Undead Line

Undead Line
Developer(s)	T&E Soft
Publisher(s)	T&E Soft Palsoft (SMD) BEEP (re-release)
Director(s)	Tokihiro Naito
Designer(s)	Tokihiro Naito
Programmer(s)	Tetsuya Yamamoto
Artist(s)	Etsuko Suzuki Hideaki Shinmura Takahiro Hachiya
Composer(s)	Kazunori Hasegawa
Platform(s)	MSX2/MSX2+ X68000 Sega Mega Drive
Release	MSX2/MSX2+ JP: July 22, 1989 JP: February 28, 2020 (re-release) X68000 JP: September 14, 1990 JP: July 31, 2020 (re-release) Mega Drive JP: December 20, 1991
Genre(s)	Vertically scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and originally published by T&E Soft for the MSX2 and MSX2+ home computers. It was later ported to the X68000 computer and Sega Mega Drive, published by Palsoft, followed by digital re-releases for Microsoft Windows. Both the MSX2 and X68000 versions also received physical re-releases by Japanese retailer BEEP. It follows a group of characters in rescue of queen Althea from Zidane, a kingdom surrounded by barriers connected with the demon world, whose monsters have overflowed it. Controlling either a fighter, wizard, or ninja, the player can choose from six stages and play them in any order, fighting against waves of enemies and bosses, while defending or avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles.

Undead Line was directed and designed by Tokihiro Naito, who previously worked on Hydlide and Hydlide 3, with Tetsuya "Futaro" Yamamoto serving as main programmer. The soundtrack was composed by Kazunori Hasegawa. Due to T&E Soft liking to push its playtesters to the limits and as their skills improved naturally, it led to the designers increasing the difficulty to keep up with them, particularly paying attention to both enemy movement and spawn patterns. Because of its rarity, original copies of the MSX2 version commands high prices on the secondary game collecting market. The game received generally favourable reception from critics, most of which reviewed it as an import title, although its difficulty has been criticized.

Undead Line is a vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up game with role-playing elements, that plays from a top-down perspective.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The plot revolves around Zidane, a country surrounded by barriers connected with the demon world, whose monsters have overflowed it after being broken during a previous regime. Queen Althea manages the kingdom, as his father became exhausted from battle and fell ill, but she is kidnapped by a creature from the demon world. Joined by the wizard Dino and the ninja Ruika, the fighter Leon stands up to rescue his sister.^[1][5] Prior to starting, the player has the option to change the game's difficulty or activate rapid fire.^[4][5] Controlling either the fighter, wizard, or ninja, the player can choose from the first six stages and play them in any order, fighting against an assortment of enemy waves, while defending or avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles.

There are seven stages in total, which include forests, cemetery, dungeons, and caverns.^[2][4][5] The scenery is constantly scrolling and never stops moving until a miniboss or a boss is reached, which must be fought to progress further. Each playable character possess their own offense and defense methods, such as Leon being able to block incoming projectiles with his shield or Dino turning himself invisible to pass over enemies.^[3] Scattered across every stage are tresure chests containing power-ups that open when shot, ranging from beneficial or harmful items such as a speed boost or poison, to multiple types of weapons.^[3][5] Picking up a new weapon grants its initial state and can be upgraded by picking the same weapon twice in a row. In the Sega Mega Drive version, they can be cycled through other weapons and power-ups by firing at them.

After defeating a boss, the player can increase their overall status by granting experience points (EXP) to any of the character's four characteristics: strength (ST), magic (MP), dexterity (DX), and agility (AG).^[3][5] Diamonds can also be found within chests to gain additional experience points.^[5] Getting hit by an enemy or blocked by an obstacle and scrolled offscreen decreases the player's life. Once completely depleted, it will result in losing a live stock, as well as a penalty of decreasing the overall firepower of the character's currently equipped weapon to its original state and starting back at the beginning of a stage. The game is over once all lives are lost.

