Cho Ren Sha 68K

of the third stage in Cho Ren Sha 68K Cho Ren Sha 68K is a vertically scrolling shooter game. Destroying an enemy carrier releases a rotating triangle containing three items: a weapon power-up that increases bullet spread, extra bombs, and a shield that protects the player from a single hit. The game's scoring system is based on destroying enemies, earning bonus points upon completing a stage, and collecting items. Points are only awarded for reaching the maximum number of weapon power-ups, as well as having a full stock of bombs and an active shield. The game consists of seven stages and two loops. The second loop begins after defeating the final boss of the first and increases in difficulty, with destroyed enemies launching projectiles at the player. After defeating the true final boss of the second loop, the player can access more difficult loops using the continue option. A boss rush mode can be accessed through a hidden menu at the configuration screen. == Development ==

. Late in the computer's lifespan, guidebooks about its hardware helped grow its doujin and freeware scenes. Cho Ren Sha 68K was created by designer, programmer, and artist Koichi "Famibe no Yosshin" Yoshida. These included Metal! Itō (1990), V5 Denden (1991), and Zacner II (1993). In 1993, Yoshida started developing the game by establishing a code library for the X68000, as guidebooks about its hardware published late in its lifespan galvanized the computer's doujin and freeware scenes. One of Yoshida's main goals in his design concept for Cho Ren Sha 68K was to evoke a fun sense of destruction and make shooting exciting. He recalled that the game was influenced by various shooters such as Tatsujin Ō, Batsugun, Battle Garegga, among others. Yoshida wanted to recreate a technique from older shooters where enemies are dealt more damage up close through various mechanics, and he was looking for a balance reminiscent of Star Force. These mechanics contradicted Yoshida's plans for the game, so he decided to constantly reduce the size of enemy hitboxes, resulting in some enemies being redrawn to fit their hitboxes. He had been writing original music for the X68000 and uploading it via a network system during his high school period. He took over scoring the soundtrack for the project when a partner known only by the pseudonym "Zuruyan" introduced him to Yoshida, who was looking for a composer during Pasoket, a doujin soft sales event held in Osaka by the company of the same name. Kashiwagi drew influence from Viewpoint (1992) and Battle Garegga for the game's music. He stated that he made his own Eurobeat for the first stage, taking inspiration from Namie Amuro's song Taiyou no Season, and regarded the third stage and boss themes to be his favorites. A soundtrack album for Cho Ren Sha 68K was released in Japan on August 14, 1998 by Denkai Laboratory, an independent circle formed in 1995 by Kashiwagi and Zuruyan. In 2003, Denkai Laboratory distributed a three-CD album at the 64th Comic Market (Comiket) subtitled Complete Edition, containing the game's original soundtrack as well as arranged and reworked tracks. In 2006, the Complete Edition album was reissued through D4 Enterprise's EGG Music digital service. == Release ==

The game was first released for the X68000 in December 1994 as a sampler at the 47th Comiket, under the name Sekizui Hansha de Acchoo, in Yoshida's circle "Cho Ren Sha 68K". In August 1995, a version with two stages was sold during the 48th Comiket. It remained under the name Sekisui Hansha de Acchoo until the 49th Comiket. Later versions of the game released at Comiket were distributed under its final title, Cho Ren Sha 68K. The full version with seven stages was released in December 1997 at the 53rd Comiket. On August 23, 2001, Cho Ren Sha 68K was ported to Microsoft Windows and released on Yoshida's website as freeware. Yoshida decided porting the game to Windows as a learning experience after finishing the X68000 version. The Windows version runs at 60 frames per second (fps) without slowdown, rather than the 55 fps of the original X68000 version, making the game more difficult. An unreleased version of Cho Ren Sha 68K dubbed "1.10", featuring revamped graphics and sound effects, was bundled with the X68000 Z, a miniature recreation of the X68000 released in March 2023. In June 2023, version 1.10 was released on Yoshida's website as a free disk image download for use with real hardware and emulators. In January 2025, an updated Windows version based on version 1.10 was released on Yoshida's website, with an auto rapid fire option added. == Reception ==

Cho Ren Sha 68K received generally favorable reception. A reviewer for Game Hihyō labelled the game as a doujin masterpiece that represented the X68000. Shooting Gamesides Haruhisa Tanaka called it the most famous original X68000 shooter, arguing that it stood out among doujin titles. Retro Gamers John Szczepaniak named it one of the three perfect games for the X68000. Hardcore Gaming 101s Maciej Miszczyk lauded its intense gameplay, level design, bosses, and energetic soundtrack, proclaiming the game to be among classics of the shoot 'em up genre. In 2017, the Japanese publication DOS/V Power Report identified it as one of the top 100 PC games. In 2022, Time Extension also listed it as one of the best X68000 games. Windows Forests Masaho Saitō praised the gameplay, feeling that finding a strategy to achieve a high score was fun. He highlighted the game's detailed enemy design and music, but noted the low screen resolution in the Windows version. Home of the Underdogs Sarinee Achavanuntakul considered it an excellent shooter, praising its graphics and soundtrack, but faulted its short length. Atomixs Remy Bastien praised the game's intense action, eye-catching sprites, and soundtrack, but noted that the repetitive background could cause visual monotony. Hardcore Gamers James Cunningham assessed that "Cho Ren Sha 68K may not be the fanciest shooter out there but it nails that classic feel". Dominik Wetter of Freegame.cz commented positively on the game's fast-paced action, but criticized the need to constantly shoot. Filip Štochl of Hrej.cz said the game did not offer anything unseen elsewhere. == Legacy ==

Former Sega staffer Tetsu "Tez" Okano, known for his directorial work on titles such as Segagaga, Astro Boy: Omega Factor, and Gunstar Super Heroes, considered Cho Ren Sha 68K one of his favorite shooting games. Developers Antti "Ebbo" Ukkola and Eero "Eebrozgi" Lahtinen of System Erasure cited the game as an influence on ZeroRanger. In a 2018 interview with 4Gamer.net, Rival Megagun creator Justin Rempel proclaimed Cho Ren Sha 68K to be the shooting game he admires most. In the years since, fans have experimented with unofficial ports and remakes of Cho Ren Sha 68K to other platforms. In 2015, a beta of an Atari Falcon port, developed by Sascha "Anima" Springer, was released online. In 2016, Takashi "Faw Labo" Yamashita, who had worked as a programmer on games such as Super Star Soldier and Star Parodier, created a demake of the game for the Super Cassette Vision. == Notes ==