my personal favorite neo geo game, broadly way more fair than a metal slug and charming in its own way. shit feels heavy but not clunky, meaty but not excessive. wish my character's hitbox was a bit clearer though
this is better than metal slug games for me on the simple premise I can move in more directions than you could as a 2D side scroller so in theory I have a better sense of avoiding attacks (I died a lot nontheless). visually pretty good and it was a decently lengthed game. twin stick controls would probably feel great in this game
I'm shocked this franchise is not more well known, this game easily beats any Metal Slug post 3. THAT SOUNDTRACK...
soundtrack and game goes hard
Played on January 15th, 2023.
It's a solid game and the core gameplay is fun, and I really like the roll and ability to lock your fire (although I think just having autofire and then a strafe button would be better instead of having to hold fire). But unfortunately the boss variety is very underwhelming, the melee attack is pretty fickle, and the hitboxes/perspective can be a bit frustrating at times.
It's a great and unique game, but certainly no Metal Slug.
It's a great and unique game, but certainly no Metal Slug.
Retro Handhelds’ Retro Bits - #43
Fun game! Loved the music, the variety of weapons, and the deliciously crisp arcade graphics.
Big Mama is best mama <3
Fun game! Loved the music, the variety of weapons, and the deliciously crisp arcade graphics.
Big Mama is best mama <3
Se você gosta de "Metal Slug" é certeza que você vai amar esse game.
O jogo chama atenção pela sua beleza visual, com um gráfico desenhado, caricato e ao mesmo tempo cheio de violência IGUAL Metal Slug (o game usa um esquema de jogabilidade isométrico, diferente do Metal Slug que é totalmente 2D)
Você meio que pode escolher a "rota" que seu personagem vai fazer, mas os chefes independente das rotas são quase os mesmos.
Os chefes também não são grande coisa e mesmo os gráficos dando um certo carisma aos personagens as cutscenes que podiam ser uteis ao mostrar estes mesmos personagens em diálogos, ou em algo simples mas que os desse mais personalidade são desperdiçadas, e no geral todo o elenco do jogo tem 0 pontos no quesito CARISMA.
Um ponto alto do game são suas ótimas músicas, misturando em geral rock, é difícil descrever mas são musicas ótimas e que casam bem com o ritmo da jogatina.
O jogo chama atenção pela sua beleza visual, com um gráfico desenhado, caricato e ao mesmo tempo cheio de violência IGUAL Metal Slug (o game usa um esquema de jogabilidade isométrico, diferente do Metal Slug que é totalmente 2D)
Você meio que pode escolher a "rota" que seu personagem vai fazer, mas os chefes independente das rotas são quase os mesmos.
Os chefes também não são grande coisa e mesmo os gráficos dando um certo carisma aos personagens as cutscenes que podiam ser uteis ao mostrar estes mesmos personagens em diálogos, ou em algo simples mas que os desse mais personalidade são desperdiçadas, e no geral todo o elenco do jogo tem 0 pontos no quesito CARISMA.
Um ponto alto do game são suas ótimas músicas, misturando em geral rock, é difícil descrever mas são musicas ótimas e que casam bem com o ritmo da jogatina.
Even though the bosses are a bit samey, this is the most fun top-down shooter I've ever played. Locking down and wiping away hordes of enemies almost feels like a shmup. The diverse roster and branching-route system are refreshing, too.
Прошёл Shock Troopers на эмуляторе аркадного автомата с первого жетона. Не самый часто обсуждаемый ран-н-ган, Metal Slug всё-таки обсуждают заметно чаще. Вид сверху, аж восемь персонажей с возможностью играть соло или командой из трёх персонажей, можно выбирать маршрут в начале и затем сменить его в середине игры. Персонажи отличаются основным и дополнительным оружием, количеством хп и скоростью передвижения, при этом можно ещё и находить много видов оружия с конечным боезапасом. Помимо кнопки стрельбы двумя видами оружия есть перекат с неуязвимостью и возможность переключиться на другого персонажа в командном режиме.
