Philosoma
↗ 16%
🙂 6.9/10
(Playstation - US, Shoot'em Up)
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$64.00
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Developed_By:
G-artists
Published_By:
Sony
Released On:
01 Jan 1995
Philosoma is a vertical scrolling shoot'em up game where you blast through 18 deep space environments in search of a mysterious distress call. Destroying enemies and obstacles in your path, you'll go up against various vehicles such as the "Hover Carrier," the "Makkon," and the "Missile Walker." You can clear your way with one of four main weapons: Vulcan, Laser, A-Break, or Ray-B.
These weapons can be upgraded up to three times when collecting specific power-up icons. Additional secondary weapons like Buster grenades, MRMs, and SRMs are also available at the start of each level or through pickups.
eBay Product ID:
1741 (United States)
UPC-A:
711719440321 (United States)
Sony PN:
SCUS-94403 (United States)
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Input Devices Required:
Gamepad
Number of Offline Players:
1 Player
Save Game Methods:
External Storage
Number of Players Supported:
1 Player
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Typical $64.00–$65.99 (last 90 days)
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Manual
Game Guide
Extracted from the original game manual
This is a sci-fi space combat game where the player takes on the role of a fighter pilot, D-3, flying an advanced F/A-37 Strega. The player engages in aerial combat, utilizing an AI co-pilot named Alice, to respond to a distress signal from a resource mining planet. The core gameplay involves piloting the Strega, managing its systems, and engaging in battles in space.
Story
Introduction
My name is D-3. I am a fighter pilot who operates the F/A-37 Strega.
The Mission
A magnificent battle begins at ORA-194-220 Resource Mining Planet.
Three hours ago, the resource mining planet ORA-194-220, owned by the multinational corporation Sympho-Kaifer, issued a distress signal. The Gallant, having received the emergency call from 220, immediately rushed to the point at full speed.
A planetary distress signal is not called unless a major emergency occurs. Only 8 such calls have been made in the past. All of them were either large-scale natural disasters or large-scale civil wars involving the use of nuclear weapons.
The UNF 7th Independent Task Force
The UNF 7th Independent Task Force is composed of only one attack-type space carrier, SCV-13 "Gallant." It is what is known as a lone ship. The fact that there are no escort cruisers or other ships, despite it being an aging vessel nearing retirement, speaks volumes about the strangeness of the Gallant. In other words, this ship is not a normal ship.
Proof of this can also be seen in the aircraft owned by the combat attack squadron I belong to—VFA-29. They have been fully supplied with the F/A-37 Strega, a space combat attack aircraft manufactured by the prestigious aircraft manufacturer, Bradford Azumi Aerospace. The Strega is a state-of-the-art combat attack aircraft that has just begun to be deployed in actual combat by the UNF. Why is such a state-of-the-art aircraft here...?
There is no time to unravel this mystery here. And there is no time either. Because we will soon be launching from the Gallant.
Cockpit View
I operated the pad in my hand. With a faint electronic sound, the entire view from the cockpit switched from the hangar to outer space. The Strega's canopy was a double structure of transparent aluminum, and liquid crystal filled the space between them. The liquid crystal functioned as a 3D television, displaying external images as the pilot desired.
I lightly tapped the pad in my hand. The camera gradually zoomed in, and a mysteriously green glowing planet came into view. Planet 220... It was the same scene I had seen in the briefing.
Launch Sequence
"Alpha Bravo launch complete. Next, Charlie and Delta launch sequence."
As Vice Commander Cox's voice echoed, the camera switched to a cockpit view. The scene of the hangar unfolded across the entire canopy. The Strega slowly moved forward. Along the rails of the transfer shaft, the block suspending the Strega began to move. Then, the hangar gate opened.
"Charlie and Delta flight from Cox. Checking Alice."
Along with Major Cox's voice, a light electronic sound rang out six times in succession.
•
Charlie Flight: Alice One, Two, Three, Normal.
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Delta Flight: Alice One, Two, Three, Normal.
The synthesized voice echoed. Alice, installed in the Strega, used her self-diagnosis program to check itself.
