#cp system

The following is a translation of plot summaries and character descriptions for the 1991 Capcom arcade title 3 Wonders as featured in the December 1991 issue of Micom BASIC Magazine. 3 Wonders was actually an anthology of three different games (each part of a different genre) in one board. The games included were Midnight Wanderers: Quest for the Chariot (action shooter), Chariot: Adventure through the Sky (flying shooter) and Don’t Pull (puzzle). The first two games in this anthology are actually set in the same universe and involve the same two protagonists, with Midnight Wanderers being part 1 and Chariot being part 2.

Protagonists

Lou - A hot-blooded 12-year old adventurer. Although it is unclear, he was told by his father that they were the last descendants of the holy warrior who wielded the Mirror of Lalu back in the middle ages. What is known that his father was also a great adventurer himself. After losing his father at the age of 7, Lou continuing adventuring by himself without making any friends until he met Siva. According to Lou himself, Siva is only with him by his own accord, but in reality he’s pretty reliant on his help. He boasts that his dream is to uncover all the treasures of the world someday.

Height: 160cm, Weight: 48kg, Hair: Brown, Eyes: Black

Siva - He met Lou in the outback of Mongolian and has since become his companion. Where he was born or how he was raised is unknown, but he claims to be 14 years old. He is very silent, rarely speaking for himself, preferring to let Lou do the talking, but in recent years he’s been more talkative thanks to Lou’s influence. His sharp mind and cool judgment has saved Lou on many occasions. His hobby is collecting small antiques.

Height: 164cm, Weight: 52kg, Hair: Red, Eyes, Black

Midnight Wanderers: Quest for the Chariot

Story

Beings who changed into people and controlled the world appeared. They are demons who like to kill and plunder, and they have no faith in God.

During the age of darkness, in the middle of the turmoil, there were adventurers who lived freely and traveled the world in search for treasures. They were called the Midnight Wanderers.

My name is Lou and this is my pardner Siva. And we are adventurers who travel all around the world.

One night an old man holding the Card of Dawn came to visit us. He was wondering if we could help him retrieve the chariot. The chariot is a vehicle that can move freely into the air. It seems its holy light will save the people from the curse of the demons and lead them into happiness.

We don’t care about helping people, but a vehicle that can move freely in the air sounds like fun. But in order to obtain it, we have no choice but to do battle with the demons. It’s going to be interesting. “Let’s go, Siva!”

Enemies

Ecote - A human-like demon with unusually-shaped ears who lives as part of a clan under a large tree. They like liquor and smokes. It’s easy to dismiss their lifestyle as uncultured, in reality they have a much higher sense of culture than anyone could imagined. However, their sense of intellect is pretty low and they enjoy making other beings miserable. They have propensity towards shining objects and have a tendency to steal them. Although, they’re not a particularly scary type of small fry enemy, they can take advantage of your careless, leading to a painful experience.

Piccolino - A type of humanoid robot that were built by humans a long time ago. The Piccolino robots were once popular among mankind, opting serving as conversation partners. But after people got tired of these seemingly unfeeling automatons, they were abandoned as trash and gradually forgotten about. Perhaps for the Piccolinos, they might be happier being controlled by the demons... They are manipulated by a pair of disembodied hands (Pata Pata) and make a large jump as their attack. When the hands are destroyed, the robots will disappear on the spot.

Miatsu - They are creatures who live in places with little light such as caves and they feed on luminous moss. Although they move slow, they are capable of spitting out flames.

Garny - They live in the depths of the wetlands and will fly into the air to attack when they detect an enemy on the land. Its arms and nails are quite strong and sturdy, but its head is its only weak point. It moves in a large wave-like pattern, going above and below the ground regardless of the player’s position.

Pukupuku - A usually mild and gentle creature, but he is territorial awareness is so strong, he will attack any outsider without announcing its presence. It usually wanders above the water surface aimless, it becomes more aggressive with its pursuit when the player is nearby.

Pucchi - A lower lifeform that resembles a frog. They are always born as twins from the same egg. They live their lives as a pair from the moment of birth, but if one of them is killed, the survivor will run like crazy and the attack the enemy in front of it. Their breeding rate is abnormally high, being born one after the other.

