, released in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
as ''Battle Rangers'', is a
run and gun arcade game released by
Data East
, also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The A ...
in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
. Two
commando
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
s take on an entire army with many weapons, and defeat
bosses to advance levels.
Plot
Snake and Eagle, two commandos of the Bloody Wolf special forces, receive instructions from their commander to destroy the enemy's weapon base and rescue any allies who have been reported
missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
, as well as the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
. In the ''Battle Rangers'' version, their commander is a
Secretary of State and the instructions are simply "save the top urgent crisis of our nation."
In the end, the Colonel tells Snake and Eagle that their next mission is to rescue the President once again; however, after having decided to "party it up tonight", the men decline to take the mission and abandon the Colonel.
Gameplay
The game uses a side-view
[ and employs a multi-directional attack method similar to many other arcade games of the run and gun genre, including '' Guerilla War'', '']Ikari Warriors
''Ikari Warriors'', known as in Japan, is a vertically-scrolling, run-and-gun shooter arcade video game released by SNK in 1986. It was published in North America by Tradewest. The game was released at the time when there were many ''Commando' ...
'', '' Mercs'' and Data East's own '' Heavy Barrel''.
Allowing up to two players to play simultaneously, once players create their own codename using up to three initials, they receive a quick mission briefing before the mission ensues. Players automatically begin the game with a machine gun containing unlimited ammo and a knife used exclusively for close quarters combat. The mission's levels are separated into "scenes" and usually consist of one or more players running through various terrain, attacking hordes of enemy soldiers, and reaching the end of the stage to battle a boss. Players have the option to rescue various hostages scattered throughout the levels to obtain new weapons or items.
Ports
The game was ported to the PC Engine
The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...
(known as the TurboGrafx-16
The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...
in North America) by Data East in 1989, and published a year later in the US by NEC. The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version retains much of the same gameplay elements, level designs, enemies, and items as the arcade version.
Differences between the Arcade and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 versions
* Player names: Both versions allow the players to create their own codenames as a name entry. However, the default codenames of the two commandos in the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version are Eagle and Snake, respectively.
* Numbers of players: The arcade version allows up to two players to play whereas its PC Engine/Turbografx-16 counterpart offers only a single-player mode with the option to play as either Snake or Eagle.
* Levels: The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version contains one additional level, making its total to eight.
* Mission objectives: The mission briefing in the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 port differs slightly by attempting to provide some type of backstory and changing the scenario. The player receives information that the enemy has kidnapped the President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
and the mission is to rescue him.
* Dialogue: Interaction between the player and hostages generates much more dialogue in the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version. There is also an added political reference in the beginning.
* Music: Though the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 had a more limited soundbank, the music was greatly enhanced to support full length catchy tracks. Toto's "White Sister" was redone in arcade game style and used in one of the sequences of gameplay when rescuing the fellow mercenary.
* Items: The "Rosary" from the arcade version was renamed to "Lucky Rabbit's Foot" in the TurboGrafx-16 version.
* Level design: The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version contains much larger levels.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1990 in '' Dragon'' #164 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. They gave it 3½ out of 5 stars.
Reviews
*'' Computer and Video Games'' (Dec, 1989)
*''TurboPlay
''TurboPlay Magazine'' is a bi-monthly, U.S.-based video game magazine which was published by L.F.P. from June/July 1990 through August/September 1992. It was available via subscription only (US$9.95 per year). A total of 14 issues were release ...
'' (Aug, 1990)
*''Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' (EGM) (Jul, 1990)
*''Power Play'' (Nov, 1989)
*''The Games Machine
''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published ''CRASH'', '' Zzap!64'', '' Amtix!'' and other magazines.
History
The magazine ran head to head wi ...
'' (Jan, 1990)
*'' ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)'' (Oct, 1989)
*''Sinclair User
''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...
'' (Jun, 1989)
References
External links
Official G-Mode webpage of Bloody Wolf
at TurboPlay
''TurboPlay Magazine'' is a bi-monthly, U.S.-based video game magazine which was published by L.F.P. from June/July 1990 through August/September 1992. It was available via subscription only (US$9.95 per year). A total of 14 issues were release ...
Magazine Archives
* http://www.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/data/566587.html
* http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=B&game_id=7049
* http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=207
* http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=294
* https://web.archive.org/web/20081119002732/http://www.gamespot.com/tg16/action/narazumonosentoubutaibw/index.html (cover pic)
* {{MobyGames, id=/bloody-wolf
1988 video games
Arcade video games
Romstar games
TurboGrafx-16 games
Run and gun games
Data East video games
Video games developed in Japan
Virtual Console games
Data East arcade games