Time Crisis

Time Crisis is a video game initially available in arcades and later released for the PlayStation and cell phones. A first person rail shooter similar to Virtua Cop, one of the distinguishing features of the arcade original was the presence of a foot pedal that controlled whether the player's character ducked behind cover (and was thus invulnerable but unable to shoot) or was in a standing position (and could thus attack but was vulnerable). A countdown clock, recharged by clearing an area of "bad guys", forces the player to take risks and stay up and vulnerable most of the time, shooting quickly at any enemy he sees.

Story

The main plot of the original Time Crisis arcade release involves an attempted coup in the fictional republic of Sercia. For 1 millennium, the Garo Family ruled Sercia with an iron fist. Year after year, the Garo Family's grip became weaker and in 1995, an International Intelligence Agency called the VSSE (Vital Situation, Swift Elimination) sends out its then best agent William MacPherson (who would later become the president at the time the incident occurred) to lead the resistance in overthrowing the Garo Family and to democratize Sercia. MacPherson succeeded in destroying the imperial rule, resulting in free elections. It has become obvious that William MacPherson would become the first president of the Sercian Republic with the Sercian Resistance Leader being his Vice President. The Republic of Sercia was then enacted in January 1996.

The security of the newly-formed republic was not as secure as it seems. The Wild Dogs, acting under orders from a scorned monarch named Sherudo Garo, kidnaps William's daughter Rachel in order to pressurize President MacPherson to hand control back to him in exchange for Rachel's life. What really irritates the public good is that Sherudo gave President MacPherson only up to sunset of the next day in order to resign his position as President of the Republic and declare Sherudo dictator for life. President MacPherson's inexperience in politics really took a toll on him since his step-down from the VSSE. President MacPherson then sends a video to the VSSE Grand Director and VSSE Team Director Porter Davis regarding this atrocity. Recognizing the situation of this matter, Porter Davis sends an encrypted message through cyberspace, stating that if "The One-Man Army", (Richard Miller), "can't rescue Rachel MacPherson and bring the situation under control, no one can."

Executing the rescue

Following the emergency order from the directorship, Richard boards the castle basement to deal with the first wave of Wild Dog guards. Miller made his way towards the grassyards and inside a kitchen table where Rachel MacPherson was being held. The rescue could not be achieved in an easy way because the ninja assassin Moz set a trap for anyone who wanted to rescue Rachel. After defeating Moz, Richard coaxed Moz into revealing Rachel's whereabouts. Moz points out that the clock tower would be Richard's next stop but thinks that Rachel would be dead now. Richard didn't take Moz's comments since he, as a hero, will be insisting that Rachel was to be alive.

Richard then infiltrated the hallways, a jewelry room, and made his way up to the Clock Tower where Rachel has been transferred. As Richard approached Rachel, knives started flying across, cutting Richard off. The scorned monarch, Sherudo Garo, greeted Richard in the following dialogue:

My name is Sherudo. I rule this nation now. So you are the fool that came to rescue Rachel. Since you have travelled this far, be my guest and let me entertain you!!! (knives pop out of Sherudo's hands)

A Gun-versus-Knife fight ensued between Richard and Sherudo, ending with Richard fatally wounding Sherudo. Unfortunately, Wild Dog has re-kidnapped Rachel, attempting to press Richard's patience. Dog cuts Richard off and then attempts to escape with Rachel. Richard then found a way to catch up with Dog, who's now yanking Rachel away from Richard's sight. Dog tried everything to hold Richard off with his last bastion of guards, but Richard managed to pin him right through the helicopter. Dog then started detonating the castle to ensure that Richard does not do anything stupid and attempts to escape with Rachel on a helicopter. Rachel then tried to run towards Richard but Dog shot Rachel in her arm. Richard, enraged about Rachel's condition, challenged Wild Dog to a fight. The fight ends when Richard staggers Wild Dog with a nice shot to knock the detonator out of Wild Dog, falling to the ground and exploding to the area Wild Dog is at.

Richard comes up to Rachel and sees that she is OK. Richard takes Rachel with him at the helicopter and both Richard and Rachel escape the now-exploding castle and leave behind what was to be the last of the Garo Family.

Kantaris Deal

This was the side story made exclusive for PlayStation version of Time Crisis. Richard has received orders to infiltrate a mysterious hotel known as Chateau Du Luc operated by the beautiful but deadly Kantaris, leader of the smuggling network of the same name. Intel came up empty on Kantaris, but this didn't stop the VSSE to receive positive verification that Kantaris did supply arms to the Wild Dogs.

In this mission, players take routes depending on pre-set conditions. For example, if Richard was fast enough to complete a certain section, he will go onto Route A as opposed to Route B.

