The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner (shortened to 3-D WorldRunner on the North American box art), originally released in Japan as , is a 1987 third-person rail shooter platform video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer Disk System. It was later ported to cartridge format and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo Entertainment System. 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and had to leap over obstacles and chasms. It was also one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games. WorldRunner was designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli, with music composed by Nobuo Uematsu. All were later core members of the team behind the Final Fantasy role-playing video game series.

Gameplay

thumb|256px|left|WorldRunner battles Menacing Meanies in the first world.

WorldRunner features many sprite-based elements that are typical of a forward-scrolling rail shooter game, where the player focuses on destroying or dodging onscreen enemies against a scrolling background. While North American copies of the game included a pair of 3D glasses for players to view the effect,

Plot

Players assume the role of Jack the WorldRunner, a wild "space cowboy" on a mission to save various planets overrun by serpentine beasts. The game takes place in Solar System #517, which is being overrun by a race of aliens known as Serpentbeasts, who are led by the evil Grax. As WorldRunner, the player must battle through eight planets to find and destroy Grax with fireballs.

Reception

At the time of release, Cashbox magazine praised the game's visual effects and the variety of enemies and obstacles.

In retrospective reviews, the game had a mixed reception. Game Informer praises the surrealistic landscape and behind the character running capability, but noted that they were not capable of seeing the 3D effect even with the 3D glasses on. They did applaud the soundtrack and the bright visuals, comparing the color palette to Fantasy Zone.

Commercially, the game was met with modest success, selling roughly 500,000 copies worldwide.

Legacy

is a Japan-only follow-up to the game released on December 7, 1987, developed by the same team who did the original, but as a regular cart instead of for the Disk System. JJ was one of the few games to utilize the Famicom 3D System, and was Square's last work before the inception of the popular Final Fantasy franchise.

JJ moves at a much faster pace with increased difficulty, plus a more "sinister" art style and use of color. The soundtrack was again composed by Nobuo Uematsu, and each track was made to match the respective track from the first game.

See also

  • Space Harrier 3-D

Notes

References

  • とびだせ大作戦 | SQUARE ENIX
  • ジェイ ジェイ | SQUARE ENIX