History VideoGame / NebulaFighter

* HitScan: The Shredder. Anything that flies in front of it while the barrel is spinning takes massive damage immediately.

The game is currently [[FreewareGames freeware]] and can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of [[http://www.holodream.it/nebula_eng.htm this page]].

In the late 20th century, the terrorists of the world began to grow in power. They eventually merged to form a massive empire and overthrew all the governments of the world, setting the stage for a new world order. In the process of world domination, the new-formed empire realised that they could effectively rule the world through terror itself.

The Venishian spaceships were captured and the scientists of Earth constructed a massive invasion force using Venishian technology. The empire's target is the Venishian homeworld, and you are the invasion force's advance scout, sent ahead to secure the asteroid belt ringing the Venishian homeworld and signal the rest of the invasion force to begin their attack once it is done. This task completed, you are instructed to wait in orbit until the rest of the attack force arrives. However, as they wait, you decide to disobey the order and single-handedly subdue the Venishians on their own.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nebula_fighter.png]]

''Nebula Fighter'' is a HorizontalScrollingShooter written for MS-DOS and Windows by Holodream Software and was first published in 1997.

The game is currently freeware and can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of [[http://www.holodream.it/nebula_eng.htm this page]].
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* VillainProtagonist: The player works for the empire, a world government made up of all the various terrorist organisations of the planet. The only reason why the empire wants to invade the Venishian homeworld? [[WarForFunAndProfit Because they want to conquer it.]]

...[[ExcusePlot Or you can ignore the plot completely and just plow through 21 levels of]] StuffBlowingUp, which was what the game was remembered for.

->''"At some point during the late 20th century, the world is taken over by a power-hungry terrorist organization. Soon after, Earth is contacted by an alien race called the Venishians, who unwittingly become the target of the greedy new government. By capturing and analyzing one of the alien ships, scientists are able to construct a fleet of fighters capable of attacking the celestial visitors on their home planet. The player is responsible for breaking through the alien defenses and alerting earth to commence the attack, yada, yada, yada.... [[LampshadeHanging Does anyone really pay attention to the story while blasting aliens into space debris?]]"''

In the late 20th century, the terrorists of the world began to grow in power. They eventually merged to form a massive empire and overthrew all the governments of the world, setting the stage for a new world order. In the process of world domination, the empire realised that they could effectively rule the world through terror itself.

The Venishian spaceships were captured and the scientists of Earth constructed a massive invasion force. Their target is the Venishian homeworld, and the player is the invasion force's advance scout, sent ahead to secure the asteroid belt ringing the Venishian homeworld and signal the rest of the invasion force to begin their attack once it is done. This task completed, the player was instructed to wait in orbit until the rest of the attack force arrives. However, as they wait, the player decides to disobey the order and single-handedly subdue the Venishians on their own.

Once touted by the Adrenaline Vault as having the potential to re-define the ShootEmUp genre, ''Nebula Fighter'' didn't manage to do that. However, it ''did'' leave a lasting impression on most players back at the turn of the millennium for multiple reasons. Apart from inverting the typical ShootEmUp plot by putting the player in the role of the antagonist, the game was considered one of the more aesthetically appealing ones of its time. ''Nebula Fighter'' also had a rather unique take on {{Boss Fight}}s: each level ended with one, and most of the bosses drop their signature weapon when defeated, which can be picked up by the player for use on later levels. During levels, the player can also pick up secondary weapons such as side missiles and a rear-firing drone.

* ExcusePlot: It's a staple of the genre, and ''Nebula Fighter'' is no exception; most players enjoyed the game without reading through the backstory. Even the developers [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this.
* HitScan: The shredder. Anything that flies in front of it while the barrel is spinning takes massive damage immediately.
* InterfaceScrew: The anti-nuke, when used, darkens the entire screen for about a second—enough time for the player to get blown up by an asteroid for fly into terrain.
* KillItWithFire: The flamethrower. It easily destroys most ships that fly into its short range, excluding bosses.

* ShockAndAwe: The shockwave discharges a powerful electric beam that arcs through the nearest target, passing through any walls in its path. [[ExplosiveOverclocking Fire it for too long, however, and the player will also take damage as well.]]

-->''"At some point during the late 20th century, the world is taken over by a power-hungry terrorist organization. Soon after, Earth is contacted by an alien race called the Venishians, who unwittingly become the target of the greedy new government. By capturing and analyzing one of the alien ships, scientists are able to construct a fleet of fighters capable of attacking the celestial visitors on their home planet. The player is responsible for breaking through the alien defenses and alerting earth to commence the attack, yada, yada, yada.... [[LampshadeHanging Does anyone really pay attention to the story while blasting aliens into space debris?]]"''\\
-- Part of the game's plot

* VillainProtagonist: The player works for the empire, a world government made up of all the various terrorist organisations of the planet. The only reason why the empire wants to invade the Venishian homeworld? Because they want to conquer it.

* ShockAndAwe: The shockwave discharges a powerful electric beam that arcs through the nearest target, passing through any walls in its path. Sustained fire from it will also cause the player to take damage as well.

Once touted by the Adrenaline Vault as having the potential to re-define the ShootEmUp genre, ''Nebula Fighter'' didn't manage to do that. However, it ''did'' leave a lasting impression on most players back at the turn of the millennium for multiple reasons. Apart from inverting the typical ShootEmUp plot by putting the player in the role of the antagonist, the game was considered one of the more aesthetically appealing ones of its time. ''Nebula Fighter'' also had a rather unique take on {{Boss Fight}}s: each level ended with one, and most of the bosses drop a unique signature weapon when defeated, which can be picked up by the player for use on later levels. During levels, the player can also pick up secondary weapons such as side missiles and a rear-firing drone.

Once touted by the Adrenaline Vault as having the potential to re-define the ShootEmUp genre, ''Nebula Fighter'' didn't manage to do that. However, it ''did'' leave a lasting impression on most players back at the turn of the millennium for multiple reasons. Apart from inverting the typical ShootEmUp plot by putting the player in the role of the antagonist, the game was considered one of the more aesthetically appealing ones of its time. ''Nebula Fighter'' also had a rather unique take on BossFights: each level ended with one, and most of the bosses drop a unique signature weapon when defeated, which can be picked up by the player for use on later levels. During levels, the player can also pick up secondary weapons such as side missiles and a rear-firing drone.

* KillItWithFire: The flamethrower.
* SchizophrenicDifficulty: The game was designed to keep the player on their toes by employing this trope. The most common set-up is to give the player a ridiculous amount of firepower and countless numbers of weak enemies for much of a level, then put a boss at the end that is ridiculously difficult to destroy or has enough firepower to overwhelm the player in an instant.

Once touted by the Adrenaline Vault as having the potential to re-define the ShootEmUp genre, ''Nebula Fighter'' didn't manage to do that. However, it ''did'' leave a lasting impression on most players back at the turn of the millennium for multiple reasons. Apart from inverting the typical ScrollingShooter plot by putting the player in the role of the antagonist, the game was considered one of the more aesthetically appealing ones of its time. ''Nebula Fighter'' also had a rather unique take on BossFights: each level ended with one, and most of the bosses drop a unique signature weapon when defeated, which can be picked up by the player for use on later levels. During levels, the player can also pick up secondary weapons such as side missiles and a rear-firing drone.