Ai Senshi Nicol - MAME software

Nintendo Famicom disk published 37 years ago:

愛戦士ニコル © 1987 Konami Industry Company, Limited.
(Ai Senshi Nicol)

Ai Senshi Nicol is a top-view action game. Nicol is a 14-year old prodigy scientist living in Neo Tokyo but his recent research on dimension travelling suddenly takes a turn for the worse. A powerful and evil alien from the Dairasu star system decides to steal his work in order to conquer the universe and sends one of his bio-monster to kidnap Stella, Nicol's beloved girlfriend. The young scientist has no choice - he must now embark on a long journey on-board his hovercraft to rescue his damsel. The ultimate goal in each level is to find each one of the three hidden diamonds that the alien demon has hidden there and to rush to the next stage. Although Nicol starts his journey with a fairly basic Cannon-Gun, he will eventually be able to upgrade his main weapon in all sorts of ways, such as its fire rate (increases the amount of shots he can fire on the screen at one time), range enhancements (the weapon's effective range distance) and power enhancements (increase the Cannon-Gun power from energy-bullets to energy-crosses and energy-orbs). Nicol can also improve his health by collecting energy-tanks which will allow him to store a lot more life than the initial twelve points. Additionally, Nicol can collect Cosmo Balls that will damage all enemies on screen, including bosses. Finally, Nicol can dramatically improve his equipment - his Astro-Wear and Astro-Pants provide him with some protection and can absorb enemy hits, whereas his Power-Shoes allow him to increase his speed and jumping abilities.

Ai Senshi Nicol consists of seven large stages and is single-player only.

TECHNICAL
Game ID: KDS-AIN

TRIVIA
Ai Senshi Nicol was released on April 24, 1987 in Japan. Retail price: 2980 Yen.

Like several other early Konami games released in the 1980s/1990s, Ai Senshi Nicol included a numbered collector card.

TIPS AND TRICKS
Stage select:
At the title screen, press and hold Right, A, B and press Start to start the game at the second stage. Additionally, if you press and hold Left, A, B and press Start, you will start the game at the third stage.

Underground levels:
Each stage (except for stage 5) has an underground level that can be accessed by falling into gaps or holes in the ground. Don't forget to visit them!

Hidden tiles and power-ups:
Don't rush through the game! To make the most out of Ai Senshi Nicol, it is advised to spend a little time exploring the various stages. Most of the power enhancements in the game are hidden beneath tiles scattered throughout the levels, and these tiles can only be revealed by shooting at them. Therefore it is highly recommended to shoot your gun around each screen in order to find them! (although the last stage allows you to fully upgrade Nicol before the final boss battle).

PORTS
Konami re-released Ai Senshi Nicol in 2006 on mobile phone in Japan as part of the Konami Masterpiece series.

CONTRIBUTE
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