Alice: Integrated Tactical Support AI
"Alice" is an integrated tactical support AI computer that controls Strega. Its official name is Toukou Denshi Shinsha-sei Shouun LLN68, and it's a voice-response type of artificial intelligence.
By combining AI and voice response functions, combat aircraft pilots were for the first time freed from cumbersome operations. Until then, combat aircraft pilots were required to have the dexterity of a pianist, but with the installation of Alice, operations were dramatically simplified.
As long as you can control the aircraft, Alice will calculate all elements such as our performance and combat power ratio, positional relationship, weather, fuel, ammunition, etc., and advance the battle in our favor.
Engine Start
While I was thinking about such things, Alice finished all checks.
"START YOUR ENGINE"
Alice's call fills the cockpit. I pressed the starter button. Normally, I would leave everything to Alice, but I love this moment. I can feel the flame of life passing through the cold, ferocious mass of metal... Strega... I'm sure all pilots feel the same way.
The engine series panel glows faintly, and the high-frequency and turbine blade rotation sounds echo from behind.
Engine Status
The status of the engine was displayed on the multi-purpose CRT, Beautiful Type 5, manufactured by Futaboshi Electronics. Oil pressure, voltage, fuel flow, engine rotation, turbine internal pressure... all data showed normal values.
Final Launch Sequence
"Catapult Tensioning. Final Launch Sequence."
With Alice's call, the linear catapult entered launch readiness, tilting towards 220. I gazed at the planet spreading out below, feeling as if I was being drawn into it, and performed a final check.
•
I quickly checked the operation of the rudder and elevons.
•
Then the stabilizer and trim.
•
Finally, the vector nozzle.
Everything was normal.
Max Power
I opened the throttle all the way. The engine sound rapidly increased.
"Burner On. Max Power."
The BAA Heavy Industries-made Hiryu FAS.909Dbis2 variable cycle engine roared. The nozzles glowed white-hot, emitting heat far exceeding a plasma torch. Its thrust exceeded 80 tons when using the afterburner. It was truly the strongest fighter engine in history.
The Strega, equipped with four of these engines, could easily escape Earth's gravitational pull without boosters, thanks to
Controls
SELECT
Pause
START
Pause
WEAPON SELECT (DOWN)
Switch main weapon
WEAPON SELECT (UP)
Switch main weapon
BOMB
Fire Buster Grenade
SHOT
Fire main weapon
How to Play
Starting the Game
Insert the "PHILOSOMA" disc into the PlayStation console and turn on the power switch. The opening movie and game demo will begin.
Title Screen
Press the Start button during the opening movie or game demo to display the title screen.
Use the directional keys (up/down) to select a menu option: "MOVIE," "GAME," or "CONFIGURATION." Press the Start button or the Circle button to confirm.
MOVIE
You can view CG movies up to the phases you have cleared.
•
Use the directional keys (up/down) to select a movie.
•
Press the Start button or the Circle button to start playback.
•
To stop midway, press the Start button.
•
To return to the title screen, select EXIT or press the X button.
GAME
Select this menu to start the game. You can start from a cleared phase.
•
To start from the beginning, select "NEW GAME".
•
Use the directional keys (up/down) to select the phase you want to start from.
•
Press the Start button or the ○ button to confirm.
•
To return to the title screen, select EXIT or press the × button.
CONFIGURATION
Use the directional keys (up/down) to select the setting you want to change. Use the left/right keys to change it.
LEVEL
You can set the game's difficulty.
•
EASY
•
NORMAL
•
HARD
CONTROLLER
You can select the controller button layout from 6 types.
SOUND
You can switch the sound output between stereo and monaural.
ABOUT MEMORY CARD
Insert the memory card into slot 1. One block of the memory card is used for saving data.
Do not remove the memory card while data is being loaded, saved, or formatted. If a memory card containing "PHILOSOMA" data is inserted when the game launches, the data will be loaded automatically.
MEMORY CARD
Use the left or right directional keys to select "LOAD" or "SAVE". Then press the START button or the ○ button.
LOAD
Loads "PHILOSOMA" data from the memory card.
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"LOAD COMPLETE": Data has been loaded correctly.