Undead Line was developed by T&E Soft, best known for the Hydlide series.^[6] It was directed and designed by Tokihiro Naito, who previously worked on Hydlide and Hydlide 3, under supervision of Eiji Yokoyama and Toshiro Yokoyama.^[7][8][9] Tetsuya "Futaro" Yamamoto served as main programmer, with Katsushi Morizane and Shigeru Tomita providing subroutines.^[7][10] Etsuko Suzuki, Hideaki Shinmura, Kayoko Miura, Kenji Nakashima, Takahiro Hachiya, Takako Hayase, and Yuuji Hattori were responsible for designing the artwork.^[7] The music was scored by Kazunori Hasegawa.^[7] According to Tetsuya Yamamoto, T&E Soft liked pushing its playtesters to their limits by cutting a hole in paper and using it to cover the screen so only a portion of the playfield was visible at any time.^[10] Yamamoto recounted that this led the designers increasing the difficulty to keep up with the testers, as their skills improved naturally, with T&E Soft particularly paying attention to both enemy movement and spawn patterns.^[9][10]

Undead Line was first published for the MSX2 and MSX2+ in Japan on July 22, 1989 by T&E Soft.^[1][2][3] The game was later ported to the X68000 on September 14, 1990, featuring improved visuals and audio, as well as two additional stages.^[11] It was also ported to the Sega Mega Drive, published by Palsoft on December 20, 1991.^[12] Each version was re-released in digital form for Microsoft Windows through D4 Enterprise's Project EGG service.^{[13][14][15][16]} In 2020, both the MSX2 and X68000 versions received physical re-releases by Japanese retailer BEEP as part of their "BEEP Extra Games" lineup, intended for reprinting games on their initial platforms, as original copies of the MSX2 version commands high prices on the secondary game collecting market due to its rarity.^{[6][17][18][19]}

Reception
Review scores Publication Score Famitsu 21/40 (SMD)[20] Console XS 85/100 (SMD)[22] Game Zone 82/100 (SMD)[23] Mega Drive Advanced Gaming 88% (SMD)[24] MegaTech 79% (SMD)[25] MSX Club (MSX2)[26] MSX Gids (MSX2)[27] MSX Magazine (JP) 7/6/7 (MSX2)[28] Oh!X 8/10 (X68000)[29] Sega Pro 84% (SMD)[30] Technopolis (MSX2)[31]

Undead Line received generally favourable reception from critics,^[20] most of which reviewed it as an import title.^[32][24] The Sega Mega Drive version received scores of 18.08 out of 30 and 6.6428 out of 10 in public polls taken by Mega Drive Fan and the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine respectively.^[33][34] Technopolis highlighted its mixture of role-playing and shooting elements, and the ability to select any stage but noted its difficulty.^[31] The Japanese MSX Magazine echoed similar sentiments but also noted the ability to choose between characters, commending its playability, visuals, and scenario.^[28] MSX Club's Pere Baño praised the colorful graphics, addictive fast-pacing, sound, presentation, and originality.^[26] An editor for MSX Gids lauded its audiovisual presentation and quality, comparing it favourably with Knightmare (1986).^[27] Oh!X's Hiroaki Kageyama commended the X68000 port for taking advantage of the system's hardware and the addition of extra stages. Kageyama also gave positive remarks to the game's idea and intensity.^[29]

Games-X reviewed the Mega Drive version, commending its presentation for the detailed backgrounds, enemy animations, and atmosphere. However, they saw its difficulty even on the easiest setting as a negative.^[21] Sega Pro's Damian Butt shared similar thoughts regarding its high difficulty, remarking that it may prove frustrating for players and criticized issues with collision detection. Regardless, Butt praised the "arcade-quality" graphics, large bosses, audio, and long-term gameplay.^[30] MegaTech's Mark Patterson and Paul Glancey found it to be playable shoot 'em up but both remarked that "a couple of problems lead to frustration" and noted the lack of additional option settings.^[25] Console XS gave the Mega Drive port high marks for its visuals, sound, gameplay, and challenge.^[22] Game Zone's Graham Lineham commented that the environmental hazards made the game more interesting compared to standard shoot 'em ups, but concurred with both Games-X and Butt about its tough difficulty. Lineham wrote that "It loses points for being a shoot 'em-up (...) but gains a few for its neat ideas, attractive graphics and silkily smooth gameplay."^[23]

• MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.^[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".^[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.^[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.^[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.^[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.^[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.^[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.^[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.^[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.^[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).^[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,^[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.^[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.^[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.^[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.^[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.^[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.^[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.^[17]

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

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