Here's an interesting one. It's a 1989 arcade-only Konami beat-em-up that combines the playstyles of Space Harrier, Devastators, Rolling Thunder and the beat-'em-up genre all into one game.
In two short parts, we see a mysterious Japanese player known only as "ZEK." blow through the entire game.
You're a spy who has to destroy a nuclear warhead in order to preserve world peace! You'll have to make your way to an isolated island and make your way to the missile silo to shut these plans down before nuclear winter happens somewhere!
Stage 1
Of course, you've got to get to the island first. What better way to do that than to get over there in a jetpack, Space Harrier style?
You'll start out with a gun that can only shoot one bullet at a time, but if you shoot down the orange guys, you'll be able to get machine gun bullets for rapid fire as well as "Fire Balls," which act as screen-clearing bombs.
The enemies will shoot rockets at you, but if you're staying on the move throughout this stage and paying attention as you do so, they shouldn't be much of a problem.
Shortly after you see a helicopter send out a bunch of bad guys (whom you can shoot down for power-ups) you'll take on the helicopter itself.
Stage 2
You'll now be in what looks like a Spanish village in a beat-'em-up style stage, where flunkies in purple and orange dog your every mode and are littered everywhere.
You'll be able to fight unarmed against the purple guys that appear in every stage, but you'll be able to get pistols, machine guns and grenades from the orange guys again. You can only carry one of the three weapon types at any time.
The fat guys take more punishment than the generic thinner guys, but they go down easily with the explosion from a grenade.
You'll reach the front gate of a large estate before you know it, and you'll face some guy who looks like Duke Nukem in a trenchcoat. You can move around the guy and punch him, and also use weapons against him, but he goes down easily with a grenade.
Stage 3
The next stage has you moving towards the background similarly to Devastators, right down to the controls: you'll have to hold Up in order to progress through the stage.
Once again, you'll be able to find machine gun bullets and screen-clearing fire balls here, which you'll have to pick up with the . The bombs work wonders here, as the enemies will be all over you in seconds and there are quite a few vehicles on the warpath that want to destroy you by any means necessary. With that in mind, the playfield can get quite cramped.
At the end, you'll see that stupid helicopter again, and some guy with a missile launcher will be running around as you hear nothing but the helicopter engine for music. When he stands still, he'll be firing the missile launcher. Stay out of the way, then keep up with him and shoot at him again. You'll still be dealing with the purple and orange guys, but as long as you don't stay in one place, you should be okay.
Stage 4
It's back to beat-'em-up mode as you meet up with some new enemies: martial artists and fat guys that can breathe fire. If you can get your hands on a machine gun, you can blow through this stage.
Near the end, you'll find a gun that shoots a five-way shot. This thing has only ten shots and is only time you'll find this in the stage, so hold on to it!
The boss here is some martial artist with a bo. The spread fire gun will make short work of him if you still have it. Otherwise, you're going to have to kick the crap out of him. When you beat him, the head bad guy in charge will press a button to make the room self-destruct, but you'll be out of there in a hurry.
Stage 5
You'll jetpack your way onto another part of the island. This time around, you can only move left and right and leap up to reinforced steel platforms similarly to Rolling Thunder. You'll spend the majority of your time ducking and punching at these guys to get through the area scot-free. Just remember that you're still on a timer here.
If you have a machine gun in your hands, you'll be able to stop the warmechs that walk at you with cannons ablaze stone cold.
When you reach the top of this mountain, you'll be back in beat-'em-up mode in the blink of an eye. You'll also take on a tank with some sort of scientist manning a machine gun at the back. If you have a machine gun or some grenades, you can take this guy out really quickly.
Stage 6
It's Contra-style corridor time again. As you get used to the Devastators-style controls again, you'll be turning around when doors close and you'll also meet...ninjas! Of course, there'd be ninjas.
Just before the end, you'll also be seeing cars with guys shooting rockets at you. Thankfully, staying to the side really helps, and you won't have to deal with them for long.
The boss here is another ninja. This guy is a real pain, as he splits into five, and tries to cut you down as you unknowingly attack his little shadow clones. If you have any screen-clearing fire balls, use them here. Using the weapons works wonders as well.
Stage 7
It's Rolling Thunder time again as you make your way up the missile silo. There are women in blue that seem to have their number as they kick at you, as well as women in white with acrobatic skill and plenty of throwing knives, but a machine gun will do them all in.
You'll find a laser gun along the way. If you can find it (and use it sparingly), you'll be able to power through enemies with it.
When you reach the top, you'll be able to enter the control room and take out the bodyguard stationed there: some guy who looks like Jaws from the James Bond film. If you've saved that laser gun, you can destroy him much more easily.
When you beat the Jaws look-alike, you'll meet Mr. "Hey, look at me! I look like Joseph Stalin!" This is obviously the leader of this evil organization. He'll take off in his jetpack chair, and you'll have to play through the game over again.
No comments:
Post a Comment