Да, в ран-н-гане присутствует лайфбар при том, что также имеются три жизни - очень щедро по меркам жанра, тем более на аркадном автомате. Более того, в командном режиме у каждого персонажа свой лайфбар и свой запас дополнительного оружия. Можно наловчиться переключаться с полумёртвого персонажа на живучего, а затем обратно, если выпала аптечка и её можно безопасно подобрать.
Ещё если подходить к врагам вплотную, то можно их резать - с большинства врагов выпадают очки, но с некоторых может выпасть восстановление хп, уничтожение всех врагов или временная неуязвимость. Данной механикой нужно пользоваться осторожно - какие-то враги стоят неподвижно и лениво стреляют, а другие, но выглядящие аналогично, могут прибегать, отбегать, напрыгивать и стрелять гораздо активнее.
Игра конечно красивая и вообще хороших ран-н-ганов много не бывает, но боссы показались уж слишком одинаковыми - как будто сражаешься с разными версиями одного и того же танка или человека. Был разве что один более-менее уникальный босс - две ниндзи с уникальным набором атак, причём можно убить их одновременно, либо оставить одного и посмотреть на новые атаки. Возможно это именно на маршруте Jungle-Valley так, а в других маршрутах будут другие уникальные боссы. Но зато игра не особо монетовыбивательная, а для прохождения с одного жетона потребуется лишь запомнить подлых врагов в некоторых местах и привыкнуть к перекатам.
Да, в ран-н-гане присутствует лайфбар при том, что также имеются три жизни - очень щедро по меркам жанра, тем более на аркадном автомате. Более того, в командном режиме у каждого персонажа свой лайфбар и свой запас дополнительного оружия. Можно наловчиться переключаться с полумёртвого персонажа на живучего, а затем обратно, если выпала аптечка и её можно безопасно подобрать.
Ещё если подходить к врагам вплотную, то можно их резать - с большинства врагов выпадают очки, но с некоторых может выпасть восстановление хп, уничтожение всех врагов или временная неуязвимость. Данной механикой нужно пользоваться осторожно - какие-то враги стоят неподвижно и лениво стреляют, а другие, но выглядящие аналогично, могут прибегать, отбегать, напрыгивать и стрелять гораздо активнее.
Игра конечно красивая и вообще хороших ран-н-ганов много не бывает, но боссы показались уж слишком одинаковыми - как будто сражаешься с разными версиями одного и того же танка или человека. Был разве что один более-менее уникальный босс - две ниндзи с уникальным набором атак, причём можно убить их одновременно, либо оставить одного и посмотреть на новые атаки. Возможно это именно на маршруте Jungle-Valley так, а в других маршрутах будут другие уникальные боссы. Но зато игра не особо монетовыбивательная, а для прохождения с одного жетона потребуется лишь запомнить подлых врагов в некоторых местах и привыкнуть к перекатам.
Run and gun divertido.
Top down shooter with good production values. Eight different characters with different speed and endurance values, some have different main weapons or a different melee animation, and all have different special weapons with different ammo values and effects. All characters can roll to dodge attacks. Can play solo or co-op and can play solo with one character or three you can switch between (though they share a life bar). Different paths give a total of 16 stages with six played during each game. Good stage design and enemy death animations. Originally on the Neo Geo, PC port worked well.
Just a really fantastic arcade shmup
Gameplay: Great
Story: Good
Controls: Great
Graphics: Great
Length: Great. Has multiple routes and combination of routes so it's nice.
Characters: Great
Best Girl: Milky. lol
Note: Played on RG35XX Retro handheld console.
Story: Good
Controls: Great
Graphics: Great
Length: Great. Has multiple routes and combination of routes so it's nice.
Characters: Great
Best Girl: Milky. lol
Note: Played on RG35XX Retro handheld console.
Oh man oh yeah you know what I like? Holding the button to lock to angle of my gunfire, that’s what I like.
played it on steam with my buddy, it crashed once but other than that it was mad fun.
i want big mama to sit on my face
i want big mama to sit on my face
Tiro.
dude this games soundtrack is like ridge racer levels of hype. reminds me a lot of F/A in terms of overall tone. Gameplay doesn't disappoint either, you have 3 different routes to go through to encourage multiple playthroughs, and the game is just a fun lil top down action romp with fun movement. Grab a friend and have a good time with this one.
