Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth

Overview

Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth (also known by the title "Hikari no Senshi Foton", meaning "Soldier of Light Photon") is based on the toy license with the equally grandiose title that would later be rebranded as Laser Tag.

It is a 3D maze game like Wizardry and many other computer games of the period, though instead of an RPG the game is a shooter. It was never released outside of Japan, despite Photon being a US trademark.

Gameplay

The goal is to explore the maze, including its many floors, while shooting down the alien creatures and finding items to help the main character's quest. The player can move up or to the sides, provided those directions are not blocked by a wall. When turning left or right, the next screen will still face forward but the player will have turned 90 degrees. Items like the compass and counter should help the player from getting too lost, as much of the maze looks identical.

The player has a maximum of 1000 hit points, though this can be increased with a specific item that appears three times, to a maximum of 9999. They can be recovered by shooting the alien attackers as they pass by.

Items

• Loader: A rectangular device with green markings. Necessary to play the disks that can be found.
• Disk: A rectangle with red markings. There are 12 disks and each one contains a useful hint. The loader must be found before any of the disks can be accessed.
• Counter: A device that allows the player to view their co-ordinates, helpful for recording sites of interest and exits.
• Compass: A device that tells the player which direction the screen is pointing towards.
• Sensor: A device that makes finding secret walls easier.
• Card: Necessary to open certain doors.
• Teleporter and Marker: The teleporter device allows the player to instantly move to where the marker is. The marker can be collected and placed wherever the player chooses.
• Yellow Stone: A yellowish diamond. Needed to traverse yellow vertical shafts. Without the right stone, the player will simply plummet down these shafts to the bottom floor.
• Green Stone: A green diamond. Works the same as the Yellow Stone, but for green shafts.
• Red Stone: A red diamond. Works the same as the Yellow and Green stones.
• Photo Stone: A diamond of many colors. Will permanently increase the player's health.