Gynoug

Gynoug
Gynoug - European box art
Developer(s)	Masaya
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

Gynoug (ジノーグ, Jinōgu), released as Wings of Wor in North America, is a shoot 'em up video game for the Sega Mega Drive, developed by Masaya and published by NCS Corporation in 1991. The game sprites were designed by the sprite designer of legendary shooting title Cho Aniki, a game best known for its homoerotic overtones, wacky humor and vivid, surreal imagery.

Plot

The heavens are being attacked by the demons of Iccus, led by a being known only as the Destroyer. The angel Wor must bring the fight to Iccus itself and put an end to the Destroyer's dark plans.

Levels

Boss names are from the instruction manual. Stage names are derived from the Japanese manual.

Round 1: Doukutsu (Caves)

The game begins in some caves with deep, dark passageways and a river in the background.

Mid-round boss: Dragoon, a grey, seemingly fossilised tortoise with an elongated neck ending in a toothy skeletal head. It shoots orange spores out of its neck. In the Japanese original, it is called Jimushi (Ground Insect).

End-of-round boss: Locomotive Breath, a locomotive engine with a man's face and arms which spits out missiles. In the Japanese original, it is called Ningen Kikansha (Humanoid Locomotive).

Round 2: Umi (Sea)

An overground level, with Wor flying through the open air over water and birds (among other enemies) dropping missiles. Eventually the round moves underwater to an encounter with a mini-Oglithan (see below) before meeting the real thing.

Mid-round boss: Oglithan, a conical shell which floats around turning itself inside-out, revealing a fleshy inside and emitting a spray of spores, as well as larger missiles. In the Japanese original, it is called Big Roper.

End-of-round boss: Masseboth, a wooden ship with a bearded man's face as a figurehead, spitting spores. After a while, the ship sinks before rising up to reveal a much larger face underneath the ship, wearing the ship on its head. Spores are emitted from the rudder as well as from the face's mouth. "Masseboth" is also Hebrew (מצּבה, matz-tsay-baw) for "standing stones" or "column" but this seems to have little to do with this boss itself. In the Japanese original, it is called Kaitei Senchou (Seafloor Captain).

Round 3: Shiro (Castle)

A quasi-gothic city, with spitting gargoyles and other enemies.

Mid-round boss: Peeble, a segmented serpentine creature which zooms away from and into the screen to collide with Wor. In the Japanese original, it is called Jinmenryu (Human-Faced Dragon).

End-of-round boss: Gark, a huge engine with a face like Locomotive Breath, which emits a serpentine whip of spores from its eyes. Its lower "jaw", a plough, drops away at times to reveal its "tongue", a fiery sword emitting fireballs. In the Japanese original, it is called Mecha Ousama (Mecha King).

Round 4: Nikutai Seizou Koujou (Body Manufacturing Factory)

A entirely mechanised level, with engines and pipes in the background.

Mid-round boss: Monotrog, a set of floating heads around a machine with a propeller and missiles.

End-of-round boss: Orrpus, a disembodied human upper body, half-mechanised and half-flesh, with machinery on its shoulder/back. It shoots out red discs (like red blood cells) from its mouth and lower side. In the Japanese original, it is called Koujouchou (Plant Manager).

Round 5: Mamono no Hara (Demons' Womb)

A bizarre world with floating aberrations, reminiscent of inside the human body (especially the eye).

Mid-round boss: Slog, a cross-legged grey humanoid orbitted by fast-moving spheres, spitting blue spores. In English, to slog is to hit or strike, possibly referring to the creature's missiles, or else simply an attempt to create a primitive, bestial name (cf. "ug"). In the Japanese original, it is called Ganji.

End-of-round boss: Perfidy, a bizarre grey individual with an inactive lower body resembling a whole octopus stretched across the bottom of the screen, joined to the upper body, an armless grey torso and head, by a flexible muscle joint. The upper body moves wildly, emitting red missiles. In English, perfidy is treachery or a betrayal. In the Japanese original, it is called Joou (Queen).

Round 6

Another sky-like level, with clouds above and below and rays of light in the background.

Mid-round boss(es): All of the previous mid-bosses one after another: Dragoon/Jimushi, Oglithan/Big Roper, Peeble/Jinmenryu, Monotrog and Slog/Ganji.

End-of-round boss(es): Orrpus/Koujouchou (Round 4) appears first. Afterwards, the final boss appears: a previously unencountered turquoise humanoid with an exposed rib cage and a jellyfish-like creature on its back, all while curled up in a foetal position but ending in a large clawed hand instead of legs. It shoots white spores from its midsection, which float around slowly and do not disappear until the boss's defeat. The instruction manual gives the last boss no name, simply exhorting the player to "PREPARE FOR THE WORST!".

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
MegaTech	92%
Mega	52%
Mean Machines	88%

Award

Publication	Award
MegaTech	Hyper Game

Mean Machines magazine reviewed the title, giving it 88%.

MegaTech 5 magazine praised the power-ups and the graphics used for the bosses.

External links

• Gynoug / Wings of Wor at GameSpot
• Gynoug / Wings of Wor at MobyGames
• Japanese manual scan]