Keio Flying Squadron

Keio Flying Squadron
Also known as: Keio Yuugekitai (JP) Developer: Victor Entertainment Publishers: Victor Entertainment (JP), JVC Music (US/EU) Platform: Sega CD Released in JP: August 6, 1993 Released in US: 1994 Released in EU: 1994 This game has a hidden level select. This game has regional differences.

A shoot-'em-up starring a prepubescent girl in a Playboy outfit who fights mythological Japanese creatures and the U.S. military. Inexplicably, it actually made it out of Japan uncensored ... mostly. Good thing, too, since it's a pretty fun game!

To do: Lots of compiler garbage. And filler tiles. You know, the most exciting parts of any TCRF article.

Level Select

At the main menu, press Right, Left, Right, Left, Down, Up, Down, Up, Right, Right, Right. The stage number will then appear at the top of the screen. Use Left and Right to select a stage, and start the game to go to the chosen level. This code only works in the international releases.

Interestingly, the demo version of this game actually has the level select cheat built in as the demo version is identical to the retail release with the exception of a promotional screen put in after the end of level one, followed by a return to the title screen. If you enter the level select cheat, all the levels from the full game are available for play.

(Source: Sega Mega CD Library)

Super Catch Game

At the main menu, press one of the following button sequences, depending on the game's region:

Japan: Left, Left, Right, Right, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up
International: Left, Left, Right, Right, Down, Up, Down, Up

Start a new game to access the "Super Catch Game" minigame. It's a parody of vintage LCD games; the goal is to catch as many of the falling objects as possible.

(Source: Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine, issue 76)

(Source: urawaza.in (Japanese version code))

Regional Differences

The game's localization is very low-effort; most non-essential text and dialogue was simply cut from the game rather than translated, and the Western releases don't even bother dubbing anything except the cutscenes.

Gameplay

• The biggest difference between the Japanese and international releases is that in the Japanese version, contact with solid terrain is fatal outside of boss fights. In the Western versions, touching the ground does nothing, which needless to say makes the game much easier.
• In the Japanese version, most enemies flash different colors when they're hit. For some reason, the international releases mostly limit this behavior to bosses.
• As part of its faux-period aesthetic, the Japanese version displays the score using Japanese numerals instead of Arabic.
• Unsurprisingly, the European release is not PAL-optimized and thus runs at 83% of the speed of the other versions.

Other

This splash screen proclaiming the game the first in the Keio series shows up after the Victor/JVC logo in the Japanese and European releases, but it was removed from the U.S. version.

Japan	International

Japan	International

Japan	International

The three character profiles displayed after the first demo plays were reformatted and rewritten for the international versions. Rami was originally 14 in Japan, but was later changed to being 20 years old. Spot's Japanese name is Pochi (ぽち), a very common dog name in Japan.

While the international versions just repeat the character profiles after every demo, the Japanese version actually has two different "tutorials" hosted by Dr. Pon that briefly overview the enemies for the first and second stages.

The Japanese version displays a title card before each level, complete with a little animation of a tanuki unrolling a scroll containing the text. These were cut from the Western version.

Japan	U.S.

The game's title logo was removed from cutscenes for the U.S. release, though oddly it remains in the European version.

Additionally, the Japanese cutscenes feature some extensive monologuing from Rami; the Western versions only dub the very end, announcing the name of the next level and instructing the player to "push to start!" (even though the level begins immediately regardless).