S.P.Y.: Special Project Y and more Tough Turf! (Greg and James Beat 'Em Up, ep. 50)
000:00 Starting Soon ("Noir" by Aaron Hodges-Boyle)
04:08 Beginning
11:20 Tough Turf (Arcade, 1989; Sunsoft/Sega)
47:00 S.P.Y.: Special Project Y (Arcade, 1989; Konami)
1:23:50 Factoid Interrupted; Myriad Technical Difficulties!
It's our fiftieth episode, and it happens to include our fiftieth game!
First, we head back to Sunsoft and Sega's Tough Turf (Arcade; 1989), armed with the knowledge that we weren't experiencing emulation issues: this is an arcade beat 'em up that allows neither continues nor drop-ins!
Knowing what we're in for, we hunker down to see how far we can get and how well we'll appreciate the game when we understand it better. We get further than in our first attempts, but not much further, thanks to one of the most frustrating "sudden jumping challenge" segments we've yet seen in a beat 'em up! We do find things to like in this game--the unforgiving health/lives/continue system is supported by well-designed combat that challenges you to fight carefully--but mostly come away feeling like the focus on skilled combat would be better served by a game that had more than "punch, kick, jump kick, weapon hit" in its moveset! Verdict: MID Tier!
Then, it's time for Game 50 on our list (only 86 to go!): Konami's S.P.Y.: Special Project Y (the Y stands for "Y"). This game turns out to be a totally off-the-wall grab bag of genres, consistently returning to beat 'em up mechanics in and around homages to Space Harrier, Contra's "Base" levels, and Bad Dudes. None of these are that great on their own, but they're all executed just well enough that you just have to admire the game's energy. It's like Battletoads if the non-beat-'em-up levels were conceived with the intention of being fun! Verdict: a surprise entry to the BOSS Tier!
Finally, we struggle with technical difficulties and then give up and end early. Fortunately, I've already corrected the issues, so we're all set to finish off the 80s Arcade scene with Dynamite Dux and Gang Wars!
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Greg and James Beat 'Em Up is our ongoing exploration of the beat 'em up genre! Broadcast on any Tuesday evening where schedules and Greg's health allow at https://twitch.tv/58DreamStreet
In Phase One, we played 40 "notable or notable-adjacent" beat 'em ups released through the year 1993!
Now, in Phase Two, we're playing the NINETY-EIGHT other beat 'em ups released through the year 1993!
Intro Song: "Noir" by Aaron Hodges-Boyle. Aaron's got a wide catalog of "video game music to study or fall asleep to" over on his Bandcamp page: https://aaronhodges-boyle.bandcamp.com!
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