Elevator Action: Returns - S-Tribute
released on Nov 30, 2022
An expanded game of Elevator Action Returns
Infiltrate a terrorist occupied tower, airport, and shopping mall to get classified data and stop their plans. New features have been added to this revival of the home console version of Elevator Action Returns, a masterpiece 2D action game. Also features 2 player mode.
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Very good arcade game. Is now one of my favorites.
A fun little action arcade game. It’s got awesome presentation and a sorta unique gameplay, but it ends up becoming a repetitive onslaught of the same enemies and tasks. An enjoyable quick play through.
The later levels get a bit too hectic, but Elevator Action Returns is a fun and brutally violent arcade action game. Players take elevators sideways, slantways, longways, and backways through a variety of levels, from airports to colossal skyscrapers. The objectives are straightforward, but the difficulty comes from the sheer volume of enemies and traps that stand in your way. Challenge aside, I found great satisfaction in mowing down the mobs of terrorists, which results in buckets of blood and some nice pixelated explosion effects.
Maybe someday, I'll be able to beat this without infinite credits. But, for now, I'm happy just to participate in the chaotic bloodshed.
Maybe someday, I'll be able to beat this without infinite credits. But, for now, I'm happy just to participate in the chaotic bloodshed.
Played through it once on PC and a few times on Saturn. EA:R is a masterpiece of arcade action game design.
Already a great game, and the switch is the perfect home for it.
Elevator Action Returns - S-Tribute is a rerelease of the Taito masterpiece for modern platforms, specifically of the Sega Saturn version, with the usual bells and whistles of emulated game releases like this. There's quick saves so you can put a run down and return to it later, a "slow mode" that can be activated at any time to makes the game a little easier, there's a difficulty setting, options for infinite or limited credits, and buttons are all remappable. But the release could be a little better. There's none of the fun behind the scenes stuff like concept art or box art galleries like you'll find in the Megaman or Castlevania Collections. And unfortunately there's no online version, so you cannot play with friends online, but you can do two player couch co-op.
Still, Elevator Action Returns is one of the beautiful action arcade games. It improves on the original by bringing using mechanics from Namco's Rolling Thunder, the side-scrolling arcade shooting/cover game. Enemies spawn from doors. Both you and enemies can crouch; weapons are fired on either the high or low axis, and you can avoid damage by ducking under or jumping over bullets, or taking cover (though most cover will degrade after a few hits). The goal of the game is to fight your way to every red door in a level, then get to the end of the level to escape. There are security cameras which, if you don't shoot in time, will spawn more enemies. The game will take about an hour or so per play-through, with infinite credits, depending on how often you die, but it's such a blast all the way through.
You can play as one of three characters, and swap between them on the fly when you run out of lives and have to put in a credit. There's Kart Bradfield, who is the most agile and has a hand grenade as his subweapon. There's Edie Burret, who has the fire bomb subweapon and more importantly can fire bullets very quickly. Then there's Jad the Taff, who's very tough and has a proximity bomb subweapon.
There are a handful of set-pieces in each level—exploding planes your character escapes from, collapsing buildings, and so on, which break up the games pace a bit and are always cool as hell and well-animated. The art style is also just sick as hell 90s anime inspired pixel art. It's a real blast to play through, and I hope one day I get to play it on a cabinet.
GOTY 2022.
Still, Elevator Action Returns is one of the beautiful action arcade games. It improves on the original by bringing using mechanics from Namco's Rolling Thunder, the side-scrolling arcade shooting/cover game. Enemies spawn from doors. Both you and enemies can crouch; weapons are fired on either the high or low axis, and you can avoid damage by ducking under or jumping over bullets, or taking cover (though most cover will degrade after a few hits). The goal of the game is to fight your way to every red door in a level, then get to the end of the level to escape. There are security cameras which, if you don't shoot in time, will spawn more enemies. The game will take about an hour or so per play-through, with infinite credits, depending on how often you die, but it's such a blast all the way through.
You can play as one of three characters, and swap between them on the fly when you run out of lives and have to put in a credit. There's Kart Bradfield, who is the most agile and has a hand grenade as his subweapon. There's Edie Burret, who has the fire bomb subweapon and more importantly can fire bullets very quickly. Then there's Jad the Taff, who's very tough and has a proximity bomb subweapon.
There are a handful of set-pieces in each level—exploding planes your character escapes from, collapsing buildings, and so on, which break up the games pace a bit and are always cool as hell and well-animated. The art style is also just sick as hell 90s anime inspired pixel art. It's a real blast to play through, and I hope one day I get to play it on a cabinet.
GOTY 2022.