Editing Image Fight (section)

==Gameplay==
''Image Fight'' was released one year after Irem's successful horizontal scroller, ''[[R-Type]]'', and, although not directly related, the two games have some similarities.

The player flies a futuristic red ship. ''R-Type Final'' identifies this ship as the OF-1 ''Daedalus'', but it is not known if that was the ship's original name. The term OF-1 does appear in the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] version's instruction manual, as well as in the official artwork for the sequel, ''Image Fight II''. The game appears to be set inside a holographic simulator, like the [[holodeck]] on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. 

The game begins with five stages taking place inside a combat simulation, and the player's ability to destroy enemy entities is tested. Upon finishing a simulation stage, the game displays results and shows if their score is considered passing or failing. The player must have an average kill rate of 90% or better in the simulation stages to immediately proceed to real combat. If the player fails, they must play an additional stage before entering real combat. Real combat consists of three stages. The real combat stages play much like a traditional shoot em' up game, where the player immediately proceeds to the next stage upon completing the current stage.

===Pods===
The defining feature of ''Image Fight'' is the Pod, a small, coloured sphere with two short gun barrels attached to it. The Pod, once collected, floats alongside the player's ship.

[[Image:imagefightscreenshot.png|thumb|Screenshot of ''Image Fight'' (arcade version)]]

There are two different kinds of Pod:
* Red Pod – this changes direction based on the movement of the ship, and can therefore be aimed at enemies. This can be very useful, as enemies can and do attack from any direction.
* Blue Pod – similar to the Red Pod, except it always points forward and the direction cannot be changed. This makes it more powerful in direct confrontations, but less versatile.

The ship can support up to three Pods. The first two Pods collected will take up positions on the left and right sides of the ship; the third Pod hovers behind it.

====Pod Shot====
The Pod Shot is a special attack in which the side Pods are launched forward at high speed, before circling back and returning to the ship. This enables them to be used as projectiles themselves, and thrown at enemies ahead. This attack can be performed with either one or two side Pods; the rear Pod, if present, does not participate.

===Speed control===
The ship has four different levels of speed that the player can switch between, to allow for more precise manoeuvering in confined spaces. The structure of the ship transforms during a speed change, the [[wing]]s angling down and back at higher speeds.

The ship's [[Spacecraft propulsion|thruster]]s exhaust a large blue flame whenever the ship changes speed; this can be used as a weapon to damage or destroy enemies.

==='Forces'===
The player can acquire various [[butterfly]]-shaped devices that attach to the front of the ship. These are similar in function to the Force in ''[[R-Type]]'': they turn the player's blaster into a powerful laser weapon. They can also act as a weak shield, protecting the ship from impact; this destroys them but leaves the ship intact. Unlike the Force in ''R-Type'', they cannot be ejected from the ship; the only way to remove them, in fact, is to have them destroyed. The ship cannot pick up a new device if one is already attached. There are a number of different kinds, each of which provides a different weapon. The weapon names are taken from ''R-Type Final''. ''R-Type Final'' implies that these devices are in fact early versions of what it calls the OF Force, but this may be [[retroactive continuity]].