Duration: 21:27

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5

A 1-credit clear of the arcade game Cosmic Cop, aka Armed Police Unit Gallop. Rom: cosmccop. Played with WolfMAME 0.259. Final score is 474,420 - a new record on MARP, at least for now. And a no-miss through the end of the first loop and one zone of the second!

Cosmic Cop is by Irem, and it's a spin-off of the R-Type series. This game moves fast! If you push toward the right of the screen you can make it move even faster, to speedrun stages for extra points. It's pretty forgiving of you bumping into walls: You lose your weapon power-up if you touch a wall but you can get jostled off walls as long as you don't hit one head-on at high speed or get squeezed against the side of the screen.

Difficulty level is very spicy. On the one hand: It's short, there are safe strats for some things, and your laser special weapon auto-targets up to 3 enemies. On the other hand: You have to squeeze a big fat hitbox through a lot of tight spaces, there's a lot to remember, and enemies can behave unpredictably.

Overall I like this game a lot! It feels bad when it goes badly yet feels so good when a run comes together. I love the look and vibe - detailed sprites and satisfying explosions. Boss designs range from good to great, with the stage 3 boss an especially cool design with lots of moving parts. The soundtrack is excellent, jazzy tunes tinged with a harshness from the FM synthesizer like a distortion guitar.