<s>
,	O
commonly	O
abbreviated	O
to	O
Sapphire	B-Application
in	O
English	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
developed	O
by	O
CAProduction	O
for	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
CD-ROM²	O
System	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hudson	O
forged	O
a	O
collaboration	O
between	O
CAProduction	O
and	O
Mika	O
Akitaka	O
to	O
develop	O
Sapphire	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Akitaka	O
was	O
known	O
for	O
his	O
artistic	O
work	O
in	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Fräulein	I-Application
Yuna	I-Application
adventure	O
game	O
series	O
and	O
Gundam	O
media	O
franchise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sapphire	B-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
Arcade	O
CD-ROM²	O
format	O
due	O
its	O
enhanced	O
graphical	O
effects	O
,	O
and	O
requires	O
the	O
Arcade	O
Card	O
RAM	B-Architecture
expansion	O
developed	O
by	O
NEC	O
to	O
run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
retrospective	O
coverage	O
,	O
Sapphire	B-Application
is	O
considered	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
ups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sapphire	B-Application
was	O
produced	O
in	O
low	O
numbers	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
's	O
lifespan	O
and	O
subsequently	O
became	O
a	O
rare	O
collector	O
's	O
item	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
re-released	O
on	O
a	O
compilation	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
released	O
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sapphire	B-Application
is	O
a	O
2D	O
vertically	O
scrolling	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
difficulty	O
in	O
Sapphire	B-Application
is	O
adjustable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
video	O
game	O
console	O
,	O
co-developed	O
by	O
NEC	O
and	O
Hudson	O
Soft	O
,	O
was	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
quality	O
graphical	O
adventures	O
and	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
ups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
printed	O
using	O
the	O
Arcade	O
CD-ROM²	O
format	O
which	O
requires	O
the	O
Arcade	O
Card	O
RAM	B-Architecture
expansion	O
for	O
enhanced	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
ups	O
were	O
prominent	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
,	O
popular	O
interest	O
shifted	O
to	O
fighting	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
wake	O
of	O
Street	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
II	I-Application
's	O
release	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
NES	I-Application
and	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
,	O
NEC	O
developed	O
a	O
RAM	B-Architecture
expansion	O
for	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
called	O
the	O
"	O
Arcade	O
Card	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAProduction	O
were	O
working	O
on	O
a	O
third	O
entry	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Thunder	O
"	O
trilogy	O
following	O
Gate	B-Application
of	I-Application
Thunder	I-Application
(	O
1992	O
)	O
and	O
Lords	B-Application
of	I-Application
Thunder	I-Application
(	O
1993	O
)	O
when	O
they	O
were	O
approached	O
by	O
Hudson	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Concurrently	O
,	O
Hudson	O
saw	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
bishōjo	B-Application
adventure	O
game	O
series	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Fräulein	I-Application
Yuna	I-Application
and	O
saw	O
potential	O
at	O
combining	O
the	O
two	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Fräulein	I-Application
Yuna	I-Application
series	O
was	O
written	O
and	O
designed	O
by	O
Mika	O
Akitaka	O
,	O
an	O
artist	O
known	O
for	O
his	O
mecha	O
girl	O
designs	O
in	O
the	O
Gundam	O
media	O
franchise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Fräulein	I-Application
Yuna	I-Application
game	O
was	O
a	O
pure	O
visual	O
novel	O
,	O
and	O
while	O
the	O
second	O
game	O
added	O
action	O
elements	O
like	O
dungeon	O
crawling	O
and	O
turn-based	O
card	O
battles	O
,	O
Akitaka	O
had	O
always	O
wanted	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hudson	O
brought	O
Akitaka	O
on	O
board	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
CAProduction	O
to	O
develop	O
Sapphire	B-Application
as	O
an	O
original	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
unrelated	O
to	O
the	O
story	O
in	O
his	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Fräulein	I-Application
Yuna	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
was	O
founded	O
in	O
1990	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
also	O
composed	O
the	O
music	O
to	O
the	O
games	O
Lords	B-Application
of	I-Application
Thunder	I-Application