Chariot: Adventure through the Sky

Story

After the demon Gaia, who has been ruling the world for a long time, has been vanquished by the boys known as the Midnight Wanderers, the curse of the demon has been lifted from the people and the world returned to its peaceful days.

But then one night, a wounded fairy arrived at the home of the two boys.

“A new demon has appeared and attacked the land of Ashtar, taking our princess captive. His power is so great, our magic was no use against him. Our only hope is to find the holy Chariot in possession of the Midnight Wanderers. I must ask them to save the Princess in my place.”

Upon hearing the fairy’s plight, the two boys jumped onto the roof of their house, where there was a chariot wrapped in light.

“The Legendary Holy Chariot... Then that means you two are...”

“We, the Midnight Wanderers, are going to save the Princess of Ashtar.”

The two boys shouted strongly, as they rode the chariot  into the sky.

Enemies

Lumarta - A so-called small fry enemy. While their strength are minimal, they are hard to get rid of since there are so many of them.

Dooga Line - A so-called formation enemy. They line up in a straight line to attack the player. Their speed increases during the second half of the adventure. An enemy type that doesn’t give up...

Hatch-20 - A face that hides in the terrain and spawns enemies from its mouth to obstruct the player’s path.

Amagmorn - A couple of rain clouds who attack as a pair. Even if you destroy one, the other will duplicate itself. It is dangerous to try and take them both at the same time.

Faceblock - They used to be lifeless fragments of floors and walls until they were brought to life by the Demon Lar’s magic powers and now they move freely into the air. When a Facebloock see that the player is open, it will launch itself into the player in the air. When they’re destroyed, they will break into smaller pieces that can still damage the player, so be careful.

Golden Bat - One-eyed bat-like creatures spawned from Hatch-20′s mouth. Since they act in groups, there’s a possibility of getting swarmed by them if you underestimate them.

Wayne - A moon-like enemy that wanes every time it takes damage. He is difficult to destroy, but when you do it, he will leave behind an item that will give you a large amount of points.

Witch - She flies in high speed with her broom and can create her own underlings out of thin air. The four underlings she creates are elemental beings known as Tornedia, Ganrock, Jelly and Burns, each with its own attack pattern.

Tornedia - A small tornado which pursues the player at high speed.

Ganrock - A one-eyed rock that doesn’t move much and doesn’t attack much either, but his resistant body often stands in the player’s path.

Jelly - A gelatinous being created by the witch that spreads over a wide area and strikes regularly. A single Jelly is not dangerous by itself, but when it is in groups...

Burns - A fiery being that chases the player.

Armstrong - A mechanical rocket (modeled after the ship from A Trip to the Moon) with considerable durability. A large sub-boss with wide attacks. Once its destroyed, it will leave behind an item.

Wall Goblin - A creature with a large steel wall on its back. He is invulnerable when he turns his back on the player and can only be damaged when facing him face to face.

Tin Snake - Like its name suggests, it’s a snake made out of tin that restlessly pursues the player.

Jack’in - A Jack-in-the-box like enemy that puts out its clown face when it starts attacking. If you only destroy the head, the box will simply create another.

Seesaw Trolley - A trolley that uses a seesaw to launch a projectile into the air. Once the projectile is in the air, it gets split into several smaller bullets. The projectile falls in a parabola pattern.

Three Wonders

did you think multicarts were only found on consoles? think again!

the composition overall is what I’d describe as competent. “Don’t Pull” uses several stock tunes, including the William Tell Overture, but is otherwise cutesy saccharine nonsense. 

Midnight Wanderer Roosters alternates between heroic orchestral and tense boss music

Chariot is the closest anything comes to a prog flavor, again a lot thanks to the boss tunes.

U.N. Squadron

i mean, yeah, this is pretty good overal, but god these smooth tunes go so....smooth. 

(”go hard” isn’t quite applicable when you’re lounging, is it?)

Varth: Operation Thunder Storm

“Pod Type Select“ feels proggy though I don’t know if I would classify it as such. 

besides that, I wasn’t much a fan of these. they have a metal feel to them for the most part, with a few exceptions here and there