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AUGUST 2017 UPDATE www.arcadequartermaster.com

It’s a Taito collection this August, with four new shrines live on the site!

VIOLENCE FIGHT: As per the norm of 80s fighting games, Violence Fight has the basics of button mashing with elements of sidescrolling brawlers and Double Dragon’s button layout. Four playable characters, each with specialized areas of attack, must duke out in an underground fighting arena, eventually facing off against tigers as bonus rounds and two hidden boss characters. As a similar nod to DD, the final battle is against the player character’s “brother”, essentially making it a mirror match. While the game boasts huge sprites, hitboxes can be awkward and controls are stiff at times, though the violent comic book sound effects in huge letters are quite a nice touch.

KAISER KNUCKLE: Taito’s step up in the 2D fighting foray is Global Champion, pitting 9 international fighters, each with their own unique specials and an elemental affinity. Power attacks are key to crashing your opponent against the barricades, sending them to a fiery or electrical doom. After defeating the other fighters, you must battle 2 semifinal bosses with unorthodox fighting styles, culminating with a final boss showdown in the depths of outerspace! While Global Champion had its share of bizarre and colorful characters, the names Kazuya and Wulong would eventually be overshadowed by similarly named characters from a different fighting game franchise.

PSYCHIC FORCE: Delving into the 3D fighting arena, Psychic Force follows the story of ESPers, psychics born with unnatural abilities and command of various elements as they are persecuted by humans and the government, seeking them as experimental supersoldiers. Two factions arise from the ensuing chaos: the rebel psychic group NOAH who wage war against humans, and another that seeks peace between humans and ESPers by battling NOAH’s extremist utopian ideals. Amidst the war, the humans have their own arsenal to hunt down the psychics. And now, the mutants psychics engage in a raging aerial battlefield mankind has never seen.

OPERATION THUNDERBOLT: A much more solid sequel to the arcade smash Operation Wolf, now with 2-player coop! Join Op. Wolf vet Roy Adams and his new partner Hardy Jones in the depths of a radical group’s outpost who have captured a plane of American passengers. The mere concept of the arcade intro’s plot is rather direct to the point and rather harsh to look back on. Operation Thunderbolt also adds more special items to aid Adams and Jones in their goal to rescue the hostages, along with a decisive shoot-out at the end of your mission. Interestingly, Taito’s early Wolf series can be seen as precursive inspirations for SNK’s own SMG shoot-em-ups in the late 80s.

Enjoy the new shrines and C&C are very much appreciated. Next month, IGS fighting game collection!