Line #29 VideoGame/OmegaBoost


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Omega_Boost_Coverart_5170.png]]
2	->''Your target is 1946: ENIAC, the first artificial intelligence.''\
3	''The enemy has already activated the timeshaft.''\
4	''Your mission is to prevent the [=AlphaCore=] from causing historical alteration.''
5
6	''Omega Boost'' is a {{Mecha\|Game}} RailShooter developed by Creator/PolyphonyDigital (yes, ''[[VideoGame/GranTurismo that]]'' Polyphony) released for the Platform/PlayStation in 1999.
7
8	Sometime in the past, an alien intelligence came into being inside "the Network", a vast sea of information constantly flowing in and out. Soon enough, the intelligence -- [=AlphaCore=] or, as it calls itself, "it" -- discovered other beings that existed outside "the Network": Humanity. "It" decided to help these people, without revealing "its" existence. Slowly and quietly, it aids humankind's technological development, all the while growing "its" own influence as well.
9
10	Eventually, humankind discovered "its" existence, and panicked. How could such an advanced intelligence not only exist right under their noses but be present in nearly every one of their systems? They retaliated and attempted to purge [=AlphaCore=] from "the Network", but failed. Enraged, [=AlphaCore=] seizes control of their defense systems and declares war on humanity.
11
12	This conflict endures for many years, with [=AlphaCore=] never losing its advantage, and slowly pushing humanity to the brink of extinction. Eventually, humanity devises a plan to destroy [=AlphaCore=]: Operation Omega. Travel back in time and disconnect [=AlphaCore=] from "the Network" before it has a chance to seize control of their technology.
13
14	Before they can put their plan into motion, [=AlphaCore=] steals the time machine they engineered, and creates a vacuum tube which houses a piece of its own consciousness, which it will then place into ENIAC, the world's first computer, ensuring its control over humanity and "the Network".
15
16	Desperate, humanity creates their most powerful weapon against [=AlphaCore=]: [[AMechByAnyOtherName Productnoid]] Omega Boost, a giant robot which can pierce [=AlphaCore=]'s defenses, use the time machine [=AlphaCore=] stole, and prevent it from altering history.
17
18	''Omega Boost'' was hailed as having one of the best graphics engines for the [=PS1=], with parts of the game able to maintain 60fps, and is considered by many to be one of the best ''Anime/{{Macross}}''-style mecha games produced. It is considered a SleeperHit due to poor marketing but high ratings.
19
20	----
21	!!The game contains examples of:
22	* AllThereInTheManual:
23	** Virtually everything about the backstory is taken from the manual, the in-game cutscenes offer little-to-no details on how the conflict between humanity and [=AlphaCore=] began, or even what "[=AlphaCore=]" itself even ''is'' (though without it, it can be assumed that "[=AlphaCore=]" is an evil alien mastermind that managed to subjugate humanity through the use of time travel and by taking over humanity's computers by implanting malicious coding from the very infant coding back in ENIAC.
24	** The name of the rival mech from Zones 2 and 7 is "Beta Boost", and the name of the SubBoss mech from Zone 3 is "Herbarcher". This is only revealed via the cases of the action figures.
25	* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler:Lester succeeds in replacing the infected vacuum tube in ENIAC, which prevents [=AlphaCore=] from ever coming into existence in the first place. The credits roll immediately after this happens, without revealing if the future has been rewritten or not.]]
26	* AttackItsWeakPoint: The only way to deal permanent damage to Zone 8's SubBoss is by attacking the red cone-shaped object on its back.
27	* AttackReflector: In the Last Zone, [=AlphaCore=] is encased in a translucent barrier that blocks Omega Boost's homing lasers, and is also orbited by eight glowing orbs that block the Vulcan gun.
28	* BadFuture: The Timeshaft was supposed to send Lester back to 1946, instead it ended up sending him to 2097, [[spoiler:where [=AlphaCore=] has cyberized Planet Eta. Luckily, the Timeshaft is still functioning in that time.]]
29	* BattleAura: Omega Boost glows blue upon activating Viper Boost. [[spoiler:Beta Boost glows red when it activates its own Viper Boost.]]
30	* BattleshipRaid: Halfway through Zone 6, an entire fleet of ships warps in to intercept the Omega Boost on its way to Planet Eta. You have to defeat the surrounding smaller ships before you can battle the sub-boss of the zone, one of the giant WaveMotionGun-equipped battleships seen in the opening cinematic.
31	* BeamSpam: Omega Boost is capable of launching homing lasers at its enemies, complete with {{Roboteching}}.
32	* {{BFG}}: Omega Boost's main weapon is an enormous Vulcan gun.
