Under Defeat

The player firing at enemy battleships

In Under Defeat, the player assumes control of a helicopter. The gameplay bears resemblance to early Toaplan games such as Twin Cobra. It uses 3D graphics, and a slightly angled perspective to give the game more depth than most other titles in the genre. The player's helicopter can move in eight directions, though its move speed is fixed in relation to the stage's scroll speed.

The player has 3 basic forms of attack: the machine gun, bombs, and options. The primary weapon is the machine gun, which can fire a continuous stream of bullets. Bombs unleash a screen-devastating blast, destroying most enemies instantly, and protects the player's ship from enemy fire. The player begins each life with three bombs and can accumulate up to six. Finally, the helicopter has three possible weapon assists, or "options", which provide extra firepower. The weapon options are a machine gun, cannon, and rocket grenade. Using the right one at any given time determines how tough certain battles and stages will be.

Under Defeat was developed by G.rev for Sega's NAOMI arcade board.[1] It was released in Japanese arcades on October 27, 2005,[2] followed by a companion soundtrack release in December.[3] A Dreamcast port was released on March 23, 2006,[4] over five years after Sega announced they were pulling support for the system.[5] G.rev promoted it as the last Dreamcast game,[6] although Triggerheart Exelica and Karous were released for the system the following year. G.rev credited the promotion as helping its commercial success.[6] It sold through its first printing within one week, becoming the best-selling game on the system since G.rev's own Border Down (2003).[6] Dreamcast copies were released in limited numbers and continue to command high prices on secondary markets.[7] A limited edition version with a pack-in soundtrack CD was also released (different from the soundtrack released earlier).[8]

Reviewing the Dreamcast version, Edge and Eurogamer agreed that Under Defeat was traditional in its gameplay, absent of the more inventive bullet patterns, scoring methods, and controls seen in modern shooters.[15][5] Edge wrote that it although it lacks the excitement of other shooters, it makes up for it through rewarding dedicated players.[15] Eurogamer described it as "'80s gaming dressed in '00s visuals running on '90s hardware" and recommended it for shooter aficionados. They also argued that the scarcity of good shoot 'em ups may influence fans of the genre to overstate Under Defeat's quality. They concluded their thoughts by calling it "sweet and eloquent but, [...] also tired and relentlessly derivative. Whether that annoys you or not depends on whether you were looking simply some well-made twitch fun or a glorious resurrection."[5] Both publications praised the graphics, particularly the explosions and smoke effects.[15][5] In a retrospective review, Retro Gamer praised the game's particle effects and wrote that Under Defeat "shows how, with good developers, the Dreamcast was perfectly capable of hanging with the competition."[21]

Critics reviewing the high-definition version primarily recommended the game for fans of the shooter genre.[18][20][14] Push Square wrote that its longevity was mostly in beating high scores, for better or worse.[20] GameRevolution called it "a game trapped in time" for its traditional feel, but felt the game's unique controls will give satisfying nuance for shooter fans.[18] Destructoid wrote that "getting used to Under Defeat’s controls is both the game's blessing and curse", believing that perhaps the game was developed for arcade sticks and a standard controller was not ideal.[14] Critics overall praised the graphical improvements.[18][20]

• Official website
• Under Defeat at MobyGames