- Marine World, Aquadia, most of whose surface is covered with water...
The once-flourishing civilization has sunk to the bottom of the sea, and for ages people have existed in the great nature.
The "Great Empire of the Iron Standard" that sprung up all of a sudden has proclaimed unification of Aquadia and initiated an armed invasion.
The Empire brought nearby countries under its control and has chosen the Kingdom of Bluetear as it's next target.
The mighty fleets of the Empire is massing at the fortress.
The Kingdom has recruited volunteer soldiers and is strengthening its defenses, but the Empire's Operations has already begun...
Dolphin Blue is an arcade action game developed and published by Sammy Entertainment, inspired by various side-scrolling Run-and-Gun games of the past - notably the Metal Slug seriesnote .
Set in the distant Planet of Aquadia, a cataclysm several generations ago had sunken every inch of land on the surface. Entire civilizations now lives on floating cities above the water, when a powerful dictatorship called "The Great Empire" plotted a takeover.
Two heroes, an arms dealer named Eiro and a soldier named Ann, alongside their trusty pet dolphin steeds, decide to take on the Empire and free the people of Aquadia.
See also Demon Front, a similar game.
Dolphin Blue contain examples of:
- Airborne Mooks: The Grand Empire's army has miniature helicopters, gyrocopters and hoverbikes piloted by a single soldier, which shows up regularly trying to attack Eiro and Ann.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: Levels where Eiro and Ann rides their dolphin are automatic chase sequences, where the dolphin just keep moving ahead while carrying the two heroes as they blast their way through enemies.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: The final stage on the Empire's floating fortress have an area which is set alight, that Eiro and Ann must cross by jumping on platforms across burning fire, gun down enemies trying to ambush them while avoid falling into the inferno and lose a life.
- Battleship Raid: One stage have Eiro and Ann boarding a submarine base belonging to the Great Empire, fighting their way through enemy soldiers and turrets before destroying the whole place. Then there's the floating fortress battle in the final stage.
- Boss Warning Siren: The boss Eiro and Ann needs to battle at the conclusion of each stage is accompanied by a red "WARNING" logo, accompanied by a loud siren in the background.
- Cool Train: The boss of the city level is a weaponized train, commanded by a female Colonel under the Great Empire. It has laser turrets, missile dispensers, and plenty of cannons.
- The Empire: A military dictatorship simply called "The Great Empire" serves as the main villain of the game.
- Exploding Barrels: There's barrels of gunpowder with the Great Empire's emblem on their sides, which can be shot for taking out large number of enemies at once.
- Expy:
- The game came out a year after Metal Slug 4, with Eiro and Ann being stand-ins for Trevor and Nadia (two new characters debuting in the latter). Ann's hairstyle even look exactly like Nadia's!
- A lot of the enemies have animations recycled from Metal Slug, as well. Notably the quick-moving, machete-wielding Empire Soldiers based on Rebel Fanatics, while injured resistance soldiers are depicted in poses just like the injured civilains from Metal Slug 3's second mission.
- Flooded Future World: The game is set in Planet Aquadia, a world covered by water after an unknown cataclysm decades ago, with the levels taking place either on oil rigs, floating depots, or underwater.
- Gatling Good: The Gatling gun is available as one of the More Dakka weapons. And there's also a "Hyper-Gatling" which has twice the firing rate and ammunition count!
- "Get Back Here!" Boss:
- The city battle ends with the female Colonel leading the Great Empire's forces boarding a train over the city's canals. As Eiro and Ann gives chase atop their dolphins, the Colonel reveals the train's defenses and uses it to blast at the heroes from above, with the level ending when Eiro and Ann finally destroys the train.
- The Final Boss, a mechanized tower controlled by the Great Empire's Commander, will detach itself once it's defeated, revealing itself to be a disguised aircraft. Eiro and Ann then pursues the Commander on dolphins as they took the battle onto the seas.
- Grenade Launcher: One of the power-ups available (called "Fire-Cracker" in-game), which fires a short-range projectile that deals huge damage on structures, vehicles and turrets.
- Heroic Dolphin: Eiro and Ann both have dolphin pets as steeds, which carries them across numerous levels as they battle the Great Empire's navy. The dolphins can even serve as an Assist Character attacking enemy vessels in the underwater stage.
- Macross Missile Massacre: The Valkyrie Missiles release six rockets with each shot, and given it's high ammunition capacity Eiro and Ann can spam dozens and dozens of rockets in no time covering half the screen.
- Minecart Madness: One level have Eiro and Ann riding dolphins in a flooded mine and shooting enemy soldiers on minecarts in a frenetic chase sequence.
- Redshirt Army: The rebels opposing the Great Empire's forces are introduced in the first level getting their asses kicked, with most of their members killed by the Empire's troops and a few survivors surrendering, until Eiro and Ann drops in and starts shooting enemies. They appear in the final level, but they're hardly competent in battle with many dead or injured rebels seen throughout the stage.
- Sentry Gun: The Great Empire's naval bases and battleships have automated turrets for defense, many which Eiro and Ann destroys throughout the game.
- Sequential Boss: The Final Boss, led by the Great Empire's Commander, which needs to be defeated thrice. It starts off as a Stationary Boss, a powerful mechanized turret in the middle of the Empire's final base, spamming missiles and projectiles with the Commander trying to crush Eiro and Ann with his platform. As soon as it's defeated, it breaks away, revealing itself to be a flying ship and takes flight, with Eiro and Ann summoning their dolphins. If that is defeated as well, the Commander then reveals his vehicle to be a Transforming Mecha in yet another lengthy boss battle.
- Super Not-Drowning Skills: Eiro and Ann doesn't need oxygen tanks or goggles to survive underwater, not even during the submarine boss battle which takes place in a deep, dark abyss.
- Under the Sea: There's a level set entirely underwater, where Eiro and Ann battles their way through the Great Empire's armada of submarines.
- Weaponized Exhaust: In the underwater infiltration stage, Eiro and Ann attempts entering the Empire's floating fortress through the bottom, and they'll need to shoot and blow up the exhaust system that's constantly spewing flames (in an underwater environment. Somehow) or risk losing a life.
