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Heavy Unit cover art

Game dossier

Heavy Unit

Available now

A six-level side-scrolling shooter featuring a transforming starship, power-ups, and alien bosses.

The briefing

About this game

Heavy Unit is a side-scrolling shooter set during an alien attack on the human colony Le Tau. Players pilot a special starship through six levels filled with enemies, mid-level bosses, and end bosses.

Defeated enemies may leave behind power-ups that increase speed or weapon strength, provide a shield, grant extra lives, or transform the ship into a robot. The robot uses a laser beam and homing energy balls instead of the ship's vulcan gun, but its larger size makes it more vulnerable to enemy attacks and collisions. Losing a life removes the collected upgrades and returns the player to the last checkpoint.

Versions

The level layouts remain the same across versions, while enemy placement, graphics, and sound may differ. The Genesis version is noted for having more colors and larger enemies.

Release Information

  • Release date: December 31, 1987
  • Platforms: Arcade, Final Burn Alpha Neo, NEC PC Engine, and TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
  • Genres: Shooter; Shooter / Flying Horizontal
  • Developers: Inter State and Kaneko
  • Publishers: Kaneko / Taito and Taito