Overview and Gameplay
Earth’s moon has been destroyed, and the OF-1 Daedalus must survive five combat-simulation stages before facing the alien force threatening the planet. Image Fight is a vertically scrolling shooter adapted from Irem’s 1988 arcade game. Progress depends on both survival and destruction percentage: a strong average sends the pilot directly into three real-combat stages, while a lower result adds a supplementary training course.
Controls And Mechanics
- Movement: Use the directional pad to steer the fighter.
- Weapons: B fires the main gun and attached weapons. Red pods aim opposite movement, while blue pods fire forward.
- Speed: A cycles through four speed levels. The resulting exhaust burst can damage enemies behind the ship.
- Pod attack: Press A and B together to launch attached side pods.
- Power-ups: Front-mounted components include lasers, missiles, shields, spread fire, and other specialized weapons.
- Players: One or two players are supported, with two-player games alternating turns rather than using simultaneous co-op.
Version Notes
The North American NES version uses an orange player craft instead of the red craft seen in the Japanese Famicom release. Compared with the arcade original, this port has simplified visuals, fewer enemies and projectiles on screen, a reduced weapon selection, and generally lower difficulty.
Release And Credits
- NES release: 1990
- Publisher: Irem America Corp.
- Original platform: Arcade, 1988