Third GOTW finished for 2023. This game is phenomenal. Arcade coin-guzzlers aren't really my type of thing, but this game is just great at what it does. Vertical and horizontal top-down perspectives change the landscape in fun ways, and the graphics look stunning. Each of the 10 main characters has their own primary and secondary weapon, as well as different walk/move/roll speeds, helping to make each one feel unique. The pace feels frenetic and fun, without being overly difficult. Absolute blast!
I didn't expect this kind of game to work so well from a top down perspective.
Big Mama
Oh f*ck this game was such a blast. The pinnacle of top-down shooters from the 90s.
I was more of a Metal Slug guy back in the day but i always felt curious about this one. Also, Shock Troopers was a lot harder to find as an arcade, where i live. I remember as a kid thinking how cool those characters were. Now i think it’s a great example on how japanese’s takes on american culture can get pretty comical. But for sure that’s part of the charm in this game’s art direction.
There’s not much complexity here: Just shoot everything that moves (and also everything that doesn’t, because buildings can also be destroyed). Controls might take a while to get used to, but it’s not really a big deal.
The game allows you to choose a max of 3 characters over 8, all of which have their own special features (different kind of weapon, more or less health or speed, etc). That, alongside the possibility of choosing different paths, give this game A LOT of replayable value.
Only flaws i can point out: first, the bosses. It’s a bit underwhelming that no matter which route you take, you will always fight the same bosses, just with a different colour and in a different order. It would have been a lot more exciting to have different bosses depending on the selected route.
Second, the length. Short games are my go-to, usually, but Shock Troopers just feels like it’s excesively short. And sadly, unlike Metal Slug, there’s only one sequel.
On a side note: one of the characters here looks an awful lot like one of the Midnight Resistance guys.
I was more of a Metal Slug guy back in the day but i always felt curious about this one. Also, Shock Troopers was a lot harder to find as an arcade, where i live. I remember as a kid thinking how cool those characters were. Now i think it’s a great example on how japanese’s takes on american culture can get pretty comical. But for sure that’s part of the charm in this game’s art direction.
There’s not much complexity here: Just shoot everything that moves (and also everything that doesn’t, because buildings can also be destroyed). Controls might take a while to get used to, but it’s not really a big deal.
The game allows you to choose a max of 3 characters over 8, all of which have their own special features (different kind of weapon, more or less health or speed, etc). That, alongside the possibility of choosing different paths, give this game A LOT of replayable value.
Only flaws i can point out: first, the bosses. It’s a bit underwhelming that no matter which route you take, you will always fight the same bosses, just with a different colour and in a different order. It would have been a lot more exciting to have different bosses depending on the selected route.
Second, the length. Short games are my go-to, usually, but Shock Troopers just feels like it’s excesively short. And sadly, unlike Metal Slug, there’s only one sequel.
On a side note: one of the characters here looks an awful lot like one of the Midnight Resistance guys.
I honestly don't even know where to begin with Shock Troopers. This is easily one of the best run-and-gunners you can play, its sense of humor is worn on its sleeve, and the action is as constant as it is insane. There is also just a staggering amount of variety, as if being just plain fun to play wasn't enough of an incentive to come back to it again and again. There's so much here to dive into, but really it might be best if you just skip the review and play it.
Right off the bat you're given eight different characters to choose from, each with their own stats and weapons. While they largely play similar to each other, there's enough meat to each of the characters that it's well worth rotating through them to find your favorite. The game is then divided into three routes: mountain, jungle, and valley. Each run through the game takes you through six stages with one stage shared between each route, making for a total of sixteen levels. If you're crunching the numbers with me, then this must feel like quite a bit of variety for a run-and-gun arcade game from 1997.
Being a mid-90s Neo Geo game, it looks incredible. Animations are incredibly fluid, the action is very punchy, the music is fun yet intense, and the sound effects have just the right amount of crunch. You can tell the folks over at Saurus had a blast making this thing. It's just a shame I missed this in the arcade (in fact, I only heard of it a few years ago), but thankfully it's easily accessible today through Steam or GOG. You can also find it off the back of a truck if you want to avoid supporting current SNK, or more accurately stated: current SNK's owners.
