Time Crisis (Arcade, December 1995)[]
Summary[]
The first Time Crisis came out in late 1995 and is considered to be a revolution to rail shooters.
Story[]
In the new republic of Sercia, there's a crisis as the Sercian President's daughter: Rachael McPherson has been kidnapped by the Wild Dogs, a group of mercenaries who are being led by the radical Sherudo Garo who wants to take Sercia back. The agency, VSSE has been called to deal with the situation, and the VSSE assigns their best man for the job: Richard Miller. Miller's mission is to infiltrate the Castle of Garo and rescue Rachael, unharmed if necessary, and he must rescue her before sunset. So, Miller is dealing with a "Time Crisis".
Gameplay[]
What makes Time Crisis unique to other arcade rail shooters (such as Lethal Enforcers or Revolution X) is that it also provides cover, and stepping on a pedal which pulls you out of cover. While in cover, you're invulnerable to enemy fire and other dangers, but yet you can't attack. In these games, you're also on a strict time limit, so eliminating your enemies quickly is crucial. The gun (used as the controller in the arcades) also simulates blowback, as if you're shooting an actual pistol, and (if a crosshair is used) the aiming moves around along with the gamer holding the gun controller rather than just when the gamer pulls the trigger.
Special Mission (Playstation, 1997)[]
Summary[]
Time Crisis was ported to the first Playstation soon after its Arcade release. It featured a special mission where Richard Miller takes on another mission, to infiltrate a luxury 5-Star Hotel where VSSE suspects that it's a front for a weapon dealer organization known as Kantaris. The game also has a special "Gun-Con" where it has some of the same features as the original Arcade Cabinet (though dicier graphics and slower animation).
Story[]
Sometime after Richard defeated Sherudo Garo and the Wild Dogs, he's given another mission, this time to infiltrate a 5-Star hotel that VSSE suspects to be a front for a weapon smuggling organization known as Kantaris (led by a woman of the same name) who supplies their weapons to the Wild Dogs and other criminal and terrorist organizations.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay is the same as in the Arcade version. But this game can also be played by an original PS controller (though it's slower). Unlike the original game, the special mission's route depends on how fast you go through the game, so is the final boss of the game, either it's a robot of some kind, or an attack helicopter.
Time Crisis: Project Titan (Playstation, 2001)[]
Summary[]
This is the continuing trilogy of Richard Miller of Time Crisis that has a secondary score system.
Story[]
Richard Miller finds that he has been framed for the assassination of the President of Caruba. He's been informed by the VSSE that he has 48 hours to prove his innocence before they are forced to hand him over to the Caruban Authorities. He must start with rescuing fellow agent Marissa Soleil (who is working undercover) from Kantaris. But what Richard will soon realize that there's more to the assassination of the Caruban President than is realized.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay of Project Titan is fundamentally the same as the original arcade version. But it also has a secondary score system, a hit streak score system since most enemies take just one shot to eliminate, the game tallies on how much enemies you have eliminated before you lose a life. Speaking of which, you can also earn extra lives by progressing through the game and having a high hit streak score.