Sci-Vax

Sci-Vax is a fictional character and a protagonist coming from Data East's 1989 arcade game Act-Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon. Act-Fancer is part of Data East's "evolution series" and true to the part Sci-Vax possess ability to evolve upon consuming necessary items and devolve when either being shot or time expires without constantly obtaining evolutionary items.

Characteristics
Sci-Vax is a living weapon capable of evolution. As Sci-Vax evolves, it gradually changes from semi-animal shape to more humanoid shape, and its size increases (while increasingly more powerful, it is not always a good news due to being bigger size = being bigger target), and secondary weapons are added to enhance its firepower. After a period of time, it is devolved by one step, and all forms except when in the basest form are returned to their initial form as soon as they are hit by an enemy shot or through collision.

When hold joystick ↑ while holding jump button Sci-Vax hovers and come down slowly.


 * Form 0: Nats - basest and the weakest form. Can only shoot forward and no secondary arsenals whatsoever. If Sci-Vax gets shot or collide in this state, it will die.


 * Form 1: Ciss - the initial form Sci-Vax begins his campaign in the game. Its secondary weapon is reflecting energy balls when it touches the ground.


 * Form 2: Shiffon - Next form that are more powerful than the previous two forms. When Sci-Vax shoots its secondary weapon it becomes flame pillars touching the topography. Although this form's secondary weapon can be helpful when Sci-Vax is on the ground, when Sci-Vax shoots from the air, its secondary weapon takes time to reach the ground. This can cause problems during gameplay, as Sci-Vax cannot concentrate its firepower on nearby enemies.

Form 3: Ikus - Sci-Vax shoots fan-shaped explosives as its secondary weapon at the top. But the secondary weapon cannot attack the front and back.

Form 4: Benev - Sci-Vax shoots bullets coming from behind for a split second then hurl forward fast. While bullets spread up and down widely, but the bottom portion is mostly blocked by indestructible terrains.

Form 5: Ares - Sci-Vax shoots the secondary weapon from the diagonal and breaks into eight directions. The angle is fixed, so it can only damage enemies who are aligned correctly within that angle.

Form 6: Sakuros - Sci-Vax's ultimate form. Shoots longest primary beam and launch homing missiles as secondary weapon. Player can see the direction in which the lock-on sign is drawn to the oncoming enemies.

Story
A military transport plane with a top-secret mission has crash-landed in the capital of an industrialized country by a 'human error'. What the transporter was carrying was an experimental bio-weapon that parasitizes on all life forms, with an ability to spread, multiply and propagate its own genes within its host life forms, causing grotesque mutations to host organisms. The bio-weapon also reveals to be extremely prolific and contagious. Infestation was rapid, and the whole capital of the victimized country where the outbreak began fell.

If continue to be left unchecked, the bio-weapon's infestation will ultimately spread beyond the capital and contaminate all over the world, resulting in annihilation of human race. The military headquarter who were in the charge of the experimental bio-weapon created and dispatched another experimental bio-weapon that has the ability to utilize antibody gene reaction to evolve itself by altering its corporeal structure corresponding to its surrounding environment or situation. The evolving bio-weapon is sent to the infested capital in order to prevent infestation going out of control.

The weapon's name is SCI-VAX.

Sci-Vax first must clear out infestation on the surface of the capital, once a heavily populated city overrun by the bio-weapon's mutated monsters. When monsters die they give evolutionary orbs which enable Sci-Vax to evolve onto more powerful forms. After negotiating through various mutant abominations and bypassing indestructible organic generators that endlessly spawning mutated insects, Sci-Vax duels against Feurer, a gigantic mutated snake that spits 3-way shots, sending mutant bugs and with a propensity to bite. After a fight which can be easy or hard depending on player's skill, Feuer is destroyed. But Sci-Vax's clean up work is not yet over.

After killing Feuer, the bio-weapon vs. bio-weapon war takes place entirely in underground of the capital. Sci-Vax descends into subterranean sector called Ghost Area with lots of bottomless pitfalls (causing instant death) where is infested by flying and leaping mutants coupled with floating debris. At the end of the area Sc-Vax confronts the boss monster called Balzoeq. Fighting Balzoeq is a two-part duel: first Sc-Vax must destroy the center and after that two flying worm mutants coming in and out of tunnels situated on both sides must be dealt with.

Surviving Ghost Area Sci-Vax ventures further down towards a cave and has to confront aggressive mutants coming from every which way: left, right, back, front and on top. Before reaching the end of the cave Sci-Vax is confronted by a mutated floating head monster that has ability to send out suicidal fly mutants and to dislocate jaw from skull: the two segments can independently function. After dealing with the creature Sc-Vax came under attack by a flying centipede made of eyeballs. The centipede belonged to guardian mutant named Grounatos. Grounatos attacks Sci-Vax by sending eye-centipede (which can also send its own piece for attacking), spitting homing mucus, detach its horns and hurl at Sci-Vax. Although Grounatos proved to be very durable and formidable creature, it was no match for Sci-Vax.

Sci-Vax proceeds to rush to a sewer where Sci-Vax has a choice to stay on the platform or it gets to go submerged and fight mutants underwater. Even while underwater on every occasion there will be submerged platform that go floating above and players will get to choose whether to fight above or underwater. But whichever route Sci-Vax takes, the final destination is underwater hideout. Once Sc-Vax reaches end of the sewer a mutated water spider, assisted by two mutant serpents with ability to stretch their neck for biting ambush Sci-Vax. Kill the spider and the boss is finished. If players do not know what they are doing this boss can be tough.

Surfacing from sewer Sci-Vax advances onto the final area, a deeper portion of the sewer where it has very little light, and mutants with the ability to blend into appear from and disappear into the darkness populates this area. Bypassing them Sci-Vax must contend giant predatory worms erupting from sewage. Falling into sewage is instant death so Sci-Vax must be careful bypassing this part. Once dealing with the mutant denizens Sc-Vax engages a guardian mutant, a humanoid face with extendable claws for launching. Sci-Vax destroys the guardian and proceeds to another guardian mutant, a giant limbless humanoid that shoots fast mucus from its mouth and launches mutant bugs. Its weakness is its heart located at the center of its body.

After destroying the second mutant guardian, out of the remains of the second mutant guardian emerges Geagalze, a pure state-of-the-art cybernetic hyper weapon that was aboard the military cargo plane along with the experimental bio-weapon. When the plane crashed, the bio-weapon had Geagalze inject its genetics onto the super weapon. But unlike other mutations Geagalze is not an organism, but a pure machine. Bio-weapon had succeeded not just mutating organisms but a non-sentient machine as well. Also in spite of having Bio-weapon's genes Geagalze still retains its sleek mechanical appearance. Geagalze is armed with fast shot and extremely tenacious homing missiles that can become very troublesome. Unfortunately Geagalze is corrupted by Bio-weapon and it is beyond saving. Sci-Vax and Geagalze engage a duel and after a hard and deadly match Sci-Vax destroys Geagalze, ending all threats and existence to Bio-Weapon.

Trivia

 * Unlike the first two games of "evolution series" which were shmups, Act-Fancer is a run-n'-gun platform game. Also, unlike the first two evolution game, Act-Fancer 's evolutionary tree has no expanding branches and is linear.