Cyrus (video game)

Cyrus is a video game having its origins in Littleplanetia, about a boy who has to save his home from danger.

It was developed by Terry Software (or Terry Co), which was dissolved into Konami in August 2006.

The first game was developed by Terry Co, and published by Sony on the original PlayStation. It was released in 1996. A port for the Sega Saturn was released in late 1997 which was developed by Terry Co, and published by Sega. It was added into the Terry Co Games Galore collection for the PS2,GameCube, and Xbox in 2004. The first game was ported to home computers running Windows 95 and 98 in 1999 by Soepon.

The sequel was developed by Terry Co, and was published by Sony again. It introduced his animal friends to the series and was released in early 1997 for the original PlayStation. The game was ported to the Dreamcast in early 2001 and was later ported to Windows 98. It was added into the Terry Co Games Galore collection alongside the original. The Windows version of Cyrus 2 was developed by Soepon, a fictional Japanese game developer that was purchased by Nintendo in 2010. Prior to the event that made Soepon part of Nintendo, Soepon made games for computers, the Xbox, the GameCube, and formerly, the Dreamcast.

The third game was developed by Terry Co once again, and was published this time by Vivendi Games. It was released in 2005 for the PS2 and two years later, the PS3. A port for the XBOX was released in late 2005. A GameCube version was planned but later scrapped. It was the last game Terry Co made before being dissolved into Konami.

The fourth game was developed by Konami, because Terry Co was dissolved into the company. The game was published by Vivendi again but under the Sierra label. It was released in 2007 for the PS3, and a port for the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii was released in 2008 respectively. A 2.5D version of the game for the Nintendo DS was developed by Sega and was released in early 2009. The fifth game was released in 2010 by Konami and was published by Bandai Namco. It was released for the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii, with a remastered version released in 2013 for the Wii U and the PS4. A Xbox 360 version of the fifth game was released only in Europe, Canada, and Littleplanetia. The Cyrus franchise was put to a halt after the sequel of Cyrus Go Kart Rally was released for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in early 2012.

A television series was made in 2004 for Spacetoon in Littleplanetia.

Cyrus had once appeared as a DLC character in Comedy Peeps: Battle Havoc in 2011. His mech was a giant steel robot with a IronCube face on the chest and Cyrus' signature scarf in the shape of a cape on the back of the robot.

The sixth Cyrus game was released on the PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch on June 6th 2019. The main antagonist in this installment is GoldenCube, Dr Iron's assistant. He became the main villain after Dr. Iron's fall into the volcano in Cyrus 5. The game had a lot of hype in Littleplanetia, however it was put to waste as critics say the story was 'lacking', and the way the characters speak was just a bit too 'odd'. Konami is planning to make a 7th installment of the Cyrus mainline games sometime in 2021 as a Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5 title. The 7th installment was originally going to be on the Xbox One and PS4, however because of the announcement of said consoles it was pushed to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Several spin-off games within the Cyrus series are: Cyrus Festival (a party game released on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube in 2004 by Sega), Cyrus and the Crazy Dinosaurs (released for the PlayStation 3 in 2006, the dinos later became part of their own series) Cyrus Air Battle (released for the GameCube in 2005, developed by Namco), and Cyrus Go-Kart Rally (released for the original Xbox in 2002, a port for the PS2 and the Gamecube was released in 2004) Sega has only made 5 games in the Cyrus franchise, while Traveller's Tales and Namco made 10 Cyrus games. Terry Co (now part of Konami) and Vivendi Games made the other installments in the franchise. Sony made only 2 games. Cyrus Air Battle was first revealed in 1999 as a 64DD and Dreamcast title, but it was later switched over to the GameCube as an exclusive title, considering the PS2 version was scrapped.

Trivia
The Cyrus series is actually a subseries of the game Warrior Chaos, a game released in 1993 by Terry Co and Sierra On-Line for the SNES, Sega Genesis, 3DO, and Neo Geo. It was about 10 warriors who fought for a ancient relic containing powerful weapons. One of the warriors was Cyrus himself.

