(From the back of the Genesis box, © SEGA™ 1989)

Power on! All systems go! Takeoff! Meet the alien attack head-on in your Super Fighter! Before the Gidans overrun your planet, destroy them in an explosive scramble in space! You are the one pilot alive with the guts to do it!!

The Gidans have blown up your planet's cargo barge and are on their way to Borogo with a swarm of flying fortresses - asteroids loaded with tanks, guns and explosives for an all-points takeover. Attack them face-to-face in your Super Fighter, the most powerful assault ship in the universe. Blast them to kingdom come with Power Shots. Fire the incredible Truxton Beam to deintegrate their speeding onslaught.

And when there's no escape through their force fields, surprise them with the devastaing Rainbow Circle Shot*. Take on the Gidans in 5 separate battles of space carnage! You CAN save the planet!

*) Note: SEGA consider the blue shot to be a "Rainbow Circle Shot" for some reason here.

(From Genesis manual, © SEGA™ 1989)

- Tom, we're under attack!

- That's why I'm here, sir.

- The Gidans came on like bats out of Pluto. Our transport ship, the Belery, didn't have a chance. Now its cargo - our secret weapons - is out there stuck in space. And the Gidans are between it and us. Tom, we've got to stop them! They've got something enormous out there. It fills up the radar screen. We don't know what it is, we can't prepare for it - we don't even know how to fight it!

- I'll fight it, sir.

- Take the Super Fighter. It's got everything you need - weapons so powerful we've been afraid to use them. You'll blow their boosters off, Tom. You're our only hope! But it's gonna be dangerous.

- I'll risk it, sir. See you back here on Borogo, after I make our planet safe!

[ Space War! ]

You are Tom the Bomb! As a fearless pilot, you are assigned to fly the Super Fighter against the Gidans. You take off for the far reaches of space. Whatever you find out there is yours to destroy!

You begin your mission with 3 Super Fighers - the one you fly and 2 in reserve. You're armed with unlimited Power Shots. These fire in 3 directions at once, shooting down enemy planes in a wide range. You also have 3 Destroyer Bombs on board.

You are going to face the Gidans in 5 separate battles! Blast them by aiming and pressing Button A for single shots and Button C for rapid fire [Genesis version]. Press Button B to drop a Destroyer Bomb (that's how you got your nickname) and blast everything out of the stratosphere!

[ Survival! ]

During Battle you will be hit by enemy fire. After you take a number of hits your Super Fighter explodes. You can continue the battle as long as you have Super Fighters in reserve. With each new Super FIghter, your weapons reset to Power Shots and 3 Destroyer Bombs.

You gain an extra Super Fighter when your score reaches 70,000 points, 270,000 points and every 200,000 points after that. You can also gain an extra Super Figher by flying over 1up/2up items.

[ Your Weapons ]

Power Shots (Red) - Fires a fan of bullets. Power 1 Shoots in 3 directions. Power 2 Shoots in 5 directions. Power 3 Deploys support shits that fire the Rainbow Circle Shot to protect you in all directions at once.

Truxton Beam (Green) - Slices through the enemy and destroys everything behind it as well. Vert effective against large attackers. Power 1 fires 1 beam at a time. Power 2 fires 3 beams in succesion. Power 3 fires 5 beams in succession.

Thunder Laser (Blue) - Locks onto the enemy and chases it down. Power 1 fires 1 laser at a time. Power 2 fires 3 lasers in succession. Power 3 fires 5 lasers in succession.

Destroyer Bomb - Blasts every enemy in sight and melts their bullets. Destroys small Gidans, and cripples large attackers and Monster Powers so you can destroy them with other weapons.

Power Booster - Increases your weapon's strength. You begin your mission at power 1. Gain 5 Boosters to ramp up to Power 2. Get 10 Boosters to reach Power 3. Pick up all the Power Boosters you can and keep them in reserve. When your Super Fighter is destroyed at Power 2 you lose 5 Power Boosters. At Power 3 you lose 10 Boosters.

Speed Booster - Each one increases your speed until you reach a maximum of 5 times your original speed. At maximum speed, these items are worth 5,000 points when you pick them up.

[ Asteroid Fortresses ]

You battle the enemy in space above 8 different asteroids. As you destroy each asteroid, a more powerful one appears.

Blue Asteroid - Gives you a taste of what's to come. Destroy the Bordan Head for a surprise!

Yellow Asteroid - Now that you're warmed up, the danger increases! Bearangs spew lethal acid when hit.

Red Asteroid - This huge rock is armed with the J-Tank.

Orchid Asteroid - The enemy attacks with fury.

Purple Asteroid - The Gidans bring in the giant Badron to knock you out.

Poison Asteroid - Don't linger in the atmosphere of this deadly base.

Galaxy Pool Asteroid - The towering Gurus dominate the enemy attack. The incredible Dosvam takes over between two asteroids.

Magman Asteroid - Defeat the Dogurava in your final and most difficult battle.

[ Staying Alive! ]

Study your assailants' attack patterns so you can get a jump on them.

Get the feel of your weapons so you'll know in a split second which one to use in a certain battle situation.

Watch all around you for incoming attackers. Your enemies will try every trick they can think of, including sneaking up from behind.

Learn the weak spots of your assailants, especially the Monster Powers. Then defeat them by attacking where it hurts most.

Each type of building can only be destroyed by a certain weapon. Figure out which weapon destroys each building, then make sure you have that weapon in hand for effective combat.

(Genesis/MegaDrive)

During gameplay, shoot oval objects with circles above it that match the colour of your weapon to recieve 1up and 2up pickups.

[ Select level ]
During the title screen push up two times, down four times, right eight times and left 16 times and press start to select the starting level.