Dogyuun

About Dogyuun

Dogyuun (1992) is Toaplan's vertical shooter in which two pilots can merge their ships into one more powerful craft, a showcase of graphics that marked the game debut of artist Junya Inoue.

Dogyuun in Depth

On the colonised planet Dino, contact with a police communication centre has been lost. Three pilots sent to investigate find it overrun by an alien race of metallic robots holding its staff hostage, and one of them, Kyle, is killed, so the other two counterattack in their Sylfers bomber fighters across ten stages. Ships start with a single laser that can be held on at close range for minor damage when not firing, and destroyed carriers release coloured weapon modules, from homing lasers to a lightning beam, with a 5,000-point bonus for collecting one of the same colour.

The "Unit Beam" system lets the two ships combine into one with far greater firepower, at the risk of losing both to a single shot or collision, and they can split at any time. When separate, each can capture a small enemy for continuous points or hold items. Two modules attach to the ships: a single-use bomb, which also triggers when hit, and a speed module that adds two satellite options to the default weapon. A spinning 1UP icon gives an extra life on one side and 100,000 points on the other, hidden bonuses help reach high scores, checkpoints save progress, and each loop of the game is harder than the last.

Making Dogyuun

Producer Toshiaki Ōta, later founder of Tamsoft and producer of Battle Arena Toshinden, led a small team that had worked on Snow Bros., programming alongside Hiroaki Furukawa, with Tatsuya Uemura composing. Responding to players who felt Toaplan's earlier games did not impress visually, they put graphics before gameplay, and Uemura later said the gameplay suffered and development ran longer than usual. Inoue, who went on to design Knuckle Bash, drew the graphics. Shown at the 1992 AOU Show to positive reviews from seven Gamest writers, it was released in November 1992, and Game Machine listed it as the eleventh most successful table arcade unit in its 15 December issue. EGM praised its intensity and visuals, and GamesMaster noted its "fast and furious" action. Later critics such as Hardcore Gaming 101 and SHMUPS! praised its art, music and bosses and called it one of Toaplan's best lesser-known games, though some found its weapon system and mechanics underdeveloped. It was included in Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 in 2025.