Gals Panic

The video games are Japanese eroge (erotic games), with gameplay similar to Taito's puzzle game "Qix". The objective is to uncover the silhouette portion of background with a marker until at least 80% of the silhouette is uncovered. When capturing background, only the enclosed area without the stage boss is uncovered, so it is possible to capture 100% of silhouette without capturing the entire background, by limiting the boss's movement to an area without silhouette.
There are a few key differences with the original game, and the series themselves can be split in two clearly distinct product lines: the older "classic" Gals Panic series, and the later "S" series, having important gameplay differences and being intended for different markets.
Each round starts with 3 minutes time remaining, unless affected by a roulette item. If a player continues the existing round, 1 minute is added to the remaining time. During each round, random items can appear in the field, which can help or hinder the player's progress.
A round begins with the player at the edge of the background. Capturing an area can be done by moving cursor to the edge of the background or edge of an already captured area.
There are various blocks appear in each round, which can block the movement of player but not enemies, and also affects the strategies of capturing silhouettes. Blocks disappear when capturing an area with enclosed blocks.
At the top of each round is a 20-level meter, where it starts with 11. The meter gauge increases or decreases depending on how background area is captured. Usually it decreases when capturing area with silhouette, but increases when capturing area without silhouette. The meter decreases by 1 if player does not capture an area for a prolonged period. If the meter reaches 0, player loses a life; if the meter reaches 20 (full), the round is automatically cleared; if the meter reaches yellow (6 bars), the background and silhouette is replaced by an alternate picture, with different silhouette. The type of alternate background is chosen at random. When the background change occurs, it can be changed back to girl background by increasing meter level to 10. However, if the silhouette ratio reaches 80% with alternate background, that game round is restarted afterwards, without going through roulette round.
This game includes 6 stages, with 3 rounds each. Between each round there is a roulette mini-game, where player gets a random item that can help or hinder game play of next round. If a round is cleared with 100% captured silhouette, a can-can dance sequence with '100% CLEAR' title is shown.
Models.
Round 1 is the girl with normal outfit, round 2 is the girl in (exposed) underwear, round 3 is the topless girl wearing only underwear. After clearing all 3 rounds, the photo version of the girl appears in round 3 pose, sometimes in different perspectives, but naked (except for Emi, who is wearing black underwear).
"Gals Panic" is the successor to a game developed by Kaneko for Taito, "Super Qix". Both games look and play similarly, but "Super Qix" does not contain the silhouette mechanic or adult content.
Challenge Stage.
After completing a stage with one credit, sometimes a Challenge Stage option appears after completing at least two stages. In a challenge stage, player can earn extra lives by completing the stage with only one life, competing against the purple man boss, with reduced time limit. The actual number of lives gained depends on player's performance. The chosen girl appears in the round one alternate costume.
After playing a Challenge Stage, only the non-completed stages are selectable.
Bosses.
The round boss shrinks whenever it is stuck in a small area.
EXPRO-02 version.
For versions designed for EXPRO-02 board, extra raster scaling and transformation effects are used throughout the game. In addition, player's cursor can move closer to the blocks to the point of touching them. Tetrahedron boss has longer lightning range.
The Japanese version based on EXPRO-02 is published by Taito. It includes Japanese voices and texts instead of English. However, the photos of the real girls that appear after round 3 are removed.
US version.
This version is based on the EXPRO-02 release, but with added censorship, such as placing bras on the girls every third round.
Gal's Panic II.
New features includes 8-way joystick, stereo audio, and the Card Dispenser option.
A stage begins with player at the edge of a randomly chosen rectangle. Capturing an area can no longer be done by moving cursor to the border of the background image.
The gauge is now changed to a time-based gauge, called time gauge. Time gauge is full at the beginning of a round or when player continues. When the gauge reaches below a certain point (as indicated by purple arrow), the background image changes, with time gauge drains in slower rate, until the image is changed back to normal.
Models.
The game was advertised to include 65 different girls from all over the world instead of just Japanese models from the prequel, but only 6 stages can be chosen. The girl in stage background is now in photo in addition of drawing.
Quiz version.
There is a version of game that features a quiz mode. During it, a random quiz girl appears, with each girl specializing in different subjects. The player has two seconds to answer the question, with a choice from two possible answers. Correct answers randomly award Speed up, Enemy speed down or Enemy stop, while wrong answers give Time gauge up, which temporarily causes the time gauge to drain faster.
