Game:

Tyrian (1995)

Duration: 1:32

537 views

1

The game's story has always been self-mocking and weird. But with the end of Episode 4, more specifically the optional Time War level, the story not only branches, but also becomes open for interpretation. I believe Episode 5 wasn't planned when Time War and its alternate ending were created, and when Episode 5 came, it assumed Time War never happened. Oh, and Time War possibly involves time travel. Such convolution! In my interpretation of the story, everything is canon, so here goes:

The universe celebrated and rebuilt upon the war-torn landscapes of Ixmucane, Deliani, Savara, and Gyges. Trent, disgusted at how Transon, and by extension, the universe, had used lazily used him as a tool, remained hidden on Tyrian, wherein he obliterated the mockery that became Vykromod.

Hesitating to return triumphantly as a hero, he instead decided to return the favor. He would treat this universe as it had treated him. He would escape and begin a new life elsewhere.

Trent's idea starts as a whim, but the more he thinks of it, the less it seems like an impulsive decision. Buce, his best friend, is dead. Transon, Gencore, and the universe see him as a tool; in fact, perhaps their over-reliance on Trent will bring their downfall if Microsol fights back and actually kills the ace pilot. Even some of Trent's more helpful friends, such as Reid, the Ninja, or Dougan, are now nothing but reminders of a war he didn't wish to partake in. With the war over, surely they will part ways.

Just as Trent decides to leave it all behind, the prototype starship computer of his Stalker 21.126 informs him of a ship advanced beyond anyone's wildest dreams, located on the planet Soh Jin. Trent visits Soh Jin and is greeted with the battle of his life. Victorious against the strongest ship he ever faced, Trent's Stalker somehow upgrades and rewards him with a portal of the Tyrian Purple color. He flies in the portal, his only way out of this universe, and realizes as he approaches that what awaits him on the other side is none other than Zinglon, the ex Microsol general revered as a god ever since the Not-So-Great Gryphon Explosion scattered his molecules to another dimension. Was this the purpose of the Stalker 21.126 - to find a way to bring Zinglon back in this universe? Trent engages Zinglon himself, and once again, emerges victorious.

Trent finds himself back on Soh Jin. Devastated to see that even killing god didn't give him solace, he locks on to a planet 100 light years away, sets his ship to cryo-freeze him, and falls in a deep slumber. If the only way to freedom is to wait a century of light-speed travel, then so be it.

...

But then, some time after beginning his travel, Trent awakens. Has it been a century? No? Why is he still in the Tyrian sector? A message from a Hazudra explains it all, as Trent finds himself unable to control his Stalker, which is headed straight for a hostile asteroid field.

- - - - -

Easy level. Leisurely stroll through space while destroying everything you can.

Difficulty : 2/10
Number of attempts : 1


It's to be noted that Episode 5 follows the story of you NOT having finished Episode 4 with the Stalker 21.126. If you did, then Episode 5's story will make no sense at first, regardless whether you failed or passed the bonus stage.

We find out throughout the game that Zinglon was actually a Microsol military leader/scientist. While the scientists at Station Gryphon opened a Zica Flamethrower, apparently using a Gravitron generator as well, the Not-So-Great Gryphon explosion occurred. Zinglon was running a teleportation test at the time, resulting in a massive error, and his molecules got scattered to random dimensions. Everyone saw him on their TVs (called "2-D holovision"), and the religion was born.

*If you're wondering how they had a Gravitron generator in the past, probably before Tyrian was even discovered, it's because Gravitron isn't exclusive to Tyrian ; it's just freakishly rare on any other planet. I believe.

Other Statistics