Elemental Master

Sega exclusive

Gyra has usurped the throne, and his minions are pillaging and plundering throughout the countryside. The kingdom is doomed unless someone can stop this madness and restore order to the land. You are the ELEMENTAL MASTER, and you're the only person with the power to put an end to Gyra's reign of terror. Harnessing the power of the elements fire, water, wind, and the earth you use them as your very own weapons to fight all that is evil in the world.

Released: 14 December 1990
Platforms: Sega Genesis
Genres: Shoot 'em up Shooter
Developers: Technosoft
Publishers: —
Modes: Single-player
Themes: Action
Country: Japan

About

Elemental Master (エレメンタルマスター) is a top down scrolling shooter developed by Technosoft for the Sega Genesis and released in 1990 in Japan and in 1993 in North America by Renovation Products.

Keywords

shoot 'em up
vertical scrolling

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game is autoscrolling upwards. The player can choose to either shoot up or down. There are different weapons (types of magic) available, based on (naturally) the elements. Of the seven levels the game has, the player can choose the order of the first four.

Story

Long ago in the fantasy kingdom of Lorelei, the followers of an evil being called Gyra were sealed underneath the city's castle. However, a seemingly heroic sorcerer known as Aryaag betrayed the king's trust and unleashed the power of Gyra on the kingdom with the intention of letting the evil influence spread. Laden, the strongest sorcerer in the kingdom, was ready to attack Aryaag, but was stopped in shock when Aryaag revealed himself to be Laden's brother Roki. Backed by Gyra's most dedicated followers, Roki banished Laden from the conquered kingdom, but Laden vows to stop Gyra's influence from spreading and to stop Gyra's ambitions.

Development

The soundtrack was composed by Toshiharu Yamanishi, who also worked on Thunder Force III, Thunder Force IV, and Dragon's Fury (one song from Elemental Master was remixed into a new version in Dragon's Fury). The style of the soundtrack is synthrock with classical vibes.

Reception

Elemental Master received a 7.4723/10 score in a 1995 readers' poll conducted by the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, ranking among Sega Mega Drive titles at number 210. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

MegaTech praised the game's audiovisual presentation and gameplay, but criticized its easy difficulty. Console XS called its gameplay "addictive", but criticized the game for having too few levels and its easy difficulty. MAN!AC highlighted the game's synth soundtrack and exceptional level design.