Video Games

Aimpoint (PC) I haven't found any other information about this game except that it has been released on 1996, it is for personal computers and perhaps it was made in Korea. Sorry!

Appleseed (Nintendo Super Famicom) This is a side scrolling, shoot-em up game released on 1994. You can choose between Briareos and Deunan and use three different weapons to kill the enemies. Anyway the level of graphic and the type of game itself is quite horrible. 1 player; the code is SHVC-7X.

Black Magic (Win 95) I think that the only work Shirow did were the cover and another CG image, more a little of character design (some characters resemble the Puma twins from Dominion, Dr. Matthew and the M-66 robot from Black Magic). In this strategy game you command a special force for 12 missions (but each one has some submissions). It isn't in real time like "Command & Conquer": after having moved or fired, the character cannot do anything else for some time. During the various missions, the characters drive landmates or use armored suits and both look like those illustrated on the cover. Anyway this game isn't anything special. The intelligence and the weapons of the enemies are poor and you can complete the missions until 7 just keeping all the characters together and using their superior firepower. In particular the M-66 robot just stands still and attacks you using his laser-eye; it's very different from the one watched in the animation. Some parts of the background graphic remind elements from other Shirow's works like Israeli landmates from Appleseed. This game was released on 1997 by WIZ. Its price is 9,800 yen and requires at least Windows 95 (with the English version the Japanese ideograms don't show correctly), a Pentium 100 MHz and 16 MB of RAM. It works with 256 colors only. Official Introduction (the only English text) The confront between the East and the West had collapsed in 1990. And it started to bring about the chaos in its social structure and liberty. On the part of the old West, regardless of their economic & social development, it also has affected the society. On the other hand, in the old East, its chaotic situations caused to turmoil the whole country, far from being their development in the economy and society. The stage is Theotiwakhan in the middle of a fierce civil war. After a vehement battle of the government force against the anti-government force, it has fallen into the stalemate situation. The government force calls for the reside of the NATO force, but it is rejected by the United Nations Force. A band of the anti-government force gives up the all-out combat and wages frequent guerrilla wars everywhere. The government force establishes a special army band for corresponding to the guerrilla bands. In the wake of the foundation of the special army, they confidentially ask for the dispatch of the training team for their own army from the United States Force. However, the members of the team are eventually composed of the foreign bands coming from all over the world coping with occurrence of any emergency. Thanks to Lucas

Eternal City (PC Engine) It's a pretty simple shooting game and it's not very addictive. The game itself has really nothing to do with Shirow's art. The background graphics are classic: craggy tunnels, mountains, forests, the underground city is even not exciting. It was quoted inside Intron Depot 1 too, from page 59 to 63. Shirow: "My job was to draw front and side views of six villains (shooting targets, actually) but I knew absolutely nothing about the game itself." More than these six villains, Shirow created the player's mecha, whose name is Argyderos, and its pilot Minty Gale. Note that the name on the cover is mistaken. The following information come directly from the game (note the names). Machine Data Name: YH-26 "Algideross"; Height: 2.80 HG; Weight: 1.40 WG Pilot Name: "Minty Geile"; Sex: female; Age: 19 Click to watch more characters screen shots. Thanks to Casimir Decas

Ghost in the Shell (PS) Franco: "I have to write something about it sooner or later, but it is the most known Shirow game so... OK, I'll do."

Gundress (PS) Releasing a game about a successful animation is a typical commercial move, but this time it's hard to believe so remembering how much troubled the Gundress movie was. Anyway on February 24, 2000 (11 months after the movie Japanese premiers) Star Fish and ORCA has released this PlayStation game. It looks to be a strategy game, but I haven't played it so I cannot tell anything more. One player only, Dual Shock compatible, code SLPS-02512~3, price 7,800 yen.