Quiz mode occurs after capturing a question mark item. Only three quizzes appear in each round.
The model selection was changed from the previous "Gals Panic II" game, but still contains a mixture of photo and drawn models.
In the breakout mini-game, the paddle can be moved further up than the original game, making scoring extra lives easier.
English version.
This version includes the following changes:
However, the model selection is the same as in the Japanese game.
Special Edition.
This version uses improved graphics. The model line up is changed again, but still contains a mixture of photo and drawn models.
Gals Panic 3.
The DIP-switch arcade configuration was largely replaced by a more flexible, RAM-based software integrated to the service menu.
Scroll.
The background change feature from predecessors is replaced by the newly introduced scrolling stages, where player is stuck at a portion of any given stage until a player captures a certain percentage of the silhouette. The arrow on the gauge indicates the minimum amount of silhouette needed to scroll.
Enemies.
Bosses can teleport to a different region of a stage if player is far away from the boss, especially when the boss becomes invisible.
Stages.
The stage selection is changed so that each girl only lasts one round, but there are now 16 randomly chosen girls per game. Mini-game is available after completing stages 2, 5, 8, 11, 14.
When an entire silhouette is uncovered, three randomly chosen pictures of models are shown. In certain stages, player gets filtered views of the girl in current stage instead.
If a stage is not completed within the given time limit, the player loses a life and the stage starts over.
Models.
Only photo models are used this time, and the cast consists of mostly Japanese models. Although there are topless models, their nipples are covered in various ways.
Gals Panic 4.
This is the first game in the series for the Kaneko Super NOVA System platform, which features non-volatile data storage, which also logs bookkeeping information.
The most noticeable change is the exclusive use of drawings of the girls instead of photos.
Similar to "Gals Panic 3", it uses the scrolling background, but now the scrolling can be done at the beginning of a stage. The Asian version of the game is called "Gals Panic DX".
Enemies.
Some enemies are now capable of destroying wall.
Panic attack.
Whenever player captures a large piece of silhouette at once (around 5%), player gains a bomb. The gain percentage can be increased by capturing small regions quickly before the percentage value disappears. The larger the area, the more bombs are obtained.
When using a bomb, player fires missiles towards stage boss. Panic attack power is increased by repeatedly using bomb stock before the ongoing panic attack is completed. Panic attack's power can reach level 5. At least level 3 is needed to slow down enemies.
Player has 2 bombs at the beginning of each round, with 2 more bombs each time player continues.
2-player VS mode.
Unlike the prequels, players are competing against each other on separate boards each with its own enemies - player 1 on the left and player 2 on the right. The backgrounds are the ones used in the first segment of the SHOW TIME sequence for the chosen girl.
Mini-games.
Mini-games can be played at the games introduction sequence without using credit. All of them are controlled by tapping button 1. Depending on the sequence played, one of the following time-limited games are available:
Stage.
In 1 player mode, player begins with choosing a girl.
There are 3 rounds for each chosen girl (order within rounds are random). Each round allows scrolling at the beginning.
At the beginning of each round, player gets 4 bars of time. Time is replenished within a round by continuing, which continues the game with 3 bars, or remaining time if continuing occurs with more than 3 bars of time.
After completing 3 rounds with a girl, the subsequent girls are chosen by computer.
Models.
Unlike its predecessors, there are no topless girls in this game. Swimsuit version of the girls only appear by winning a round with 100% captured silhouette.
Show Time.
If a stage is completed with 100% captured silhouette, a SHOW TIME sequence is played, which shows 2 random vertically scrolling pictures of the girl at left and right side of the screen with close-up view of the eyes, followed by the girl in swimsuit.
Gals Panic SS.
It is the first game in the series developed for consoles.
It uses "Gals Panic 4" game play for in round games.
This game is much less pornographic than the others, receiving an "All Ages" rating in the Sega Rating system.
Stages.
There are 5 rounds in each stage. Instead of moving on to next girl, the game ends after completing round 5. The backgrounds for the completed stage becomes viewable in gallery.
Models.
There are 12 models in this game (2 secret), with some carried from Gals Panic 4. Saki and Leaf are unlocked successively by completing 1-player game with all other girls unlocked in gallery.
