Terra Cresta
Sequel to Moon Cresta, featuring a unique ship-part powerup system.
Terra Cresta, a 1985 arcade game from Nichibutsu, is a vertical shooter where players pilot a craft against the Mandler army to save humanity. It follows the fixed shooter Moon Cresta as the second entry in the Cresta series. Gameplay involves collecting ship parts, each granting a unique weapon like a wave gun or double shot.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Nichibutsu
- Designer
- Shigeki Fujiwara
- Composer
- Kenji Yoshida
- Released
- September 1985 (JP); November 1985 (NA)
- Platforms
- Arcade
- Commodore 64
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- X68000
- ZX Spectrum
- Genre
- Scrolling shooter
- Series
- Cresta
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The player controls the Wing Galibur fighter craft and must shoot down enemy craft in the air and on the ground. Small capsules appear on the ground; shooting all of them awards a piece that attaches to the Wing Galibur. Four different pieces provide extra firepower and wider shots, also acting as shields. If all pieces are collected and the transform button is pressed, the ship becomes an invulnerable flaming phoenix briefly. Pressing transform without all pieces separates them into a triangular formation; the pieces are invulnerable while the main ship is not. If hit while separated, the Wing Galibur reverts to a singular craft.
Conversions
Ocean Software published conversions for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 on their Imagine Software label. Nichibutsu published a version for the Family Computer in Japan, later released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Vic Tokai with alterations including a remade soundtrack and customizable ship positions when separated. In 1992, Dempa ported Terra Cresta and Moon Cresta to the X68000 as Video Game Anthology Vol. 1. The game was re-released as an in-built game on the Sega Astro City Mini V in 2022.
Reception
Game Machine listed Terra Cresta as the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month in their October 15, 1985 issue. Hardcore Gaming 101 praised the unique power-up system, particularly the ability to split ships apart, and compared the gameplay to Xevious. They also praised Kenji Yoshida's arcade soundtrack using the Yamaha YM3526 sound chip and the NES version's soundtrack as an improvement over the Famicom version. Retro Gamer liked the enhancements over titles like Xevious and the then-contemporary power-up system.
Legacy
Hamster Corporation released Terra Cresta for the PlayStation 2 in 2005 as part of their Oretachi Gēsen Zoku series, including a mini soundtrack CD and replica instruction card. Hamster later released it digitally for the PlayStation 4 in 2014 and the Nintendo Switch in 2018 under the Arcade Archives series. The Famicom version was digitally re-released for Windows in 2014 by D4 Enterprise via Project EGG, and for the Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 in 2026. Rights are now owned by Hamster after acquiring Nihon Bussan's video game library in 2013.
More in Commodore 64 Game Library
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced