is a 1989 2D

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, ...

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 ...

developed by

Alpha Denshi , formerly known as , was a Japanese video game developer founded in 1980. ADK began as a developer of arcade games and is best known for their library of SNK Neo Geo titles, including for its home consoles, produced in partnership with SNK. Mos ...

and published by

SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...

Plot

The setting takes place in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, following martial artists Mike and Jackie, who heard an evil gang led by the antagonist, Jaguar, are terrorizing the city. Jaguar also kidnapped a young woman named Cynthia. Mike and Jackie must fight through parts of New York City (including

Chinatown, Manhattan Manhattan's Chinatown () is a Neighborhoods in Manhattan, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy, Manhattan, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center to its ...

) to return peace to New York City, and defeat Jaguar to save Cynthia.

Gameplay

In ''Gang Wars'', up to two players can control two different characters with different fighting styles. The movements are composed of two attack types (punch and kick), as jumping to fight against enemies or overcome obstacles. Players have access to a repertoire of techniques by pushing these buttons individually or in combination. The characters can also pick up weapons for hitting, throwing projectiles and firearms. At the end of each stage the players can customise the characters' three fighting statistics (Power, Speed and Guard) depending on the number of points they have. Higher end stage scores grant more customisation points.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Gang Wars'' on their July 15, 1989 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles like ''

Golden Axe is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video games developed by Sega. The series takes place in a medieval fantasy world where several heroes have the task of recovering the legendary Golden Axe, the mainstay element of the series. M ...

''.

References

External links

''Gang Wars''
at Arcade Database *{{KLOV game, 7909
''Gang Wars''
at arcade-history 1989 video games ADK (company) games Arcade video games Beat 'em ups PlayStation Network games Multiplayer and single-player video games Organized crime video games SNK games Video games scored by Hiroaki Shimizu Video games scored by Yuka Watanabe Video games developed in Japan

Plot

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links