ArcadeOverview
Gals Panic (also stylized as Gals Panic!) is an action-puzzle eroge developed by Kaneko and released for arcades in 1990 by Taito (in Japan), by Kaneko USA (in North America) and by Kaneko themselves (in other countries).
Based on Taito's Qix series of arcade games (for which Kaneko co-developed Super Qix), Gals Panic is an adult-oriented variant where completing stages rewards the player's performance with illustrated pictures of Japanese models in various stages of undress (along with the nude photos the illustrations are based on).
It plays nearly identical to the Qix series, where players control a cursor that moves along the outline of the screen and carve up portions of the screen while dodging obstacles. Along with its erotic content, the game builds upon the format by having players reveal only a portion of the screen (highlighted by the model's silhouette that is shown at the start), rather than the entire playfield. It also support two-player simultaneous multiplayer (rather than alternating players).
The game later received multiple sequels, each one changing the gameplay to differentiate from the standard Qix gameplay (such as allowing diagonal movement and having players carve outward from an inner rectangle, rather than carving inward from the game border). The sequels also change the rewards, first by only using real-life model photos, then by only using hand-drawn anime-style illustrations. It also received some non-eroge spin-offs, including Gals Panic SS, Silhouette Stories, and Panic Street.
It also received numerous clones and is considered the originator of the "reveal-a-picture" type of eroge.
Gameplay
Gals Panic is played over three rounds on a rectangular field that contains a silhouette of a female model. The player controls a marker that travels along the edge of the field. In each round, the player must venture into the field and carve out contiguous boxes, gradually revealing more of the picture. When the player carves out at least 80% of the silhouette portion of the picture the round ends and reveals the entire picture of the model.
Throughout the round, several things impede the player's progress. One is the three-minute time limit. Each round also features an enemy to torment the player (a spider, a fire elemental, or a geometric shape.) The large enemies can also spawn smaller enemies that can kill the player's marker on contact, or by crossing the line on an unfinished box. Finally, the player's own eagerness can be used against them. The top of the screen displays a meter that goes up or down based on whether the player captures boxes that contain the model's silhouette, or portions of the background. If the player captures too much of the silhouette without balancing it with parts of the background, the meter will fall. If it goes below level 6 (out of 20) the play field will switch to a cartoon image of a ninja, octopus, crocodile, bear, or sheep. If the player passes the round with the alternate image up, it counts as a fail and they must try again; the model's image can be restored by capturing portions of the background. Essentially, this system forces the player to keep a balance between the nude woman and non-nude woman parts of the field.
Stages
Gals Panic includes six stages, each of which have three "rounds" and are represented by a different Japanese model. The models are:
- Marina Matsumoto
- Ayami Kida
- Nami Ozawa
- Yuki Miho
- Emi Nakahara
- Shiori Asano
