| Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | CAProduction |
| Publisher(s) | Hudson Soft |
| Director(s) | Osamu Tsujikawa |
| Artist(s) | Mika Akitaka |
| Composer(s) | T's Music |
| Platform(s) | PC Engine |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire (Japanese: 銀河婦警伝説サファイア),[a] commonly abbreviated to Sapphire in English, is a shoot 'em up developed by CAProduction for the PC Engine CD-ROM² System. It was published in 1995 by Hudson Soft exclusively in Japan. The story follows an all-women police force in 2092 traveling through time to intercept terrorists committing crimes across the past and future. The player takes on the role of a police officer and controls their spaceship through waves of enemies and powerful bosses.
Hudson forged a collaboration between CAProduction and Mika Akitaka to develop Sapphire. Akitaka was known for his artistic work in the Galaxy Fräulein Yuna adventure game series and Gundam media franchise. Hudson saw potential in combining Akitaka's art style with a new shoot 'em up CAProduction was developing and cultivated a partnership. Sapphire was released on the Arcade CD-ROM² format due its enhanced graphical effects, and requires the Arcade Card RAM expansion developed by NEC to run.
In retrospective coverage, Sapphire is considered one of the best PC Engine shoot 'em ups. Although the gameplay was found to be average, critics concluded that the graphics and sound were of such incredible quality that they made up for any shortcomings in the game mechanics. Sapphire was produced in low numbers at the end of the PC Engine's lifespan and subsequently became a rare collector's item. The game's value soared to hundreds of dollars and lead to counterfeiting in the mid-2000s. In 2008, the game was re-released on a compilation for the PlayStation Portable released exclusively in Japan.
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