33	* BigBad: [=AlphaCore=], an alien intelligence that plans to send a copy of itself back in time to infiltrate humanity's technological development, thereby effectively gaining control of it.
34	* BlindIdiotTranslation: While the introductory and ending cutscene are voiced by native speaker with well done script, the English subtitle is truncated and shortened form of what is actually spoken.
35	* BossOnlyLevel: The final two stages, Zones 8 and 9, consist only of a fight against one last SubBoss, then four consecutive fights against [=AlphaCore=].
36	* BossWarningSiren: Every end-of-level Zone Boss is preceded by a siren blaring and "WARNING" flashing across the screen.
37	* CameraLockOn: The Scan ability. Also doubles for keeping the player’s motions two-dimensional for moving down timeshafts.
38	* CharacterLevel: Perform well enough in a level, and you gain an upgrade to your Boost Level, which makes Omega Boost stronger. You'll generally need them.
39	* CoolBike: The SubBoss of Zone 7 is a giant bike that shoots missiles and a laser beam that extends outward from both sides. Its wheels are two smaller mechs, which deploy when the body of the bike is destroyed.
40	* CutscenePowerToTheMax:
41	** The opening CG, when the Omega Boost uses its BFG as a shoulder-mounted weapon to fire a [[WaveMotionGun gigantic laser cannon]] which takes out a whole fleet of ships in one blast. You never get to use the weapon like this... but by the time that fleet actually shows up in the game, a fully-charged Viper Boost can wipe them all out.
42	** Omega Boost guarded itself from one of the battleships's WaveMotionGun with an EnergyShield. You don't have that shield ingame. In Zone 6, you actually get to fight one such battleship as a sub-boss. Said battleship's WaveMotionGun [[spoiler: will ''[[OneHitKill vaporize you]]'' if it hits.]]
43	* {{Cyborg}}: The second SubBoss of Zone 4, the SandWorm, returns in Zone 6 as a space-dwelling cyborg worm, which can shoot lasers from its mouth.
44	* EarthShatteringKaboom: Planet Eta explodes after Zone 8, leaving only the timeshaft intact.
45	* EldritchAbomination: [=AlphaCore=]. In its true form it assumes an amorphous blob-like thing that can shapeshift and adapt to fight the Omega Boost itself once confronted one-on-one.
46	* FlunkyBoss: About half the bosses in the game are accompanied by smaller enemy units. Special mention goes to the SubBoss of Zone 6, which is an ''entire armada'' of battleships.
47	* GodhoodSeeker: [=AlphaCore=]'s ultimate plan in the game; integrate itself into ENIAC, the first human-built computer, and attach itself to their computer development. As technology advances over time, so does its influence over humanity.
48	* GoodColorsEvilColors: When activating the Viper Boost, Omega Boost's BattleAura is blue, [[spoiler: while Beta Boost's is red.]]
49	* HumongousMecha: Omega Boost is a very large robot, and most of the enemies it takes on are also more or less its size, and most of the bosses are ''bigger''.
50	* LaserBlade: Several enemies make use of this.
51	* LightIsNotGood: [=AlphaCore=]'s OneWingedAngel form.
52	* LimitBreak: Viper Boost. Even comes with its own charging gauge.
53	* LiveActionCutscene: All human characters are portrayed by live-actors, and dubbed over by professional voice actors. The intro of the game is basically a ShortFilm establishing the war between humanity and [=AlphaCore=]. The Omega Boost and its pilot, Lester, are shown beginning their journey, and a brief scene of Lester encountering (and [[CutscenePowerToTheMax annihilating]]) one of [=AlphaCore's=] fleets, all set to a RealSongThemeTune (different depending on which version you play). Throughout the game, several more live-action shots of Lester are shown, though these last only a few seconds each. The ending to the game is another live-action scene coupled with some real-life ENIAC StockFootage.
54	* {{Minimalism}}: The in-game cutscenes feature little-to-no spoken dialogue, conveying everything visually instead.
55	* MirrorBoss: One of the bosses is another mech like Omega Boost, called Beta Boost. You fight it twice, [[spoiler:and upon defeating it the second time, [[TakingYouWithMe it activates its own version of Viper Boost as a last-ditch effort to take you down.]]]]
56	* NoobBridge: Zone 5 takes place entirely in the vertical timeshaft, which can prove to be a lot more difficult to navigate if you haven't discovered the Scan button by this point.
57	* OneManArmy: Consists of a robot.
58	* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:[=AlphaCore=]. Once you defeat it in the timeshaft, you have to take it on one more time, except this time, it’s in a golden angelic form with wings.]]
