LogFAQs > #949159391

#88. Gain Ground (Genesis, 1991)



Gain Ground doesn't look like a game that should be as fun as it is. Every stage is a single static screen, from a top down perspective, and your goal is to either guide your characters across the screen to the exit, or to eliminate the enemies from the screen. It's a very simple concept, but some smart design choices pull a lot of mileage out of so little.

Every character has two attacks, and all the attacks vary. Speed, strength, angle, number of projectiles, distances, and type of weapon can all be different. It can make some characters more useful in some stages, but less in others. It plays fairly slow and deliberate, but given the limited space, the action is still fairly constant. You only start with a couple characters, but can rescue characters in maps to build up your army to 20. Each character you use can rescue one other character on a map by leading them to the exit. The captured characters are often placed in tricky positions, so you can get hit and captured yourself, so risk needs to be weighed. A failed rescue mission means you need to rescue two captured characters, and another failure means three captured, and sometimes it might be wise to just skip a rescue so you don't mount several losses. Ah, but maybe that captured character has a great weapon I want...

I first played this on the Sega Genesis Collection for PS2, a game I originally thought would mostly Sonic and Phantasy Star, and a handful of generic throwaway titles. It turns out there were some hidden gems, and I was glad this game was an inclusion.

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