The land where Cyrus lives, Tokomona is a massive tropical kingdom located on a island, and is home to a volcano and many other locations. Cyrus has also appeared in games that are non-Cyrus media, such as Slider Penguin Racing and Comedy Peeps: Volcanic Panic.

Even though most of the Cyrus franchise is on the PlayStation, a sequel to Warrior Chaos was made exclusively for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. It was released on the Wii in 2012 as a Virtual Console title. The Warrior Chaos sequel was developed by Terry Co and published by HAL Laboratory. The Virtual Console title was published by Konami. Fans of the Cyrus series thought the series just died after Cyrus 6, but on June 22nd, 2019, Konami announced the seventh installment of the Cyrus series. They said they would add a ton of new and enjoyable features, aswell as classic stages from the first two games as DLC to wrap the fans in nostalgia. They also originally mentioned it as an exclusive title for the Switch, but it was later announced to have an Xbox One and PS4 port.

In the Terry Co Games Galore collection, there are games not related to the Cyrus series, such as Rex Blast (NES, Master System, Atari 2600, MSX) and Save the Squirrels (Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, PlayStation) Rex Blast is a platformer game where you play as a dinosaur that can throw explosives to get past obstacles, defeat enemies and bosses, and solve puzzles. It was released for the NES, Master System, Atari 2600 and MSX in 1986 and later got a remake for the Nintendo SNES and Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn, the Atari Jaguar, PlayStation, and PCs (Windows 95). Cyrus Air Battle and Cyrus Go Kart Rally are in the Terry Co Games Galore collection, however the two are exclusive to one or two consoles. Cyrus Air Battle is exclusive to the PS2 and GameCube version of the game, while Cyrus Go Kart Rally is exclusive to the Xbox and GameCube version of the game. Cyrus Pocket Mania is a 2001 game released for the Game Boy Advance, WonderSwan (Japan only), and Neo Geo Pocket. A sequel for Cyrus Pocket Mania was released in early 2006 for the Nintendo DS and later the PSP.

Age ratings
The first Cyrus game was rated E by ESRB, The second game had the same rating, the third one was rated T for Teen (because E10 and up didn't exist then) The age rating was kept as T for Teen in Littleplanetia until 2015, where they changed the latest game's age rating to E10. The spinoffs are published by different companies around the world. Cyrus Air Battle was published by Namco in most of the world, but in Russia the game is published by EA.

Game features
There are enemies scattered across the land, such as IronCubes or Gullans. Considering the Cyrus series has many genres, Cyrus can do many things to defeat them, such as a simple stomp on the head, a shoot from a gun with solid honey, and by just a small go-kart or plane. In Cyrus Air Battle, you and your friends must select a pilot and a plane, and then must press B to start the engines. The players can press A to shoot, press Y to launch a homing missile, and press X to use their special move. The triggers on the GameCube controller are used for the minigames On-Foot Mayhem, and Raid the Base. The characters in Air Battle are Cyrus, Timmy the Narwhal, Eddie the Cat, and Philip the Wolf. The unlockable characters are the villains from the original Cyrus game and the sequel. Cyrus Air Battle was going to have a PS2 release but it was later scrapped. Cyrus Go-Kart Rally is a racing game released for the Xbox, PS2 and GameCube in 2003 by Terry Co and three different publishers across different regions. In Littleplanetia and the United Kingdom, the game is published by Earthquake Studios. In the rest of North America, the game is published by Midway Games. In Asia, the game is published by Tecmo (now Koei Tecmo). In other parts of Europe, the game is published by THQ.

