Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter

Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter is a card-based strategy game by Irem, featuring characters from various Irem games. It was released in 1993, for the Game Boy. And only in Japan, though the language isn't a barrier.

The game isn't fantastic: the strategic quantity is quite low. But it's an interesting curio for Irem fans.

At the beginning of a stage the player blindly chooses six cards, which can be characters, or power-ups. You are able to redraw if you're unhappy with the selection. Which side takes the first turn is determined via rock, paper, scissors. You get three moves per turn, be they deploying a card, or moving a character to a new point of the map.

The aim is to defeat the boss at the opponent's base. To do this you move your deployed characters, one point per turn, across the map, hopefully minimising damage taken, until you get there. The boss' damage degradation is permanent, so getting a few characters to chip away is going to be the likely course to victory.

Along the way your characters will encounter enemies. Each point-to-point journey is represented by a single-screen, side-view section, which may contain enemies to fight(via one of three mini-games), or sometimes avoid. Winning these battles will earn you HP regeneration, or new cards. A risk versus reward situation. Of course, during play, the other side is attempting the same thing as you are, and you are likely to run into their characters as you travel the map. These also result in battle, though—like with the bosses—they are fought by blindly flipping cards, which each have differing attack strengths. The initiator always gets the first turn. The power-ups are used during these battles.

Success mostly comes down to making sure you take the initiative in the battles (by moving onto occupied points, rather than letting that happen to you)—even at the expense of gaining ground, using items when you're underpowered, refilling health in the between point screens, and having patience.

Each stage, of four, has a theme based on an Irem series. Stage one is based on R-Type, stage two is Mr. Heli / Battle Chopper, stage three is Kid Niki, while the final stage is based round Hammerin' Harry.⁵⁾

	(no clear screen for stage 4)

• Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter - A detailed review, by Shawn, at Digital Monkey Box.