Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Spriggan Mark 2: Re-Terraform Project (PC Engine Super CD-ROM², 1992) is a horizontally scrolling mecha shoot ’em up developed by Compile and published by Naxat Soft. Released in Japan on May 1, 1992, it is a dramatic departure from Seirei Senshi Spriggan, replacing the first game’s fantasy-themed vertical shooting and orb-combination system with hard science fiction, giant robots and a much stronger emphasis on cinematic storytelling.
Rating: 8/10
Rather than feeling like a conventional sequel, Spriggan Mark 2 almost comes across as a different series. You play as pilot Greg Irwin during a conflict involving Mars, colonies and rival military forces. Early in the game Greg pilots the Armed Armor Bartholomeu before eventually transferring to the more powerful Spriggan Mark 2. The story is presented like a playable mecha anime, with frequent voiced conversations, character portraits and scripted events occurring during missions.
Gameplay has also been completely redesigned. Spriggan Mark 2 is a horizontal shooter, and your mech can turn around to fire in either direction. This is more important than it sounds, since enemies frequently attack from behind and several stages are designed around threats approaching from both sides.
The original game’s power-up system is gone. Instead, you have a primary weapon alongside selectable secondary weapons such as homing missiles, beam weapons, a close-range sword, defensive equipment and heavier cannons. Most of the stronger weapons have limited ammunition, so choosing when to use them becomes an important part of the game. Once the Spriggan Mark 2 itself becomes available, you can select different weapon configurations before missions and cycle between weapons during play.
Survivability is handled through a regenerating shield meter rather than traditional one-hit deaths. Damage reduces the shield, but avoiding further attacks allows it to gradually recharge. This makes the game considerably more forgiving than many arcade shooters and encourages tactical retreats when the screen becomes dangerous.
Visually, Spriggan Mark 2 is one of Compile’s more impressive PC Engine CD productions. Large mecha, huge ships, orbital environments, planetary landscapes and city backgrounds give the game a convincing sense of scale. Multi-layer parallax scrolling is used extensively, and background battles often make stages feel like part of a much larger war rather than isolated shooting galleries.
The CD format is put to particularly good use by the audio. The soundtrack is energetic and atmospheric, mixing dramatic sci-fi themes with the driving style expected from Compile. Extensive Japanese voice acting also reinforces the anime presentation, giving the game considerably more personality than the average shooter of the era.
That cinematic focus is also its biggest weakness. Dialogue frequently interrupts or pauses the action while characters speak, which can hurt the pacing, particularly on repeat playthroughs. Players who do not understand Japanese also miss much of what makes these sequences meaningful unless they use a fan translation.
The level design itself is somewhat inconsistent. Some stages are spectacular, with large-scale battles and memorable set pieces, while others feel unusually open or sparse compared with Compile’s tightly designed vertical shooters. The large player sprite can also make certain enemy formations awkward to dodge, although the regenerating shield helps compensate.
Difficulty is relatively moderate by genre standards. The generous shield system and powerful secondary weapons make the game accessible, but harder settings provide more challenge. The main campaign is also fairly short, making it easy to complete in one sitting without becoming exhausting.
Spriggan Mark 2 works best when viewed as a cinematic mecha shooter rather than a pure arcade-style sequel to the original Spriggan. It sacrifices some of Compile’s trademark shooting intensity in exchange for story, atmosphere, weapon management and spectacle.
The result is a distinctive and highly polished Super CD-ROM² title. It may not be as mechanically refined as Compile’s best vertical shooters, and its frequent dialogue can interrupt the flow, but its strong presentation, excellent music, flexible weapons and memorable sci-fi atmosphere make it one of the more characterful shooters on the PC Engine CD. For fans of mecha anime and cinematic shoot ’em ups, it is well worth playing.
Spriggan Mark 2: Re-Terraform Project (PC Engine Super CD-ROM², 1992) is a horizontally scrolling mecha shoot ’em up developed by Compile and published by Naxat Soft. Released in Japan on May 1, 1992, it is a dramatic departure from Seirei Senshi Spriggan, replacing the first game’s fantasy-themed vertical shooting and orb-combination system with hard science fiction, giant robots and a much stronger emphasis on cinematic storytelling.
Rating: 8/10
Rather than feeling like a conventional sequel, Spriggan Mark 2 almost comes across as a different series. You play as pilot Greg Irwin during a conflict involving Mars, colonies and rival military forces. Early in the game Greg pilots the Armed Armor Bartholomeu before eventually transferring to the more powerful Spriggan Mark 2. The story is presented like a playable mecha anime, with frequent voiced conversations, character portraits and scripted events occurring during missions.
Gameplay has also been completely redesigned. Spriggan Mark 2 is a horizontal shooter, and your mech can turn around to fire in either direction. This is more important than it sounds, since enemies frequently attack from behind and several stages are designed around threats approaching from both sides.
The original game’s power-up system is gone. Instead, you have a primary weapon alongside selectable secondary weapons such as homing missiles, beam weapons, a close-range sword, defensive equipment and heavier cannons. Most of the stronger weapons have limited ammunition, so choosing when to use them becomes an important part of the game. Once the Spriggan Mark 2 itself becomes available, you can select different weapon configurations before missions and cycle between weapons during play.
Survivability is handled through a regenerating shield meter rather than traditional one-hit deaths. Damage reduces the shield, but avoiding further attacks allows it to gradually recharge. This makes the game considerably more forgiving than many arcade shooters and encourages tactical retreats when the screen becomes dangerous.
Visually, Spriggan Mark 2 is one of Compile’s more impressive PC Engine CD productions. Large mecha, huge ships, orbital environments, planetary landscapes and city backgrounds give the game a convincing sense of scale. Multi-layer parallax scrolling is used extensively, and background battles often make stages feel like part of a much larger war rather than isolated shooting galleries.
The CD format is put to particularly good use by the audio. The soundtrack is energetic and atmospheric, mixing dramatic sci-fi themes with the driving style expected from Compile. Extensive Japanese voice acting also reinforces the anime presentation, giving the game considerably more personality than the average shooter of the era.
That cinematic focus is also its biggest weakness. Dialogue frequently interrupts or pauses the action while characters speak, which can hurt the pacing, particularly on repeat playthroughs. Players who do not understand Japanese also miss much of what makes these sequences meaningful unless they use a fan translation.
The level design itself is somewhat inconsistent. Some stages are spectacular, with large-scale battles and memorable set pieces, while others feel unusually open or sparse compared with Compile’s tightly designed vertical shooters. The large player sprite can also make certain enemy formations awkward to dodge, although the regenerating shield helps compensate.
Difficulty is relatively moderate by genre standards. The generous shield system and powerful secondary weapons make the game accessible, but harder settings provide more challenge. The main campaign is also fairly short, making it easy to complete in one sitting without becoming exhausting.
Spriggan Mark 2 works best when viewed as a cinematic mecha shooter rather than a pure arcade-style sequel to the original Spriggan. It sacrifices some of Compile’s trademark shooting intensity in exchange for story, atmosphere, weapon management and spectacle.
The result is a distinctive and highly polished Super CD-ROM² title. It may not be as mechanically refined as Compile’s best vertical shooters, and its frequent dialogue can interrupt the flow, but its strong presentation, excellent music, flexible weapons and memorable sci-fi atmosphere make it one of the more characterful shooters on the PC Engine CD. For fans of mecha anime and cinematic shoot ’em ups, it is well worth playing.
![Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter [VGA] (PC) Playthrough](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jOkOt6B8snQ/mqdefault.jpg "Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter [VGA] (PC) Playthrough
Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter [VGA] (PC) Playthrough")