,	O
Final	O
Fight	O
CD	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Sentimental	O
Graffiti	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sapphire	B-Application
was	O
published	O
by	O
Hudson	O
and	O
released	O
on	O
24	O
November	O
1995	O
in	O
Japan	O
for	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
it	O
was	O
released	O
32	O
bit	O
consoles	O
like	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
and	O
Sony	B-Device
PlayStation	I-Device
had	O
already	O
been	O
released	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
day	O
of	O
release	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
day	O
when	O
Famicom	O
Space	O
World	O
'	O
95	O
conference	O
opened	O
,	O
where	O
Nintendo	O
would	O
show	O
off	O
their	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
came	O
late	O
in	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
's	O
lifespan	O
and	O
subsequently	O
was	O
printed	O
in	O
low	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
Sapphire	B-Application
became	O
a	O
rare	O
collector	O
's	O
item	O
,	O
selling	O
for	O
high	O
prices	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
collecting	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
prospective	O
player	O
needs	O
a	O
Japanese	O
region	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
with	O
a	O
CD-ROM	O
drive	O
and	O
an	O
Arcade	O
Card	O
to	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
convincing	O
enough	O
to	O
become	O
valued	O
at	O
over	O
£100	O
and	O
influenced	O
prices	O
of	O
original	O
Sapphire	B-Application
copies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
rarity	O
and	O
specific	O
hardware	O
requirements	O
,	O
few	O
gamers	O
have	O
played	O
Sapphire	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kurt	O
Kalata	O
of	O
Hardcore	O
Gaming	O
101	O
called	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
holy	O
grails	O
"	O
of	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
collecting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
31	O
July	O
2008	O
,	O
Hudson	O
Soft	O
released	O
a	O
compilation	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Fräulein	I-Application
Yuna	I-Application
games	O
and	O
Sapphire	B-Application
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
compilation	O
is	O
titled	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
Best	O
Collection	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
compared	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
classic	O
shooters	O
like	O
Truxton	B-Application
and	O
Aleste	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
retrospective	O
coverage	O
,	O
both	O
Kurt	O
Kalata	O
of	O
Hardcore	O
Gaming	O
101	O
and	O
E	O
.	O
Kozo	O
of	O
Hardcore	O
Gamer	O
lauded	O
Sapphire	B-Application
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
greatest	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
ups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kalata	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
ultimate	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
shooter	O
...	O
a	O
showpiece	O
for	O
what	O
the	O
system	O
could	O
do	O
"	O
while	O
Kozo	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
shooters	O
ever	O
made	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
goes	O
on	O
to	O
explain	O
that	O
some	O
of	O
Sapphire	B-Application
's	O
2D	O
sprites	O
were	O
pre-rendered	O
at	O
a	O
high	O
quality	O
and	O
animated	O
so	O
well	O
that	O
they	O
seemed	O
like	O
3D	B-Algorithm
polygons	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
Sapphire	B-Application
's	O
style	O
and	O
action	O
make	O
up	O
for	O
any	O
of	O
its	O
shortcomings	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
Kalata	O
and	O
Kozo	O
praised	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
compilation	O
Ginga	O
Ojousama	O
Densetsu	O
Collection	O
for	O
giving	O
gamers	O
a	O
more	O
accessible	O
way	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewing	O
the	O
re-release	O
,	O
Kozo	O
thought	O
the	O
compilation	O
had	O
a	O
great	O
value	O
since	O
original	O
Sapphire	B-Application
copies	O
were	O
worth	O
ten	O
times	O
its	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
concluded	O
that	O
the	O
re-release	O
of	O
Sapphire	B-Application
was	O
a	O
"	O
top	O
notch	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
quality	O
game	O
withstanding	O
the	O
test	O
of	O
time	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
identified	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
shooting	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
,	O
alongside	O
Gate	B-Application
of	I-Application
Thunder	I-Application
,	O
Lords	B-Application
of	I-Application
Thunder	I-Application
and	O
Rayxanber	B-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