Right off the bat you're given eight different characters to choose from, each with their own stats and weapons. While they largely play similar to each other, there's enough meat to each of the characters that it's well worth rotating through them to find your favorite. The game is then divided into three routes: mountain, jungle, and valley. Each run through the game takes you through six stages with one stage shared between each route, making for a total of sixteen levels. If you're crunching the numbers with me, then this must feel like quite a bit of variety for a run-and-gun arcade game from 1997.
Being a mid-90s Neo Geo game, it looks incredible. Animations are incredibly fluid, the action is very punchy, the music is fun yet intense, and the sound effects have just the right amount of crunch. You can tell the folks over at Saurus had a blast making this thing. It's just a shame I missed this in the arcade (in fact, I only heard of it a few years ago), but thankfully it's easily accessible today through Steam or GOG. You can also find it off the back of a truck if you want to avoid supporting current SNK, or more accurately stated: current SNK's owners.
Recommended by kingbancho on this list.
A game comprising solely what a teenager in 1996 would think is cool. And to be fair, that teenager gets a lot of things right. The opinions of Backloggd users should be judged based on whether they think "dude on a motorcycle, throwing explosive boomerangs at tanks before somersaulting off a cliff into the jungle below" is sufficiently exciting.
It feels surprisingly good to play. There's only three buttons (four if you're tagging in other characters) but it's still a competent Souls-like, taking clear inspiration from FromSoft's flagship IP - a combat roll, environmental storytelling, an Ornstein and Smough boss fight, the ability to use a bow for which you carry surprisingly few arrows. In all seriousness, It could stand to have a little more enemy variety thrown in - there's plenty of variance if you include mini-bosses and bosses-bosses, but the path to those bosses will inevitably be slightly different flavors of green dude: green dude shooting at you, green dude smoking, green dude carrying a stretche-- ahh.
I do wish the characters themselves were more unique, since a couple of them feel functionally identical, but the ones that stand out (again, the boomerangs) are genuinely fun to use and make the experience fresh when "gunboy with grenade" starts to lose its novelty. The experience overall is short enough that you probably won't get that tired of the player characters unless you're really goofing it up, but I do think it's worth mentioning since I tend to value variety pretty highly in games.
I'd like to say more, but I don't have a lot of top-down shooters of any kind under my belt, much less these older arcade-style games. Given that I wasn't expecting to like this at all going in, the fact that I've come out of the experience this positive is a testament to the strength of the core experience and its steep learning curve.
A game comprising solely what a teenager in 1996 would think is cool. And to be fair, that teenager gets a lot of things right. The opinions of Backloggd users should be judged based on whether they think "dude on a motorcycle, throwing explosive boomerangs at tanks before somersaulting off a cliff into the jungle below" is sufficiently exciting.
It feels surprisingly good to play. There's only three buttons (four if you're tagging in other characters) but it's still a competent Souls-like, taking clear inspiration from FromSoft's flagship IP - a combat roll, environmental storytelling, an Ornstein and Smough boss fight, the ability to use a bow for which you carry surprisingly few arrows. In all seriousness, It could stand to have a little more enemy variety thrown in - there's plenty of variance if you include mini-bosses and bosses-bosses, but the path to those bosses will inevitably be slightly different flavors of green dude: green dude shooting at you, green dude smoking, green dude carrying a stretche-- ahh.
I do wish the characters themselves were more unique, since a couple of them feel functionally identical, but the ones that stand out (again, the boomerangs) are genuinely fun to use and make the experience fresh when "gunboy with grenade" starts to lose its novelty. The experience overall is short enough that you probably won't get that tired of the player characters unless you're really goofing it up, but I do think it's worth mentioning since I tend to value variety pretty highly in games.
I'd like to say more, but I don't have a lot of top-down shooters of any kind under my belt, much less these older arcade-style games. Given that I wasn't expecting to like this at all going in, the fact that I've come out of the experience this positive is a testament to the strength of the core experience and its steep learning curve.
it would benefit from more enemy variety but its otherwise just sublime