Beat Angel Escalayer (超昂天使エスカレイヤー, Chōkō Tenshi Esukareiyā), is an Eroge developed by AliceSoft and released in 2002 on PC. It was adapted into a three episode anime series produced by the studio Pink Pineapple, and later got a remake in 2014 titled Choukou Tenshi Escalayer Reboot. There exists an English dub of the series, but no localization of the game has been made for years until the official release of the remake by MangaGamer, as Beat Angel Escalayer R, released in June 2020.
Kyouhei Yanase, a student in Kannuki City, discovers that the new transfer student of his class happens to be Sayuka Kouenji, his long lost Childhood Friend, but she doesn't seem to recognize him at all. Later on, mysterious alien forces began to invade Earth with Japan as the starting ground, introducing themselves as the intergalactic empire of Dai-Lust. While attempting to chase Sayuka, Kyouhei eventually finds her in a back alley, absorbed in masturbation and suddenly screaming in orgasm upon seeing him, before being surrounded in a light halo and turning her into Escalayer, the angelic warrior.
The astounded Kyouhei is left voiceless as he witnesses his childhood friend turned warrior getting rid of Dai-Lust forces by herself with otherworldly powers. While returning home, he stumbles upon an odd girl presenting herself as Madoka Kouenji, a robot living with Sayuka and her self-proclaimed sister. Madoka goes on to explain that Sayuka acquired the necessary energy to transform into Escalayer and drive away Dai-Lust only by experiencing sexual arousal, and then formally asks Kyouhei to act as Sayuka's partner. Hesitant at first, he eventually accepts upon hearing her plea with some blackmailing from Madoka.
Sayuka, the main heroine, who is tasked with saving the world, has abilities that are powered by an artificial heart named "Dynamic ba-Dump Dynamo" (DDD), which is recharged by sexual arousal, and this powers her Magical Girl ability to turn into Escalayer. The game and series consist mainly of a Monster of the Week format, with raising sim mecanics where the player has to manage his relationship with Sayuka. Depending on how the protagonist choose to treat Sayuka, the overall tone can vary from very depressing to overly positive. The game was popular enough to have a Spiritual Successor some years later, aptly named Beat Blades Haruka, which has a similar gameplay.
- Alien Invasion: The game depicts the events of Sayuka and Kyouhei's fight against the empire of Dai-Lust, and their attempts to invade Earth.
- Bi the Way: Sakuya and Madoka will happily have sex with men or women.
- Beta Test Baddie: FM77, a biological clone of Escalayer, ends up antagonizing her in order to prove herself to be the "real" Escalayer.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Sayuka can be Unlucky or Victorious, depending on which ending the player gets.
- Cloning Blues: FM77 suffered from this upon learning she was merely a clone of the original Escalayer, but eventually gets over it after being adopted by Kyouhei.
- Crazy Prepared: Madoka asked Kyouhei to help Sayuka, and in the event he refused she had the lover letter he wrote to Sayuka years ago and threatened to reveal it to his friends.
- Darkest Hour: After badly losing to FM77 in their first fight, Sayuka asks Kyouhei to treat her cruelly in order to gain power faster. Whether or not he chooses to do so is up to the player, and it paves the way for the Romance (refusing) and Brutal (accepting) routes.
- Deus Sex Machina: For Female Frusts, getting rid of their transformation usually requires to have sex with them.
- Intimate Healing: Of the "sex to recharge energy" type, because of the way the DDD works.
- Knight of Cerebus: FM77 is in contrasts the silly villains faced before her a completely serious character.
- Mad Scientist: Dr. Alc, responsible for creating most of the Dis-Grunts and Frusts seen in the game. He also created FM77, a clone of Escalayer.
- Magical Girl: The plot mainly consists of Kyouhei helping Sayuka to transform into a superheroine, and beat the crap out of many monsters with magical powers.
- Meganekko: When not transformed, Sayuka wears glasses with her civilian clothes.
- Monster of the Week: The events of the game spans an entire month, in which Dis-Grunts and Frusts appear in Kannuki City with a different plan each time.
- Multiple Endings: Depending on your actions, several endings can be achieved:
- Romance Ending: Achieved by being a good partner to Sayuka and being nice to her.
- Complete Victory: Requires to be on the way of the Romance Ending with additional conditions, and the only ending where the Bigger Bad is fought.
- Brutal Ending: Abusing Sayuka, and most of the time acting like a dick with her.
- Madoka Ending: Choosing Madoka over Sayuka during the events of the game.
- Ryouko Ending: Choosing Ryouko over Sayuka during the events of the game.
- The game also has a lot of bad endings, usually when losing to important battles.
- Romance Ending: Achieved by being a good partner to Sayuka and being nice to her.
- Naughty Tentacles: Usually what happens if Escalayer loses boss fights, meaning it's entirely possible to avoid them entirely should the player be careful enough.
- The Punishment: If you lose battles, Sayuka gets raped, but since having sex ups her stats, it's not exactly the smartest thing the monster can do. However, losing too much battles eventually corrupts Escalayer and causes her to betray mankind.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: Madoka looks like a real human, apart from her robotic voice.
- She's All Grown Up: Sayuka and Kyouhei used to be neighbors when they were little.
- Spiritual Successor: The later game Beat Blades Haruka has a more interactive battle system and more heroines to manage, but is essentially Escalayer with ninjas instead of aliens.
- You Lose At Two Peace Points: On top of managing Sayuka's love life, the player also need to keep an eye of the Peace gauge, which decreases over time as long as Dis-Grunts and Frusts are present. If it's allowed to decrease below two points, it triggers a bad ending in which Sayuka joins the Earth army, only for them to fail.