•
"MEMORY CARD IS NOT IN THE SLOT": The memory card is not inserted. Please insert a memory card containing "PHILOSOMA" data into slot 1.
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"PHILOSOMA DATA DOES NOT EXIST IN THE MEMORY CARD": There is no "PHILOSOMA" data on the memory card. Please insert a memory card containing "PHILOSOMA" data into slot 1.
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"DATA READ ERROR": The contents of the "PHILOSOMA" data are corrupted.
•
"CAN NOT LOAD DATA FROM THE MEMORY CARD": Data cannot be read from the memory card. Please insert a memory card containing "PHILOSOMA" data into slot 1.
SAVE
Saves the played "PHILOSOMA" data to the memory card.
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"SAVE COMPLETE": Data saving has been completed successfully.
•
"MEMORY CARD IS NOT IN THE SLOT": The memory card is not inserted. Please insert the memory card into slot 1.
•
"NO DATA BLOCK IN THIS MEMORY CARD": There are not enough blocks to save data. Please delete unnecessary data or use another memory card.
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"THIS MEMORY CARD IS UNFORMATTED. FORMAT MEMORY CARD?": The memory card is not formatted. Do you want to format it? If you want to format, select "YES", if not, select "NO", and press the Start button or ○ button.
•
"CAN NOT FORMAT THIS MEMORY CARD": Failed to format the memory card. Please check if the memory card is correctly inserted.
•
"CAN NOT SAVE DATA TO THE MEMORY CARD": Data cannot be saved to the memory card. Please check if the memory card is correctly inserted.
EXIT
Press the Start button or ○ button to return to the title screen. Pressing the × button will also return you to the title screen when selecting other menus.
Stock
For every 100,000 points, you gain 1 Strega stock.
Game Over & Continue
If you take damage and lose all of Strega's stock, it's game over. You can continue if you have credits.
If you continue, you can start from the beginning of the stage where you were defeated. Credits decrease by 1 each time you continue. The initial state is 5 credits.
Items & Weapons
VULCAN
This is a basic weapon that spreads over a wide area. By holding down the shot button, you can fire at super high speed.
LASER
This is a powerful weapon that penetrates enemies. By moving Strega while firing, you can widen the attack range of the laser.
A-BREAK (ASSAULT BREAKER)
If you hold down the shot button for a while, you can fire a powerful shot that penetrates enemies.
RAY-B (RAY BULLET)
This weapon is for rear attacks. When it hits enemies or obstacles, it explodes and can damage a wide area.
MRM (Lancer Missile)
This missile flies in a straight line.
SRM (Woodpecker Missile)
Automatically tracks enemies.
BGR (Buster Grenade)
When fired, it causes a large explosion, dealing great damage to all enemies on screen. You start with 3 equipped.
Power-up
The power level of the main weapon you were using at that time will increase by 1 level.
Lancer Missile Pack
Equips the Lancer Missile sub-weapon.
Woodpecker Missile Pack
Equips the Woodpecker Missile sub-weapon.
Buster Grenade Energy Pack
Increases the stock of Buster Grenades by 1.
Shield Energy Pack
Restores Strega's shield by 1 stage.
Full Power-up
All main weapons will be at maximum level. Strega's shield will be fully restored.
1UP
Strega's stock increases by 1 unit.
Enemies & Characters
Doggie House
A character found in the game.
Hover Carrier
A character known as Hover Coupler.
Muscle
A character identified as Muscle, SCPS 10009.
Grand Phage
A character in the game.
Phage Strega
A character in the game.
Luchs
A character in the game.
Missile Walker
A character in the game.
Bra Doggie
A character in the game.
Doggie
A character identified as Doggie, SCPS 10009.
MSHINGFOR POLICE
A character in the game.
EYE FORK
A character known as Eye Fork.
BLACK WIDOW
A character known as Black Widow.
PHAGE MERITTER
A character known as Phage Meritter.
MERITTER
A character in the game.
INGENS
A character identified as Ingens, SCPS 10009.
MONERA
Monera
CHARACTER
CHARACTER
MIRACIDIUM
Miracidium SCPS 10009
HYDRURA
Hydrura
MAHKON
Mahkon SCPS 10009
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