Similar to "Gals Panic 4", there are no topless characters.
Gals Panic S Extra Edition.
The graphic quality is generally increased over GP4 through more extensive use of antialiased graphics and animated sequence.
Character-specific voices are also used when bosses are about to attack.
Scroll system from GP3 returns, but the threshold needed to trigger scroll is not visible.
Enemies.
Bosses can now reclaim captured background, especially after it is hit by bomb blast, or panic attack. If the boss is off-screen for long periods of time, the attack level of boss increases, which increases the chance for boss to reclaim captured background.
Extra Change.
After capturing a predefined spot for a given model, coins E, X, T, R, A appear on screen. If those are captured before capturing at least 80% silhouette, the background and the associated silhouette are changed to reveal the same model in a different, usually more revealing, pose.
Panic attack.
Panic attack system is simplified such that it is automatically activated when a large amount of silhouette is captured at once. Player 1 always shoots multi-direction needles, while Player 2 always shoots homing laser. Higher level attack causes player to fire more shots at once.
Items.
When player loses a life, collected items (or 1 speed and 1 power if no items had been collected in last life) are blasted across the playing field, until they hit the border between player's field and enemy's field, then they travel along the edges until they are collected or disappear.
Stages.
Single player mode can last 12 stages.
During stage selection, a random normal model is switched to Strawberries #1 and #5 at regular time interval.
After completing every 3 stages, a bonus game is available, which allows player to earn extra life if player successfully complete the challenge.
At stage 12, there are 2 bosses on the screen.
If a stage is incomplete before time runs out, the stage is restarted. Time can be replenished by continuing, or dying when remaining time is low enough to issue warning.
Models.
Similar to GP3, there is only 1 round for each chosen model. There are 13 models in this game, but only 12 are playable within 1 game.
Show Time.
The show time system from GP4 was expanded to 2 stages. Show Time can be reached by completing the stage with 90-99% silhouette, which shows the topless version of the model in panties. Show Time Deluxe occurs when 100% silhouette is captured, which shows the animated version of the topless model in panties (but usually different panties from the ones in Show Time and during the game).
If the background is Strawberries #1 and #5, Show Time Deluxe is always played.
2-player VS mode.
It is the same as the 2-player mode from GP4 (with modifications to panic attack and items), but the backgrounds and silhouettes are based on those from the single player games, with different pan settings. In each round, the backgrounds are randomly chosen for both sides. The percentage in VS mode is calculated based on total captured background instead of captured silhouette. Unlike 1-player mode, there is no show time.
Gals Panic S2.
Panic attack.
Panic attack system is change again such that it is triggered whenever Powerup item is captured. The strength of the attack depends on how many Powerup items are captured at once.
Extra Change.
The EXTRA CHANGE system was slightly altered. After collecting E, X, T, R, A coins, coins C, H, A, N, G, E pop out from the spot where the last coin in the EXTRA set was captured. Background changes only after the second set of coins are collected before capturing at least 80% silhouette.
Items.
When the player loses a life, the items the player collected are placed around where the cursor last was.
Stages.
In single player mode, the game initially has 8 stages, but an extra stage is added for every 100% silhouette capture. The number of stages can be extended to a maximum of 12.
During stage selection, 2 normal models swap positions at random, until only 1 stage remains. After unlocking 2 stages, a random normal model is switched to R2X-G775 Nanako, then it randomly swaps position with another unchallenged stage at regular time interval until Nanako is completed. If there is only 1 stage left and Nanako is not challenged, Nanako switches with the other girl at regular time interval.
In stage 12 or Nanako stage, there are 2 bosses in the game.
Bonus games occur after every 3 stages, but are different from S.
If a stage is incomplete before time runs out, the stage is restarted. Time can be replenished by continuing (which resets timer to 120), or dying when remaining time is under 40 seconds (which adds 30 seconds to timer).
Models.
As in S, there are 13 models in this game, but only at most 12 are playable within 1 game. Male models are no longer exist in this game, but the twin model was introduced as Rui & Ruri Futaba.
Show Time.
Show time deluxe is now named DX Showtime.
English version.
An English version was released for the Asian and European market. It came with changes:
It also features changes to the 2-player game mode, VS.
2-player VS mode.
The VS mode is different from that found in Gals Panic 4 and Gals Panic S. Both players reside on the same board rather than having their own.