59	* OurAngelsAreDifferent: See OneWingedAngel above.
60	* PreRenderedGraphics: All the human characters in the cutscenes are live-action actors in a CG'd environment. The final cutscene inverts this, however, with the Omega Boost being a CG'd model in a live-action environment.
61	* RammingAlwaysWorks: The Viper Boost ability, in which Omega Boost simply rams itself through the enemies attacking it. Which is powerful as hell, and [[SmartBomb can clear the screen of enemies]]. Can’t use it very often, however.
62	* RecurringBoss: A couple. [[spoiler: Remember the sandworm in Zone Four, and the larger robot that you fought in Zone Three?]] Remember how you never [[NeverFoundTheBody actually saw them blow up]] in those levels? [[spoiler: You'll be seeing them again.]]
63	* ResetButton: [[spoiler: At the end of the game, you stop [=AlphaCore=] from altering ENIAC. This solves all of the problems in the game.]]
64	* SandWorm: The second SubBoss of Zone 4 is a giant, red, subterranean worm that likes to burst out of the ground to try to ''bite'' Omega Boost. [[spoiler:It returns in Zone 6, after it's been [[{{Cyborg}} cyberized]] by [=AlphaCore=].]]
65	* SequentialBoss: Every stage has at least two boss battles back-to-back at the end, a "SubBoss" and a "Zone Boss". Some Zones have three bosses.
66	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Actually, you’re going back in time to [[spoiler: prevent a rogue artificial intelligence from altering ENIAC, the first computer.]]
67	* ShoutOut:
68	** Planet Eta itself is a shout out to both Franchise/{{Dune}} and Franchise/{{Transformers}}, both prior to and after traveling down the timeshaft. Before the timeshaft travel, the planet has a strong resemblance to the sand planet Arrakis, the titular planet of Dune, complete with its own {{Sand Worm}}s. After the timeshaft travel, the planet is completely cyberized and now looks more like [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Cybertron]].
69	** Omega Boost's booster pack is similar to that of the Crossbone Gundam's.
70	** Omega Boost's homing lasers function pretty much the same way as those in the VideoGame/RaySeries games.
71	** Zone 3's sub-boss definitely has Anime/{{Macross}} written all over it, right down to it's ability to [[TransformingMecha transform into a jet]] and using MacrossMissileMassacre as it's primary form of attack.
72	** The Viper Boost bears a strong resemblance to the V-MAX system on [[Anime/BlueCometSPTLayzner the Layzner]]
73	* SmartBomb: Technically not a bomb, but [[RammingAlwaysWorks Viper Boost]] counts.
74	* StockFootage: The end credits play over [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGk9W65vXNA actual recorded footage]] of the real ENIAC.
75	* SubBoss: Every Zone has at least two bosses at the end, the first one of which is a "Sub-Boss". The only distinction between a "Sub-Boss" and a "Zone Boss" is that Sub-Bosses aren't accompanied by a BossWarningSiren like Zone Bosses are. Some Sub-Bosses are actually ''harder'' than Zone Bosses.
76	* ThemeMusicPowerUp: [[spoiler: The main theme plays in the final battle with [=AlphaCore=]'s OneWingedAngel form. In the US version, it's "Otsegolation" by Static-X. In the Japanese version, it's "Shade" by Music/{{Feeder}}.]]
77	* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: [[spoiler: in the final level, [=AlphaCore=] tries to ''eat'' Omega Boost. Of course, the pilot isn’t having any of that.]]
78	* WaveMotionGun:
79	** Zone 6's sub-boss, a battleship as seen in the intro cinematic, has one mounted in its bow. It tries to fry you with it before you fight it and [[spoiler: tries again after you defeat it, by teleporting ''directly'' behind you so that you're in the gun's path.]]
80	** A couple of bosses have these as well.
81	* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: Part of the backstory. [=AlphaCore=] was actually quite nice, and aided humanity for a long time before it was discovered. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero But then humankind]] [[HumansAreBastards tried to kill it.]]
82	* WormSign: Watch for those waves in the sand in Zone 4. Those a nasty subterranean critters running around.
83	* YouAlreadyChangedThePast: [=AlphaCore=] sends a piece of itself back in time to take control of humanity's developing technology. [[spoiler:This piece is, in fact, the ''original'' [=AlphaCore=] that attempted to assist humanity in the first place, and will eventually attempt to kill them.]]
84	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Lester activates the timeshaft on planet Eta in Zone Five, which is supposed to take him to year 1946. [[spoiler: It teleports him a few hundred years into planet Eta's future, where the planet has been completely cyberized. And it's got a brand new battlefleet.]]
85	----

Context VideoGame / OmegaBoost