Scion is a vertical-scrolling shoot ’em up released for the arcade in 1984. Developed by Seibu Denshi and licensed to Cinematronics for North American distribution, the game puts players in the cockpit of an aircraft navigating the futuristic supercity of Crystal Heaven. The core gameplay loop involves shooting down aerial enemies while strategically bombing ground targets to clear a path through the city’s defenses.
How to Play
Your objective is to fight through the layers of the multi-level city, taking out enemy ships and ground structures to reach the end-level bosses. A unique mechanic requires players to destroy specific special ships to obtain bombs, which are essential for destroying the latticed ground targets blocking your path. In the browser, the standard arcade controls are mapped to the Arrow keys for 8-way movement, with Z and X serving as your primary fire and bomb buttons, and Enter/Shift for Start and Coin inserts.
Tips
- Focus on obtaining bombs early; without them, you cannot clear the ground structures and will be trapped.
- Prioritize the special ships carrying the extra weapons as soon as they appear on screen.
- Keep moving to avoid being cornered by incoming waves of enemy fighters.
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