingly, the score caps in any game are nigh unreachable.
29	** In the second game, there is a cap of 110 medals on screen as well as an unknown total object cap; reaching either will cause an item "volcanon", where the background will go black and then each medal will split into 10 or more kite-shaped medals.
30	* CallingYourAttacks: '''''"REFLECTO FOOOOOORCE!"''''' '''''"REFLECTO LASEEEEEEEEEER!"''''' '''''"SPARK BOMBEERRRRRRRR!"'''''
31	** [[BadExportForYou This was removed in non-Japanese versions, though.]]
32	* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: In the first two games, the lowest 8 digits of your score are colored blue, the next four yellow digits (the ''oku'' places) are yellow, the four digits in the ''chou'' supergroup is colored red, and (in the second game, where such scores are possible) the digit(s) afterward (''kei'') are cyan[[note]]In Japan as well as all of East Asia, supergroups of four digits are common rather than supergroups of three digits as in Western society; rather than thousand, million, ... their supergroups go ''man'' (ten thousand; 10^4), ''oku'' (one hundred million; 10^8), ''chou'' (10^12), ''kei'' (10^16) and so on.[[/note]]. ''Generations'' uses a different color scheme (red for ''kei'', yellow for ''chou'', green for ''oku'', gray for anything smaller).
33	* CrosshairAware: Con''found'' that gunboat boss's second-phase pattern!
34	* CulturalTranslation: The kanji used as separators for every fourth digit in the player's score were removed in the US releases of the games. The US releases don't even bother to replace the kanji with commas, so reading scores in the US versions is a bit trickier.
35	** The US version of ''Giga Wing 2'' uses commas when displaying the player's score at the end of a stage, though still has the myriad-based (supergroups of four digits as is common in east Asia; see above) color-coded digit groupings otherwise.
36	* DefeatMeansPlayable: Defeating [[spoiler:[[TrueFinalBoss Stranger]]]] unlocks it as a ship in the Dreamcast version of the first game.
37	* {{Dieselpunk}}: The games generally take place in a world that's roughly in the mid-20th Century, where technology was accelerated by the Medallion.
38	* DifficultButAwesome:
39	** Stuck/Widerstand. His bomb weapon is tricky, but if you get good enough at using him, he's not only powerful but also the best scorer.
40	** Ruby, to a lesser extent. She has the narrowest coverage, but her concentrated fire makes her excellent at destroying single targets, and her high speed allows her to scoop up medals easily.
41	* DynamicDifficulty: The game uses a very simple version of this, with the difficulty increasing until the first time you die (if at all). Also applies to the pity OneUp (see below).
42	* EffectiveKnockoff: The Medallion is capable of producing smaller versions of itself. They are not as power as the original, but they are still dangerous and used by enemy forces for their own ends.
43	* ExcusePlot: Averted in ''Giga Wing Generations'', which has ''[[NoPlotNoProblem no plot at all]].''
44	* FragileSpeedster: The [[SecretCharacter secret ship]] from the first game. Very fast, but it's [[OneHitPointWonder as fragile as any other ship]].
45	* FlunkyBoss: [[spoiler:The Medallion summons smaller versions of itself to fire [[WaveMotionGun gigantic laser beams]] at the player on its second-to-last pattern.]]
46	* GlassCannon: The [[SecretCharacter secret ship]] from the first game. It has a ridiculously powerful weapon and bomb. However, it's [[OneHitPointWonder as fragile as any other ship]].
47	* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: In the original game, [[spoiler:reaching the standard ending with Shinnosuke has him be quietly forgotten from history]].
48	* HaveANiceDeath: Whenever you die in ''Giga Wing 2'', on the continue screen, your character will utter something to you in Japanese. Most notable is Limi telling you not to give up.
49	* HomingProjectile: Isha from the first game has a straight shot paired with guided missiles. Chery from the second game has a similar weapon.
50	* InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves: [[spoiler:It's revealed in the first game that the Medallion itself has been intentionally goading mankind from the beginning in a perverse game to see whether they deserve survival. You put a stop to it before the cycle begins anew.]]
51	* LightningBruiser: Ruby's ship, the Carmine, rivals Stuck's Widerstand for most single-target damage and is the fastest ship in the original game.
52	* MinimalistRun: ''Giga Wing'' allows for a 0-score run, but it is very difficult as it is also a PacifistRun, as your medal-increased multiplier starts off at 1. ''Giga Wing 2'', on the other hand, starts your multiplier off at ''zero'', meaning that so long as you never pick up a single medal, you can commit total genocide of the enemy forces and still finish with a score of 0, despite the games focusing on scores that would be easier to write approximations of in scientific notation.
53	* MultipleEndings:
54	** BittersweetEnding: In ''Giga Wing'', your character [[spoiler:sacrifices himself or herself to destroy the Medallion]].
55	** GoldenEnding: You must beat the first six stages on one credit to see the true final stage (and [[TrueFinalBoss boss]]). [[spoiler:This results in an ending where your character destroys the Medallion ''and'' comes home alive. Beating the game with two players will also avert the need for HeroicSacrifice.]]
56	* MultipleGameOpenings: The order of the first three stages is dictated by which character you pick at the start of the game.
57	* NintendoHard
58	* NoManShouldHaveThisPower: Why the Medallion was sealed away in the first place, not that it prevented any conflict in the first place.
59	* PinballScoring: Quite possibly the king of this trope.
60	* PublicDomainArtifact: The Ark of the Covenant is the BigBad of ''Giga Wing 2''.
61	* RecurringBoss: You meet and fight a mysterious black ship, the Stranger, several times throughout the game: in the volcano stage, in stage 4, and in stage 5. [[spoiler:Unlock stage 7 and it will be the TrueFinalBoss alongside the Medallion.]]
62	* ReturnToShooter: The Reflect mechanic.
63	* ScoreMultiplier: The core of this game's scoring system. Each medal will add its own value to the value of every medal you've picked up so far on your current life or stage, and that will be added to your multiplier. For instance, picking up a +5 at the beginning will add 5 to your multiplier. Picking up another +5 will add 5 to your medal count for 10, and 10 will be added to your multiplier. By the end of most stages, each medal will usually be adding thousands to your multiplier at a time. Even in the first game, a good player will have multipliers in the millions.
64	* ScoringPoints: One of the main highlights of the game, in a subversion of score being regarded as a pointless number. How often do you see scores of at least 1 trillion?
65	* SecretCharacter: See DefeatMeansPlayable above. The second game has the five (four standard + one secret) ships from the first game as secret ships.
66	* SequelEscalation: Each game ups the ante with more medals to collect and thus more points to be had. ''Giga Wing''[='=]s 15 digits? Nothing compared to ''Giga Wing 2''[='=]s 17 digits… which in turn is surpassed by ''Giga Wing Generations'', quite possibly the only commercial game where you can achieve '''20-digit scores.'''
67	* ShipTease: The normal ending for a 2-player game as Shinnosuke and Ruby implies that Ruby's developed a crush for Shinnosuke.
68	* TrueFinalBoss: ''Two'' of them, in ''Giga Wing'': [[spoiler:the black ship you've been chasing, and the Medallion. [[DualBoss Both are fought simultaneously]], and only appear if you've completed the first six stages on one credit.]]
69	* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:In Ruby's and Sinnosuke's bad ending, Ruby comes out alive, but she cannot confirm whether Sinnosuke did too.]]
70	* WaveMotionGun: Certain bosses can do this, [[spoiler:particularly The Guardian of the Sealed Shrine and the Medallion]].

Context VideoGame / GigaWing