Horned Owl (PS) It's a shoot-them-up about a Police Department using landmates. The three main characters are: Ryo Kurotu (cover right), Marco Antneli (cover left) and Kate. It isn't the best game in the world, but the mission movie clips are interesting and Shirow's mecha design is really good. He has used beasts to create his mecha: a bulldog, a violinist crab, a louse... This game was released on 1995 by Movic. Its price was 5,800 yen; code: SCPS 10016. Note the motto: "Hit Hard & Fast." Thanks to Nicolas Penel and Alucard

Orion (NRPG) GN Japan has released a computer network game (NRPG) based on the Orion manga (note that the flying vehicle on the right is used in the comic too). Plot: twenty years after the nine headed dragon war (see Orion), the galaxy is under another threat. The God of light is disappeared, and some evil characters are trying to take over during this chaos period. One of the main characters is Fuze Naru Anju who should be the daughter of Seska and commander Ronnel.

Suraimu Siyou! (PS) Before buying Intron Depot 2, I had only a small image about this game (I didn't even know what it was), but inside that artbook there is a long section about it (pages from 035 to 040). Shirow: "This is a game for the Sony PlayStation that involves "raising" characters. The characters themselves are of the "slime" type omnipresent in role-playing games." "The names and the personalities of the characters were determined in advance, so my job was just visual design. [...] Once the game is started, the slime are born and die all on their own. The game's unique is that once you start interfering in the process there's no end to what can happen, but if you just leave it alone, it'll keep running by itself." "Take the white slime with blue eyes and wings, for example. She's supposed to be a real beauty and to sway her hips when she walks, so that means she's got to have hips. A slime with hips, you say?! Yeek...! Nonetheless, in the completed game, I see that-sure enough-her hips do sway."

Trinea (Nintendo) This game is a RPG and Shirow talked about it inside Intron Depot 2 (pages 003 an 004; images 2029, 2030, created during April 1993). Shirow: "This sort of illustration is usually drawn according to the specifications provided by the person commissioning it. As a result, it doesn't represent my individual style as much as it might. But it's fun work to do, because I get to create illustrations that I normally wouldn't. It's hard to draw an illustration for a product that isn't out yet, so I'm always worried whether the art will match the product or not, but I do the my best." Thanks to Jason

Winds of Thunder (PC Engine) Winds of Thunder was the sequel of a shooter called Gates of Thunder even if the two look completely different. This side scrolling shooter was originally created on 1993 for the Japanese NEC PC Engine Super CD-ROM². In the game you have the control of a little guy wearing a magic armor and carrying a sword. At the beginning of the game you have a choice of what kind of armor you want to wear (earth, wind, fire, or water), you also get to buy power ups and to choose which kingdom you want to attack. The type of armor you choose has different types of attacks. They all shoot bullets but each set of armor has differing patterns of attack. Also they use different types of bombs as well (fire armor summons a fire dragon, earth summons a meteor strike, ...). Weapons are powered up as you shoot certain enemies. Also when you get close to an enemy you switch from shooting to your sword attacks. Enemies also release gems that can be used to purchase power ups between stages. Probably Shirow didn't have any hand in the artwork of the game itself other than on the manual. The soundtrack is intense heavy metal. The cover illustration has been printed inside Intron Depot 2 too (page 008; image 2012, created during September 1992), but Shirow hasn't added any comment about it. This game was released in US too (for the American system TurboDuo, an upgrade from the TurboGrafx-16), but the name was changed in "Lords of Thunder". Thanks to Willie Collins and Casimir Decas

Sampaguita (PS) Go to the Sampaguita page.

Pictures Copyrights From the Top: 1) Aimpoint ©1996 Shirow(?)/(?) respective companies. 2-3-4) Appleseed ©1994 Shirow(?)/(?) respective companies. 5-6) Black Magic ©1997 Shirow(?)/Wiz. 7-8) Eternal City ©1991 Shirow(?)/Naxat Soft. 9-10) Gundress ©2000 Shirow(?)/Star Fish/ORCA. 11-12) Horned Owl ©1995 Shirow(?)/Sony Computer Entertainment/Movic. 13-14) Orion © Shirow(?)/GN Japan. 15-16) Suraimu Siyou! © Shirow/(?) respective companies. 17-18) Trinea © Shirow(?)/(?) respective companies. 19-20) Winds of Thunder ©1993 Shirow(?)/Hudson Soft/Red. Left: Orion ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha.

black magic m-66 gundress id2 blades

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