Hyper Duel is a side-scrolling Shoot 'Em Up released by Techno Soft—creators of the Thunder Force series—for arcades in October 1993. A later port was developed for the Sega Saturn and released on November 22, 1996.
Late in the 21st century AD, a military outpost on the Moon discovered remains of machinery developed by an alien race in the rock beneath. The Joint Space Force proceeded to reverse-engineer the remains to develop a new, highly effective type of weapon, the Buster Gears. At first, all went according to plan, until just before the final phase of tests. At that time, terrorists, with the aid of one of the project's scientists, stole Unit 0 "Black Angel"—a unit meant to be able to be utilized entirely by an Artificial Intelligence without human input. Now, in the face of an attack on Earth by those same terrorists, the three Buster Gears ready to be sallied have been given the mission to find Black Angel and relieve the terrorists of it, whether by recovering it or destroying it.
In-game, the Buster Gear has two modes. In Fighter Mode (spaceship), speed is prioritized, while Armor Mode (humanoid) enhances firepower and allows you to fire at either forward 45-degree angle. In addition to the usual increased-strength power-ups, attack drones can be acquired with T (Tracer) and G (Gunner) icons. Tracers follow your movement and act like Fighters, while Gunners draw in close to foes and act like Armor. A charge shot is also available by pressing both the shot and mode-change buttons, creating either a circular attack in Fighter Mode, or a concentrated forward blast in Armor Mode; picking up B icons and remaining inactive both recharge this attack.
Your available characters are:
- Keith Spader, pilot of the Sturm Vogel. Not much in the way of combat experience, but still shows signs of latent talent. The Sturm Vogel's side armaments are missiles—homing in Fighter Mode, straight-firing in Armor Mode.
- Lisa Rowland, pilot of the High Mustang. She's a little uncertain of her standing and chances in the military, so she hopes to make a name for herself as a Buster Gear pilot. The High Mustang is a high-speed unit that favors piercing lasers.
- Dr. Brodin Lloyd, pilot of the Phalanx Smasher. Despite being 45, he could easily pass for being in his early 60s. He's a well-regarded soldier in addition to being a scientist, although there are rumors that he's actively looking to die in combat. The fact that his younger brother was the scientist who helped the terrorists steal Black Angel might have something to do with that. The Phalanx Smasher is slower than the other two battle-ready Buster Gears, but has heavy firepower assisted by its grenades.
This game provides examples of:
- Animal Mecha: The Void Kraken (or, according to the soundtracks, Voiled Klaken or Boiled Klaken) at the end of the first stage.
- Arrange Mode: The Saturn ports includes a Saturn mode with redrawn graphics, the ability to lock your Armor Mode fire in a specific direction and changes to the enemy placement and boss battles (generally to make them more difficult).
- Balance, Speed, Strength Trio: Spader, Rowland, and Lloyd, respectively.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: The stage 4 fight against the Black Angel ends when you destroy its rifle, forcing a retreat. It comes back with a new rifle in the final battle, on your side. Unfortunately, the terrorists are still able to complete Black Angel mid-battle and install a pro-terrorists AI...
- Blood Knight: Both Lloyd brothers, it seems. In fact, Lloyd the Younger apparently helped the terrorists just to be able to enjoy a no-holds-barred mech fight against his elder brother...or at least that was the sole bright spot in the terrorists coercing him to their side. His Heel–Face Turn may have been occasioned by the Colony Drop being the last straw for him.
- Colony Drop: The colony that acts as stage 4 gets blasted at the end, just before you fight the Black Angel. It keeps plummeting in the backdrop of stage 5, until it finally lands and blows up. Stage 6's background includes the ruins of where it landed.
- Didn't Need Those Anyway!: Destroying the I.W.A.O.'s rifle doesn't do that much to stop it, mostly because it has a second firearm to work with.
- Dishing Out Dirt: The I.W.A.O.'s second phase includes an attack where it jumps, causing large, dangerous rocks to fly up a short distance on landing.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: When the completed Black Angel is defeated, its new armor installments explode in such a way that it flies right into the terrorist command vessel, sending them both plummeting into and burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.
- Humongous Mecha: Even if they can't transform, there's still a fair number of these on the terrorists' side, particularly Nightmare and their command vessel.
- Implementing the Incomplete: The Black Angel isn't actually complete yet. In fact, Lloyd the Younger has to pilot it at first because its AI isn't installed yet, and is forced to retreat at the end of stage 4 when you destroy the mech's rifle. Once he turns against the terrorists at the end, the leaders complete it anyway—with Lloyd still inside, and unable to override the newly-installed AI.
- Spider Tank: The stage 7 boss is a rather literal example that even shoots slowing webs at you.
- Title Drop: The Final Boss theme is fittingly called "Hyper Duel".
- Transforming Mecha: The Buster Gears themselves.
