Battle Rangers
Encyclopedia
, released in Europe
as Battle Rangers, is a run and gun arcade game
released by Data East
in 1988
. Two commando
s take on an entire army with many weapons, and defeat bosses
to advance levels.
This game was quite notorious for its poor translation, or Engrish
.
, as well as the President
.
The game uses a side-view and employs a multi-directional attack method similar to many other arcade games of the run and gun genre, including Guerilla War
, Ikari Warriors
, Mercs
and Data East's own Heavy Barrel
.
Allowing up to two players to play simultaneously, once players create their own codename using up to three initials, they receive a quick mission briefing before the mission ensues. Players automatically begin the game with a machine gun containing unlimited ammo and a knife used exclusively for close quarters combat. The mission's levels are separated into "scenes" and usually consist of one or more players running through various terrain, attacking hordes of enemy soldiers, and reaching the end of the stage to battle a boss. Players have the option to rescue various hostages scattered throughout the levels to obtain new weapons or items.
in North America) by Data East in 1989, and published a year later in the US by NEC. The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version retains much of the same gameplay elements, level designs, enemies, and items as the arcade version.
Differences between the Arcade and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 versions
#164 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3½ out of 5 stars.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as Battle Rangers, is a run and gun arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released by Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
in 1988
1988 in video gaming
-Events:*June — Nintendo releases the last issue of "Nintendo fun club news";*July — Nintendo releases the first issue of Nintendo Power magazine.-Notable releases:*January 8, Konami releases Super Contra....
. Two commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
s take on an entire army with many weapons, and defeat bosses
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
to advance levels.
This game was quite notorious for its poor translation, or Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
.
Plot
Snake and Eagle, two commandos of the Bloody Wolf special forces, receive instructions from their commander to destroy the enemy's weapon base and rescue any allies who have been reported as Missing in actionMissing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
, as well as the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Gameplay
Guerrilla War (arcade game)
is an overhead run and gun game produced by SNK. Originally released for arcades in 1987 as a coin-operated arcade game, Guerrilla War followed the adventures of two unnamed rebel commandos as they raid an unnamed Caribbean Island in order to free it from the rule of an unnamed tyrannical dictator...
, Ikari Warriors
Ikari Warriors
Ikari Warriors is a 1986 arcade game by SNK, published in the United States and Europe by Tradewest. Known simply as in Japan, this was SNK's first major breakthrough US release and became something of a classic. The game was released at the time when there were many Commando clones on the market...
, Mercs
Mercs
is a 1990 top-down run and gun arcade game developed and published by Capcom for the arcades. It is the successor of Commando. It was followed by Commando 3 in , a downloadable game.-Gameplay:...
and Data East's own Heavy Barrel
Heavy Barrel
is a 1987 overhead run and gun arcade game by Data East.-Gameplay:thumb|left|Arcade ScreenshotTerrorists have seized the underground control complex of a nuclear missile site, and it is up to the player to infiltrate the base and kill the enemy leader. Players begin armed with a laser gun with...
.
Allowing up to two players to play simultaneously, once players create their own codename using up to three initials, they receive a quick mission briefing before the mission ensues. Players automatically begin the game with a machine gun containing unlimited ammo and a knife used exclusively for close quarters combat. The mission's levels are separated into "scenes" and usually consist of one or more players running through various terrain, attacking hordes of enemy soldiers, and reaching the end of the stage to battle a boss. Players have the option to rescue various hostages scattered throughout the levels to obtain new weapons or items.
Ports
The game was ported to the PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
in North America) by Data East in 1989, and published a year later in the US by NEC. The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version retains much of the same gameplay elements, level designs, enemies, and items as the arcade version.
Differences between the Arcade and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 versions
- Player Names: Both versions allow the players to create their own codenames as a name entry. However, the default codenames of the two commandos in the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version are Eagle and Snake, respectively.
- Number of Players: The arcade version allows up to two players to play whereas its PC Engine/Turbografx-16 counterpart offers only a single-player mode with the option to play as either Snake or Eagle.
- Levels: The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version contains one additional level, making its total to eight.
- Mission Objectives: The mission briefing in the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 port differs slightly by attempting to provide some type of backstory and changing the scenario. The player receives information that the enemy has kidnapped the PresidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and the mission is to rescue him. - Dialogue: Interaction between the player and hostages generates much more dialogue in the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version.
- Music: Though the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 had a more limited soundbank, the music was greatly enhanced to support full length catchy tracks.
- Items: The "Rosary" from the arcade version was renamed to "Lucky Rabbit's Foot" in the TurboGrafx-16 version.
- Level Design: The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version contains much larger levels.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1990 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#164 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3½ out of 5 stars.
External links
- Official G-Mode webpage of Bloody Wolf
- Bloody Wolf review for Virtual Console
- Bloody Wolf Strategy Guide (TurboGrafx-16) at TurboPlayTurboPlayTurboPlay Magazine was a bi-monthly, U.S.-based video game magazine published by L.F.P. from June/July 1990 through August/September 1992. It was available via subscription only . A total of 14 issues were released, on schedule...
Magazine Archives - http://www.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/data/566587.html
- http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=B&game_id=7049
- http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=207
- http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=294
- http://www.gamespot.com/tg16/action/narazumonosentoubutaibw/index.html (cover pic)