Game characters

Richard Miller--The current Ace of the VSSE as the agency knows it. Richard Miller often conducted solo missions. He was once part of the United States Marine Corps during the Gulf War, where he learned how to use various firearms responsively and accurately. Combined with his lightning-quick reflexes, these skills allowed Richard to infiltrate and eliminate his enemies secretly and swiftly. On one of his first missions for the VSSE, Richard eliminated a drug cartel. It was during this mission that he first encountered the terrorist Wild Dog.
Rachel MacPherson--The daughter of William MacPherson, supporter of the Sercian Revolution, former VSSE Agent, and first president of the Republic of Sercia. In a revenge plot, Rachel was kidnapped by Sherudo Garo, but was rescued by Richard Miller.
Moz--An assassin hired by Sherudo Garo. Moz was said to have undergone training as a ninja in Yokohama before he came to Sherudo's attention. In his service to Sherudo, Moz had murdered eleven people, including five senators of the Republic of Sercia. Moz is the first boss Richard Miller encounters in Time Crisis. After Richard defeats Moz, Moz tells Richard with his last breath that Rachel is at the top of the tower in Sherudo's castle, and that she may already be dead. Richard then punches Moz, killing him. Moz's favored weapon was a bracer with claws made of titanium alloy.
Sherudo Garo--The last blood relative of the Sercian royal family. Sercia was once a monarchy until it was overthrown in the Sercian Revolution by William MacPherson, who later went on to be president of the newly-established Republic of Sercia. Determined to regain his birthright, Sherudo abducted the president's daughter, Rachel. In exchange for Rachel's life, Sherudo demanded to be made the dictator of Sercia for life. This plan was spoiled by the VSSE agent, Richard Miller, who killed Sherudo in a duel of gun against knives.
Wild Dog--See the Separate Article
Web Spinner--The personal bodyguard of Kantaris. This man was a savate champion and a cyborg who was altered to be able to use electric boomerangs. Some say that the Republic of Sercia had offered a reward for the capture (or death) of Web Spinner, who had reportedly murdered a hundred people before his service to Kantaris.
Kantaris--Little is known about this mysterious leader of the Kantaris criminal organization. Established long before the formation of the Republic of Sercia, the Kantaris organization was responsible for a number of large-scale crimes including arms dealing, drug dealing, theft, forgery and fraud. The leader Kantaris herself owned the Chateau du Luc, a luxury hotel that also served as a front for a weapons factory. While VSSE Intel came up empty on Kantaris, the agency does have positive verification that the Kantaris Organization itself is Wild Dog's Arms provider. Kantaris was presumed dead at the end of the game, though survival is possible. (Alternate endings!)

Enemies

The enemies of the Time Crisis game do not have any Crisis Sightings (later used in Time Crisis 2) but their accuracy varies depending on which enemy attacks Richard Miller. Below is a complete list of enemies from the arcade game:

Blue Soldiers: These enemies are the most common of all enemies in this arcade game. They have poor accuracy but they can still fire a lucky shot at Richard. They are armed with a handgun.
Brown Soldiers: These enemies are also quite common. They act as commanders by leading a group of soldiers and ordering them to fire at Richard. They're also armed with a handgun but their accuracy is slightly better than the blue soldiers.
Blue Soldiers with Shield: These enemies are fairly common. They protect themselves with a large shield to block Richard Miller's shots. They also carry a handgun, and their accuracy is the same as a blue soldier.
Red Soldiers: They are arguably the most dangerous normal enemy in the Time Crisis series. When they first appear, the first shot they fire from their handguns will always hit Richard. They have excellent accuracy, and they even rarely miss. Some of them even plan a surprise attack (i.e. a quick shot) the moment they come on to the screen. Beginner players should hide right away when they see them. Expert players can take them out with no problems. The frequency of the soldiers is fairly moderate.
White Soldiers: They accompany Sherudo Garo and Wild Dog in the fight against Richard Miller. Their accuracy varies depending on what weapons they carry (from handguns to daggers).
Orange Soldiers: Even though they are armed with handguns, these enemies never pull the trigger. They act as time bonus soldiers. Sometimes, they can be used as a distraction to the enemy's advantage. It is worth noting that the time bonus is based on how quick the player shoots them. The earlier they're shot, the higher the time bonus (5 seconds maximum).
Machine Gunners: These enemies wear green clothing. Unlike the Red Soldiers, they can't get a direct hit with their first bullet but their constant firing makes them particularly dangerous, and they have excellent accuracy just like the red soldiers. Fortunately, their firing rate is slow so the player should kill these enemies before he gets shot. The player should not wait for a machine gunner to stop firing because he would lose some time in killing the other enemies on-screen. The frequency of these soldiers is moderate.
Bazooka Soldiers: These enemies, wearing light brown clothing, carry bazooka launchers, and they fire a single rocket straight at Richard with impressive accuracy, even though they rarely miss. Fortunately, the rockets they fire are slower than bullets giving the player a split second to duck, and they even have to steady themselves to aim. They don't appear too often in the game.
Grenadiers: These enemies wear a yellow jacket, green pants, yellow hat and sunglasses. The grenadiers throw a stick grenade which always results in a direct hit but can be shot and detonated before it hits the player. They do not appear too often.
Pole Soldiers: They wear the same clothings like the grenadiers. These enemies come up close to Richard and hit him in the face with an iron pole. Their attack is always a direct hit. Note that some of the white soldiers are armed with this kind of weapon. Like the grenadeirs, they don't appear too often.
Gray Clawmen: These enemies are somewhat rare. They first appear accompanying Moz, the leader of the clawmen wearing a gold mask and vest. Moz and the gray clawmen scratch Richard from up close and their attack is always a direct hit. They are extremely fast and hard to hit because they jump around a lot. Gray clawmen can be taken down in one shot while Moz takes 3 shots (as a boss).
Helicopters: They are the rarest enemies of the game and the player will see these choppers twice. They are armed with chainguns meaning that their accuracy is extremely high. Even though they move slowly, they take a lot more hits to get shot down.

Mobile Game

In 2006, Namco Networks released a mobile version of the game, which offers innovative use of the cell phone keypad to achieve the duck and shoot action without the foot pedal and GunCon.

Influences on other games

Although a rail shooter, light gun game, the mechanic pioneered by Time Crisis of popping out from behind cover went on to influence a number of third-person action games including WinBack, Kill.Switch, and to a lesser extent, Sons of Liberty. The upcoming Gears of War is also said to make use of this mechanic.

Richard Miller appears as a bonus character available to play as or against in Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis, for the PlayStation, alongside fellow Namco characters including Reiko Nagase, Pac-Man, and Yoshimitsu and Heihachi Mishima in their Tekken 3 incarnations.

External links

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