Zero Team USA and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Greg and James Beat 'Em Up!, Ep. 77)
000:00 Beginning (Theme Song by James!)
05:10 Zero Team USA (Arcade; 1993; Seibu Kaihatsu Inc.)
1:00:10 Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade; 1993; Capcom)
Zero Team USA is a pretty down-the-middle game mechanically, and it doesn't have much in the way of a distinct style/theme, but it certainly has some lovingly-detailed animations for its sprites! This is one of the few games we've played that has a different sprite frame for the characters to look away from the player as they move up the Z-axis, which is probably not unrelated to the one female playable character, Spin, having one of the most ludicrously revealing beat 'em up outfits we've ever seen! *VERDICT*: Mid Tier!
Then, we're on to Capcom's arcade adaptation of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, a 90s cartoon that seems in my memory like it should've been a big deal but actually vanished after thirteen episodes. I never even watched the show, mind you, but the ads alone stuck with me because of the rock-solid premise (there's dinosaurs and the humans drive around in cadillacs: whaddaya want, a road map?) and the very memorable outfit on the female lead, who child me assumed was just the lead lead, on account of the actual main character being absurdly dull visually.
Anyway, the game turns out to be a very fun Capcom-style beat 'em up with great graphics (inferior animations to Zero Team USA, though), solid gameplay, and the aforementioned rock-solid premise. Hannah Dundee isn't rendered in nearly the same level of sweaty-palmed detail as Spin was, but holy smokes, that jeans-and-a-tied-off-red-dress-shirt look--I'm seriously considering cosplaying her for a convention later this year even though, as I mentioned, this cartoon was not actually successful and no one will no who I am dressed as! *VERDICT*: Mid-Boss Tier!
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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!