Hyper Duel

Hyper Duel
Developer(s)	Technosoft
Publisher(s)	Taito[a]
Artist(s)	Mitsuakira Tatsuta
Composer(s)	Hyakutaro Tsukumo
Platform(s)	Arcade, Sega Saturn
Release	Arcade JP: October 1993 Saturn JP: November 22, 1996
Genre(s)	Horizontal-scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system	TEC442-A

Hyper Duel^[b] is a horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed by Technosoft and released for arcades by Taito in 1993. It was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1996. In the game, the player controls one of three characters piloting transformable fighters called Buster Gears, whose mission is to either recover or destroy a prototype unit stolen by terrorist forces. The player can switch between a compact spaceship and a humanoid mecha. It runs on the TEC442-A hardware.

Hyper Duel was Technosoft's first original arcade game, created by new members who would later work on Thunder Force V. Planning for the game began from the design phase of the TEC442-A board, which took a considerable amount of time. The Saturn port was made by ten staff members in a matter of months. The soundtrack was scored by Hyakutaro Tsukumo, his first video game project, who later composed the music for Thunder Force V. Working Designs planned to release the game in North America under their "Spaz" label, but cancelled the deal with Technosoft and dropped support for the Saturn following a dispute with Sega.

Hyper Duel on the Saturn received average reviews, with critics finding the gameplay simple but satisfying and the strategic element of switching between the craft's two modes well implemented. Some considered the updated Saturn variant to be the highlight, but found the difficulty level to be high for novices, while criticism was directed towards the audio balance and short levels. Retrospective commentary in the years following its release have hailed it as one of the best titles for the Saturn and it has become an expensive collector's item.
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