Characters
Cyrus is a Tokomonan human who is recognized as the hero of his country. He used to just wear a scarf and some pants, but in Cyrus 3 he was given a shirt with the letter C on it. He has balanced stats out of all the characters. Timmy is a silly and sometimes greedy narwhal who is Cyrus' best friend. He can assist Cyrus in tricky platforming challenges, and has been a playable character since Cyrus 3. He can also whip up a twister for a short amount of time, sucking up anything in his way. Eddie is a speedy cat who can help Cyrus get to areas he can't normally get to. He has been a playable character since Cyrus 3. He can summon Cube Allies to attack the opposing IronCubes and Gullans. In the Cyrus comics, he has been revealed to be able to go through wormholes. Philip the Wolf is a powerful ally of Cyrus who can beat a boss within just 3 measly hits. He can also be used as a platform to get to a high place, like the top of Dr. Iron's Nasty Cube Factory, where you fight Mecha-Cube in Cyrus 2. He has been a playable character since Cyrus 3. He can also cause earthquakes from a single stomp, and is the biggest out of Cyrus' friends.

Facts
The Cyrus franchise (alongside Warrior Chaos) takes place on the planet of Solaria, in the fictional Dungeon Galaxy.

The planet's view in space was not revealed until Cyrus 4: Darkness Rises, where it is shown in the last world in Cyrus 4, The Laboratory in Orbit. The planet's name was revealed in Cyrus 3. There are guardians in the Cyrus universe called 'The Guardians of Elements and Feelings'.

The Guardians debuted in the television show before the games.

The third game's original release date was in late 1999, and was going to be a PlayStation and Dreamcast game. However, because of the Dreamcast's discontinuation in 2001, the game instead was going to be a PS2, XBOX, and GameCube title. The game's prototype from 1997 was leaked in early 2006, and it had things not present in the final game or the demo from 1999. Cyrus in the prototype did not have the shirt he got in the final game. Timmy the Narwhal didn't have the ability to whip up a twister in the prototype. (The GameCube version was scrapped.)

The original Cyrus game was going to be released in 1994 as a 32X title, however because of how poor the 32X sold, the game was moved to the PlayStation for a 1996 release instead.

Games not released on home consoles
There are many Cyrus games that weren't released on home consoles.

Cyrus Arcade Adventures is one of those many games. It was released for the Sega Chihiro in 2004. It is the usual 3D platformer, but with a different setting and different characters. Cyrus is captured by Dr. Iron, and is sent to a prison in the middle of Junglara, an island located in the continent of Sugania. Two members of The Animal Crew, called Chomps and Giddy, go on an adventure across the unknown world (now Solaria) to free Cyrus. Chomps and Giddy will make an appearance in Cyrus 7 as downloadable characters. Chomps is a shark that has the ability to glide. Giddy is a donkey that can use a dash as another option to attack, similar to Wario.

Cyrus Pocket Mania is slightly different from the usual Cyrus games, as it is a 2D platformer. This game also introduces Sir Croc, a character that Cyrus can interact with when he enters 'The Shoppè'. Some RPG and Adventure elements are mixed up in the game, aswell.

Reception
Most of the Cyrus games have been praised for good level design and story, however the latest installment, Cyrus 6, was poorly received due to glitches, the terrible story, and much more. Cyrus Air Battle got mixed reviews when it was released in 2005, as the critics said: 'It had a good story and a great amount of bosses, but the controls weren't that good'

Random filler
Ted Gonanik, the creator of the Cyrus franchise and director of the first three games, is making a first person shooter called EXTREME, which is going to be developed by Stupid Ragdolls, an indie game studio owned by Ted Gonanik. EXTREME will have a release on PC in 2020 first, and the game might be ported to the PS4 soon. EXTREME is the spiritual successor to the 2001 game War on Saturn, released for PCs, the PlayStation 2, and Xbox. War on Saturn was developed by Terry Co and was published by Electronic Arts. EXTREME takes place within the canon of War on Saturn, and also has missions and levels from the former said game. In the canon of War on Saturn, the year it is set in is the year 4511. There was a Cyrus fighting game planned for release but it was later cancelled. It was called Cyrus Rings and had a N64, PC, and Dreamcast release. The game's code was found in 2009 and was revealed to be a 3D fighting game. People originally thought Cyrus Rings was a puzzle game before the code was found.