In VS mode, there is only 1 round. The round starts with a random girl background with both players on different but equally sized areas of captured backgrounds. A colour bar on top indicates the amount of background each player has captured. Linking disjointed background causes both areas be owned by the player. When a player captures a large piece of uncaptured background at once such that letter appears, the player shoots a homing laser to the other player, causing the other player to lose a life.
The game ends if at least one side loses all lives, or the stage is completed with at least 80% captured area. If one side loses all lives, the other side with remaining lives win. If the stage is completed with at least 80% captured area, the side with most captured area wins.
2-player COMBI mode.
This is similar to the cooperative mode found in GP3 and other games, but a player cannot take the life of the other by trapping other player in a captured background.
Marketing.
In the Japanese version of the game, Super Kaneko Dial system is introduced, which features a model-specific code is earned by capturing the phone in a stage. After completing the stage, the game character tells player to dial a specific phone number and use the code appear on screen. In addition, completing all stages or all stages with 100% captured silhouette cause different codes to be shown.
The phone service allows dialer to obtain private information about the characters and hear their conversations.
Super Kaneko Dial is currently out of service.
Gals Panic SU.
Produced for the Korean market, this is a modified version of "Gals Panic S2" featuring English language voice-work and on-screen text. It could be bought as a kit to modify existing "Gals Panic S2" boards.
Gals Panic S3.
This is the last game in the series.
High score.
Score feature removed since "Gals Panic 2" returns in this episode. When continuing, the existing score is kept, but adds 1 point for every continue attempt. Score appears after clearing a stage.
If player can complete the game with only 1 credit, player can enter name. The high score table consists of 3 records, with each record containing score, name (3 characters), total completion time.
Panic attack.
In addition to powerup item attack, Panic attack occurs when over 10% of silhouette is captured.
Enemies.
The line up is same as "Gals Panic S2", but the behaviours of bosses are derived from "Panic Street". Boss body moves faster, has smaller collision zones, and counterattacks earlier than S2 counterpart.
Stages.
In single player mode, the game has 10 stages. After completing 6 stages, all models are available again. The silhouettes in stages 7–10 can be different from the early counterparts, depending on model.
Bonus games occur after every 3 stages, and the games are as same as S2.
Models.
There are 8 models in this game, but no hidden characters.
Show Time.
In Show Time, a picture of the model with normal outfit is shown, but with exposed underwear. In DX Show Time, a picture with the topless version of the model in panties is shown.
If Show Time is reached in stage 7 or later, a picture of the model with alternate outfit is shown, but with exposed underwear.
Items.
When player loses a life, only a Speedup and another item, either Speedup or Powerup, is dropped. The dropped items are arranged in a predefined grid. Item line up is same as in S2, except without phone.
Gals Panic SP.
It is an early release of "Gals Panic S3" (ギャルズパニックＳＰ　プリント大作戦), which includes printer support, and with release date of 2001–07. This feature was removed in final "Gals Panic S3" version.
It was the only game in the series exclusive to Japan (with the exception of "Gals Panic SS") and also the last game released by Kaneko.
2-player mode.
Variations.
There are a number of 2-player mode variations featured across all the games.
COMBI mode.
This appears in most versions of the game, both players are on the same board and start in the same area.
VS.
The meaning of VS mode varies depending on the version of the game.
"Gals Panic S2", "Gals Panic SU": a slight variation on COMBI mode finds each player on the same board, but they start in their own start area.
"Gals Panic 4", "Gals Panic S": the screen is SPLIT down the middle with each player having their own board. A player wins when the opposing player loses all lives first, or when the player first captures at least 80% of silhouette, or when opposing player has no captured background remaining.
Which game has which mode?
This is how the games shape up in terms of 2-player modes:
Tactics.
If both players are on the same board, as in COMBI or VS modes, a player can gain a life at the expense of the other by capturing an area where the other player is contained.
If players are on separate boards, as in SPLIT mode, bombs can be collected and used to against the other player.
Offshoots.
PlayStation game "Silhouette Stories" is the same style game by a different name, and is also made by Kaneko.
"Panic Street", developed by the same company Kaneko, basically is the same game but without any mature related content and or characters. It was a Japanese exclusive, and ran on the Kaneko Super NOVA System.