Forgotten Worlds, known as Lost Worlds (ロストワールド Rosuto Wārudo) in Japan, is an arcade shooter game released in 1988 featuring two blue and red flying marines battling aliens accompanied by a floating satellite. Their ultimate goal is to destroy the evil goddess Bios of Dust Planet. Enemies drop money called Zenny, which players can use to upgrade their weapons and satellites in the store.
This is the third and final game in Capcom's "jet-pack" shooter series, following Section Z and Side Arms Hyper Dyne. The game was also included on the Capcom Classics Collection for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2005.
Characters
Promotional artwork.
- Unknown Soldier Blue (名なしの超戦士, roughly "Super Warrior with no Name") - the player character.
- Unknown Soldier Red - the character used in a two-player game.
- Bios - an evil emperor who has already destroyed most of the planet.
- Sylphie (シルフィー) - the girl praising the victory at the end of the game, once the world is freed from the hands of the evil emperor Bios, is the same girl in the store. Sylphie sells the player different weapons, armor, items and information for a cost of zenny in her shops scattered throughout the Forgotten Worlds. She is called Mirabella in the U.S. Genesis version. Sylphie later appeared in Namco ✕ Capcom and Project X Zone 2.
- Spydrobot - a spider creature that travels in groups. They creep along the ground and spit fire balls.
- Paramecium - a horrible beast which tries to incinerate the player with its fiery breath.
- Dust Dragon (ダストドラゴン) - a boss that will attack with sharp blades that emerge from its stomach. Its heart is its weak spot.
- Sphinx - a monster with a detachable head that, upon its destruction, transforms into a centipede-like creature.
- Ymesketit - a possessed flying ship in Egypt that attacks players with an arsenal of weapons.
Story
(From the manual):
"Many years have passed since mankind dominated the Earth. Invaders from another galaxy have nearly destroyed our planet in their attempt to add it to their evil Empire. Led by Lord Bios, the alien horde has crushed all opposition. YOU are the last hope. You must face their assault in personal, deadly combat. Equipped with an anti-gravity device and armed with photon gun, you will seek and destroy the minions of the Empire.
In your attempt to overthrow the dark Lord, you will fight the strangest and strongest creatures from around the universe. Do battle with the lizardmen, the shapeless ones, and the fierce bronze dragon. But you're not completely alone in your quest for freedom. You can upgrade your weapons system at several locations scattered throughout the lands.".
Gameplay
The game is similar to most shooters, except the marines can rotate in a 360 degree angle allowing you to fire on all sides. The arcade original featured both a joystick and an analog dial wheel. The wheel allow the guns and satellites to be positioned to any degrees quickly. For the ports that use a regular gamepad, a button is held to rotate the marines.
Stages and bosses
| Stage | Boss | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dust World | Paramecium |
| 2 | Dust Dragon | |
| 3 | War God | |
| 4 | Pyramid World | Mesketit |
| 5 | Sphinx | |
| 6 | Tutankhamen | |
| 7 | Sky World | Iceman (Not to be confused with the Mega Man character) |
| 8 | Whodin and Laidin (Fūjin and Raijin) | |
| 9 | The evil god Bios | |
The Unknown Soldiers
There were no actual names given for the first appearance of these characters; all were referred to very generically. Storywise, they were secretly trained from the time they were young boys by a group of humans to combat the evil on Dust Planet. The duo did not have any names other than "Superior Warriors", as shown in the ending.
Other appearances
The blue warrior appeared in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (where he is referred to as "Unknown Soldier") as a helper, Capcom World 2, SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash on the Neo Geo Pocket System, and Namco x Capcom with the red warrior (the two of them being playable characters).
Trivia
- Zenny, Capcom's monetary denomination, is used in many of their games besides Forgotten Worlds, including Gaia Master, Black Tiger, Mega Man Legends and Mega Man Battle Network series.
- The two giants in the later levels are references to the two twins guardian characters from the anime series Fist of the North Star. They both use invisible cutting wires to kill people.
- Apparently, Sylphie bows to the player when her shop is entered in Lost Worlds and greets them with vocals, whereas in Forgotten Worlds, she is silent and does not move.
Credits
Arcade Version
Game Designer: Akiman, Nin Nin, Poo, Mr. Kihaji
Soft Programmer: Youichi, Noriko, Takɐno, Nouchi
Object Designer: Kurichan, Takata, Shinsyudon, Sintan, Emetaro
Scroll Designer: Mikichan, Hanachan, Kuramoyan, Fukumoyan, Nonochan, Black Man
Sound: Tamasan, Yukichan no Papa
Hard Ware: Kuchino
Mechatronics: Kamimori
Special Thanks: Hustler Bam, Rattchan, Kakkun, Poochan, CBX.Yukio, Ota, Ito
June 1988
Additionally, Forgotten Worlds, like many other games during this era of gaming, credited its staff in its default Score Ranking Table, which is as follows:
- 1st 10000 NIN
- 2nd 9000 EGW
- 3rd 8000 KOJ
- 4th 7000 TAK
- 5th 6000 MIK
Genesis/Mega Drive Version
Planner: Mino, Mu.Kondo
Soft Programmer: Taku.Ayu, K.Koba
Designer: Stresteles, Hide, D.Minow
Sound: Ippo
Game Check: Works Nishi, Gottochan
Special Thanks to: Capcom
Master System Version
Planners: Tommy, Yukino
Programmers: Kimrom, Yone
Designer: Tommy, Yukino
Sound: Ippo
Special Thanks to: Capcom
Presented by: Sega
TurboGrafx-16 Version
Director: N.Okada
Programmer: M.Wada
Producer: Taka.Ozama
Executive Producer: S.Ishihara
Graphics Convert: K.Tsubokura, K.Nakada, A Wave (T.Hirabayasi, F.Koakutsu)
Graphic: K.Eto
Sound: K.Hayashi
Cast: H.Tanaka, M.Ikemizu, E.Hara, Y.Yamamoto
Supervisor: M.Iriguchi, T.Tabeta
Manual Editor: M.Morita, S.Ueno
Special Thanks: T.Miyokawa, S.Kuroda, Y.Masuko, Y.Myoga, F.Suzuki, Capcom
Gallery
