Violent Storm
Violent Storm | |
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Developer(s) | Konami |
Publisher(s) | Konami |
Series | Crime Fighters |
Released | 1993 |
Genre | Scrolling Fighter |
Mode(s) | Up to 3 players simultaneously |
Platform(s) | Arcade |
Input methods | 8-way joystick, 2 buttons |
Arcade cabinet | Upright |
Violent Storm is an arcade beat 'em up game by Konami. It was published in 1993. It was a third installment of a series, following Crime Fighters (1989) and Vendetta (1991).
The game features 3 playable characters:
- Wade - blonde man wearing blue outfit; he has average power and speed.
- Boris - red-haired man dressing red with silver and sunglasses; typical strong but slow character, able to throw most things and enemies with ease. Only him can lift up an enemy by jumping up to the air while grabbing him.
- Kyle - black-haired man dressed in green and gray with dog tags; capable of kicking at near lightspeed he is the fastest and weakest of the three.
Contents |
Enemies
Regular enemies
- Talcus / R. Talcus - the basic punch-bag enemies commonly seen through the game. They have mohawk hairstyle and pants (these share the same color) with silver keys hung aside, tanktop and thick shoes. They basically attack with punches and kicks, plus being able to do several regular actions the player can perform (i.e. break objects, jump and crouch, block attacks, pick up untouched food to regain health and the like). Their colors are golden mohawk and pants with default skin for Talcus, red mohawk and pants with tanned skin for R. Talcus.
- Jaxom - somewhat more durable and intelligent than Talcus, these guys have frilled brown hair and sport a kind of torn-down sweatshirt with long boots (both also sharing an equal color), bandana, bracelets and beggar pants. They fight very basically with the addition of more hit points and smarter fighting technique. Just like Talcus/R. Talcus, Jaxoms also wear golden or red sweatshirt and boots with default or tanned skin tone.
- Ryuken / R. Ryuken - these hindu-looking kung fu artists may seem stupid but aren't that dumb! These creeps attack with several martial arts moves, which also include sweeps, flying kicks, flying knee strikes, leg-drop and even jump with head stomp, M. Bison style! Ryukens are even more deadly when you get caught in a group of them or with other enemies diverting your attention so that they can strike on you freely. Regular Ryukens come in blue with purple monk outfit while R. Ryukens are seen in red with graffiti outfits.
- Dr. Hogun - these homosexual hoodlums with dirty appearance are passive but dangerous enemies. They have a big passion for explosives, and their main attack is to throw a powerful bomb and back off. Due to their VERY LOW amount of health, there is no real strategy for these guys, just hit them once and they're down for the count. And, no need to say, avoid their bombs.
- Crossbones - lunatic guys with fondness for steel. A Crossbones is never seen without his faithful steel pipe, which in his hands becomes a dangerous tool of destruction. They have orange/crimson mohawks and tightpants, black punk shirt and boots, and the irritating habit of hopping on one foot when idle. Very rarely, or never at all, a Crossbones drops its dear steel pipe when defeated.
- Liza / Eliza - the female enemies of the game have a devious-looking smile. Beyond playing with sharp knives most of the time, these treacherous femme fatales can kick, sweep and jumpkick along with great skill, so the player is advised to take them down first and quick. Liza is red-haired with black dress and boots, Eliza comes in blonde hair and lavender clothing. Just like Crossbones, they never drop knives when defeated. However, if they throw a knife and it's deflected, the player can then pick it up.
- Lollypop / Lollypop Jr. - big, powerful walking amounts of concentrated fat. Obvious to their shape, these not-so-clever Arabian-looking men suffering from diabetes mellitus tend to rely more on their brute strength and monstrous weight. Varying from sumo slaps and punches, bellyflop rushes to grabbing the player and smashing him against the ground and even fire breathing, they are a force to be considered in battle. Lollypop and Lollypop Jr. wear "sugar" and "cherry" pants, respectively. There's also a "secret" version named Y. Lollypop, who wears "gold" pants and appears only in a 2-player game - this version of the character may be probably a bug from the game programming or something leftover from the beta prototype of the game.
- Gigadeath - repulsive thugs with heavy metal looks. Characteristically they have long colorful hair, wear black leather clothing, metal piercings, bracelets, pocket chains and thick boots. They always carry a thick piece of chain to whip and even dizzy the player. Gigadeaths can appear with purple or green hair and rarely with small variations on their colors.
- Spike / B. Spike - the most annoying among the regular enemies of the game, they will give you stormy times if you are not careful. True to the name, they have iron spikes protruding from every place of their bodies and clothing. They can rush with a spiked shoulder towards the player, can grab and toss backwards, grapple and hug crush or knee the player's face, slap with powerful hands and so. Spikes wear green pants, while B. Spikes wear purple pants. In Stage 4, there is a unique version named R. Spike, which is also his unique appearance in the whole game - just like Y. Lollypop, described above. R. Spike has blood-red spikes and wears silver pants, and has two personal techniques, Spike Roller and Spike Driver.
