Cadillacs And Dinosaurs (video Game)
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''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'', released in Japan as , is a 1993
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
by
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
. It is a side-scrolling
beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...
based on the comic book series ''
Xenozoic Tales ''Xenozoic Tales'' is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future. Originally published by Kitchen Sink Press, the series began in 1986 with the story "Xenozoic!" which was included in the horror comics anthology ...
''. The game was produced as a tie-in to the short-lived '' Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'' animated series which was aired during the same year the game was released. A version for the
Capcom Power System Changer The is an arcade system board developed by Capcom that ran game software stored on removable daughterboards. More than two dozen arcade titles were released for CPS-1, before Capcom shifted game development over to its successor, the CP Syste ...
was planned and previewed but never released.


Gameplay

Up to three players can play at once, guiding their selected characters through eight stages, battling various enemies and bosses. There are four playable characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses: Jack (balanced type), Hannah (skill type), Mustapha (speed type), and Mess (power type). The game's titular dinosaurs make appearances as neutral characters that may attack both player characters and enemies. The players have access to several attacks. Each character has two special moves including one that depletes a character's health upon contact with an enemy and when two or more players play together, they can trigger a team-attack. Players can also find and use various firearms, throwing weapons such as rocks and explosives, and melee weapons such as clubs. When the player loses along the way, one of the big baddies holds a gun point-blank to the losing player's face in a first-person view, taunting the player with sayings such as "Eat lead, baby!". Unless the game is continued within a countdown of 20 seconds, the baddie fires his gun, leading to a game over.


Plot

The story begins in the 26th century, when an ensemble gang called the Black Marketeers begin hunting the dinosaurs to serve their unknown purpose. The continuous hunting process has made the dinosaurs violent and now they have started attacking villages and people. Four heroes: mechanic and shaman Jack Tenrec, diplomat and explorer by profession Hannah Dundee, friend and engineer Mustapha Cairo, and mysterious Mess O'Bradovich, have decided to team up against the Black Marketeers. The protagonists journey to the "City in the Sea" where they suspect the whole hunting network being operating from. As they reach the top of a building they fight Vice Terhune. After being beaten, Vice tells them about Butcher, who had been hunting in the northern woods. Following the information, they go through the swamp forest where they find a lot of dead dinosaurs before reaching and defeating the Butcher. Meanwhile, another big name in the hunting network, Hogg, realizes that Jack is busy in the swamp forest and decides to take over Jack's Garage. Proceeding with the mission, the heroes go through the desert of death, where they use their car to travel safely, but then the car is chased by Hogg on his cruiser motorcycle. After defeating Hogg, Jack realizes that the gangsters have taken over his garage. They go there and clear out the garage from the gangsters, eventually confronting and defeating their leader Slice and regaining control of their garage. This is when they receive a message from an old villager who tells them about the weird behavior of the dinosaurs and asks for help. In response to the call, the heroes reach the village where they notice dinosaurs violently attacking the people and that the village has been set on fire by someone. Going ahead further, they meet the old villager again as he tells about the whole network and as soon as he is about to reveal the name of the person behind all of it, he is shot dead by Morgan, who attacks the group as well. During the fight, Morgan talks about the powers of "doctor" transforms himself into a dinosaur-like creature called Morgue. By now, they have come to know that some doctor is trying to create new lifeforms. Proceeding ahead, the heroes reach the coal mine and another jungle, where they face a dinosaur trying to stomp them. They eventually reach a place where they fight a tentacled creature called Tyrog that attaches itself to the bodies of the gangsters as a monstrous dinosaur-human hybrid. With all the leads and hints, Jack has now realized that Dr. Simon Fessenden is the mastermind behind all that is happening. The team heads towards his underground hideout, which again is somewhere in the "City in the Sea". The heroes head towards the bunker, going through the library and the computer lab, where the doctor appears on the computer screen, calling himself the creator of a new world. Deep down is a bio-lab, and below it is a cave, which finally leads to Fessenden's lab. Seeing the team, he transforms himself into a Morgue-like creature, but is beaten. By now, the transforming serum's effect reaches its peak, and Fessenden transforms into a three-headed creature, but the heroes manage to defeat him. Crippled by his defeat, Fessenden sets the whole complex to self-destruct. As the laboratory starts exploding, the heroes run for their lives, but Hannah falls down while running and Jack stops to help her. Only Mustapha and Mess are able to make it out of the laboratory as it is destroyed. As they are walking back to their homes, thinking about Jack and Hannah, the latter two come from behind in the car, alive. All four heroes return home.


Reception

''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'' received positive reception from reviewers. ''
GamesMaster ''GamesMaster'' is a British television programme which originally aired on Channel 4 from 1992 to 1998. In 2021, it returned for a new series on YouTube and E4. It was the first UK television programme dedicated to video games. Dominik Diam ...
'' gave ''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'' a positive outlook. In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed the game on their June 1993 issues as one of the most-popular arcade games for the previous two weeks, outperforming titles such as ''
Warriors of Fate ''Warriors of Fate'', known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up game produced by Capcom. It is the second arcade game based on the '' Tenchi wo Kurau'' manga, following ''Dynasty Wars''. Originally released to arcades in 1992, home vers ...
''. ''RePlay'' reported ''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'' to be the ninth most-popular arcade game at the time.
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
magazine ''Go Play'' reviewed the game alongside ''
Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
'' and ''
The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...
'' calling them "some of the best CPS1 games you're unlikely to ever play on a Capcom compilation".


References


External links


The Cadillacs and Dinosaurs Garage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cadillacs And Dinosaurs (Arcade Game) 1993 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Cadillac Cancelled Capcom Power System Changer games Capcom beat 'em ups Cooperative video games CP System Dash games Dinosaurs in video games Post-apocalyptic video games Side-scrolling beat 'em ups Video games based on comics Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in New York City Video games set in the 26th century