Technos' Shadow Force and Konami's Violent Storm (Greg and James Beat 'Em Up!, Ep. 76)
100:00 Beginning (Theme Song by James!)
10:05 Shadow Force (Arcade; 1993; Technos Japan Corp.)
1:09:10 Violent Storm (Arcade; 1993; Konami)
Technos' Shadow Force turns out to be what I've been hoping SNK beat 'em ups would be: a beat 'em up that really goes long on mechanical complexity in the fighting! Two attack buttons that both have an up and a down directional variation (six basic attacks)! Multiple fighting-game style special moves for all four playable characters! A guard system! Combat that actually expects you to use the guard system and employ a variety of attacks to get around the enemies' guards and counter their moves! Oh, and a separate possession system, whereby you can take over almost any enemy type, and each enemy type has the same six basic attacks and a single fighting-game-input style move!
Meanwhile, there are three different "paths" through the game to be chosen from at the start, and they don't all feature the same stages, so there's some additional replayability. The graphics were great and the designs were fine, if not necessarily at a Kunio or Double Dragon level. The music was good! This was a great experience! *VERDICT*: Boss Tier!
Konami's Violent Storm doesn't carry on the lineage of any of their prior beat 'em ups. Instead, the gameplay is straight-ahead Final Fight clone, and the setting is Double Dragon-style post-apocalyptic urban warfare (and the plot is literally the original Double Dragon's "one of your girlfriends gets kidnapped right in front of you and you set out to save her!").
Except... well, first, the variety of moves they squeezed out of a single-button attack system made for a game that's way more interesting to play than Final Fight. On top of that, the developers committed whole-heartedly to an inexplicable choice to make their post-apocalyptic urban wasteland a cheerful pastel world with a sunny soundtrack of rockabilly, hair metal, and hip hop. This is a Double Dragon ripoff setting with its own distinct aesthetic and point of view. One of the three playable characters celebrates getting the final hit on a boss by combing his bangs with a knife! This was a wild ride. *VERDICT*: Boss Tier!
Next time, we finally close in on an adaptation we've been looking forward to: Capcom's Cadillacs and Dinosaurs!
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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!
Theme Song composed by James, using Famitracker!