- Bull - he is a minor version of Dabel (Stage 1 Boss), therefore weaker and easier to beat. This guy has all the same actions of the original Dabel (see right below), but has no getting up priority and can be pummeled at will. He even doesn't use his trademark burlap sack in order to mask his hideous face. Makes very rare appearances through the game.
Stage bosses
- Dabel (Stage 1 Boss) - this fat guy shows up by breaking through a wall at the end of Train Station stage. His enormous steel mace can deal massive damage to any careless player. Dabel can rush at the player with it afoot, can jump kick the player, can bash in a sweep motion, crash away a player who dares to keep close to him as he gets up back into charge and even, what's worse, he hammers it against the ground causing heavy junk to rain down and hit the player's head painfully. The burlap sack masking his horrible face can be knocked off him by upward attacking him repeatedly until it drops to the ground. The player who grabs it will grant a big amount of points to score. Minor versions of him (all them named Bull, see right above) can be found throughout the game.
- Joe (Stage 2 Boss) - acting as a typical 1950s "train ticket collector" at the end of Train stage, this nasty figure wants much more than just your ticket! His giant electric scissors are capable of shocking, bashing away, rushing, cutting and even throwing backwards. Every time he has lost his weapon, Joe will jump off battle and ring his miniature bell to call forth one or more of his Lollypop comrades. At the final part of the battle, Joe will only attack bare-handed, but will only jump a lot and even grapple on the player to pummel his head out. Once defeated, the boss even falls off the train to his death.
- Drigger (Stage 3 Boss) - he awaits the player inside the caged arena finishing Downtown stage. This brutish wrestler wearing a tiger skull as a helmet is really a tough break. Excluding his hulking fit and large amount of hit points, Drigger will grab and make lots of different miseries against careless players. His slaps, kicks and diving headbutts also are a pain to the neck. Ultimately, Drigger tends to get up faster in order to have the upper advantage to crush down his victims.
- Doyle (Stage 4 Boss) - the boss of Industrial Area stage believes faithfully that human and machine are the perfect combination to bring down any opposition. Doyle's machinery - he's actually disguised as a as seen in the 'Aliens' movie and the Konami title of the same name - has retractable arms that grab even at a safe distance. However, complete combos and rushing attacks are a welcome take to win this battle. On the other hand, air attacks are not recommended due to him being able to grab out of air and shake the player for a good amount of health gone. When close to defeat, Doyle can fly up and perform a kind of "Descending Kick" which can prove fatal in case of low health. Once defeated, Doyle tries to fly off the place but his jetpacks malfunction and blasts, causing him to fall and dissolve alive into vats of melted steel.
- Mr. Julius (Stage 5 Boss) - the Tropical Garden stage boss is a stone statue given life by Red Freddy himself, he has an inflated ego due to his muscular build and narcissistic poses. Being possibly dropped by several contests, Julius likes to show off his physical prowess by performing strong punches, kicks, throws, Dhalsim-style diagonal Screwdriver Kick and even a kind of "spin on your head with your legs spread out like an helicopter rotor". Despite his big muscles - and even bigger ego - Julius is nothing but a great idiotic stone.
- Sledge (Stage 6 Boss) - this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-look alike may sometimes be a little hard because of his bulking build and super speed. In order to complete Bay Area stage, it's much more a matter of avoiding his titanium plate attacks and escaping his lightspeed rushes. The player shall not rely on full-time combos because Sledge can most of time break free of them and attack with impunity. Flying and rushing attacks are much safer choices to take him down.
- Red Freddy (Stage 7 Boss) - finally the heroes reach Sheena's captors. The boss of Museum stage can be sometimes a pain, specially against unexperienced or unlucky players. This Blanka-like demon can jump kick and sweep kick, whip with his long hair and even mortally slash the life out of his enemies with his long recurved talons. Beware his deadly Spinning Talon Slash technique. Eventually he falls and the game is... almost completed.
- Lord Geld (Final Boss) - the real final boss of Violent Storm. He is partially inspired by Tetsuo from the anime film Akira and Garlic Jr. from the Dragon Ball anime series: he looks like a caped child/dwarf sitting on his throne, only to stand up revealing to be in truth a hulking beast with enormous muscles and many psychic attacks. Once this enormous evil emperor has fallen, Sheena is safe and Violent Storm is completed. NOTE: finishing the game in a cooperative 2-player mode, the player who delivers the final blow on Lord Geld will get Sheena.
Bonuses
One of the bonus point items is a Twinbee doll. Another is the mask (actually a ) wore by Dabel (1st stage boss) - to gain it, give him enough upward punches until it drops.