Play Imperium Online

Summary

Imperium (known as Mobile Armoured Dion in Japan) is a vertical‑scrolling shooter on the SNES that swaps the usual high‑score tally for an experience‑point system. Every enemy you blast adds to a growing XP counter, and once you hit certain thresholds you unlock new weapons and power‑ups, while a five‑hit life bar tracks your health. Getting hit not only chips away at that bar but also downgrades your current weapon by one level, though you can recover both health and weapon strength by racking up more XP.

The mech’s speed is adjustable across five settings, and the game forgoes traditional lives – death means Game Over, but a limited four‑time continue lets you resume on the same stage. The Western release trims some of the Japanese version’s visual flair, stripping layered backgrounds (especially the construction‑beam‑filled level‑2 scenery) and swapping the original large fireball “Wave” weapon for a simpler version.

Critics were split: while some praised the novel power‑up mechanic and solid challenge, others found the graphics bland and the gameplay frustrating, resulting in mixed scores ranging from 40% to 78% across contemporary magazines.

Storyline

In the year 2027 Earth is suddenly struck by the planetoid space fortress Zektron, which razes cities and occupies the planet, threatening humanity’s extinction. An underground military squadron and a secret laboratory respond by building a compact but powerful mecha named Dion, released in the United States as Imperium. The prototype is assembled aboard the mothership Leinoa, a mobile base that equips the machine with massive firepower. Players are tasked with piloting Dion/Imperium to first clear the Zektron‑controlled occupation forces from the surface. Once the ground is secured, the ultimate mission is to launch the mecha into the Zektron fortress and destroy it, ending the alien threat.