Beast Busters
Encyclopedia
Beast Busters is a rail shooter
arcade game
released by SNK
in 1989
and ported to the Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST
in 1990. A city has been invaded by the undead
. Play as one of 3 militiamen named Johnny Justice, Paul Patriot and Sammy Stately, who must shoot their way out of the city.
The game has 7 Sections for players to shoot their way through.
Section 1 - Mystery Zone (Subway Station)
Section 2 - Run Away (Cargo Elevator)
Section 3 - Ghost Town (City Streets)
Section 4 - Along the River (Riverside/Tunnel)
Section 5 - Beast Busters (Old Factory)
Section 6 - Friend or For? (Parking Lot/Elevator)
Section 7 - Final Battle
In between stages players are shown cutscenes explaining the events of the Zombie
infestation that has overtaken the city.
Players can earn a number of Power Ups through the course of each stage to aid them in battle such as Rockets, Grenades, Armor, Health Pack, and Ammo Crates
Each stage has a Sub Boss as well as an End Boss to defeat. All of which have 2 forms to defeat. The 2nd form always reveals itself after the boss takes enough Damage and will have different attacks. The Final Stage has players fighting against every single Sub Boss and Final Boss that they encountered through the past 6 Sections before facing off against the Final Boss
The Arcade Machine allowed for up to 3 players to play the game at the same time. Guns were mounted to the machine and look like Machine Guns
The game was known for having irregular boss
es, such as a zombie punk who mutates into a dog, or a jeep which starts coming to life. One stage ends with the militiamen having to rescue a female CIA agent from that stage's boss.
A sequel entitled Beast Busters: Second Nightmare was released in 1999
on the Hyper Neo Geo 64
.
A handheld sequel Dark Arms: Beast Busters
was released in 1999
for the Neo Geo Pocket Color
in the form of an Action RPG
According to Paul Theroux
, Michael Jackson
owned a Beast Buster arcade machine and frequently took it with him on tour via cargo plane.
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
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 SNK
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
in 1989
1989 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* October 3, Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation....
and ported to the Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
in 1990. A city has been invaded by the undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
. Play as one of 3 militiamen named Johnny Justice, Paul Patriot and Sammy Stately, who must shoot their way out of the city.
The game has 7 Sections for players to shoot their way through.
Section 1 - Mystery Zone (Subway Station)
Section 2 - Run Away (Cargo Elevator)
Section 3 - Ghost Town (City Streets)
Section 4 - Along the River (Riverside/Tunnel)
Section 5 - Beast Busters (Old Factory)
Section 6 - Friend or For? (Parking Lot/Elevator)
Section 7 - Final Battle
In between stages players are shown cutscenes explaining the events of the Zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
infestation that has overtaken the city.
Players can earn a number of Power Ups through the course of each stage to aid them in battle such as Rockets, Grenades, Armor, Health Pack, and Ammo Crates
Each stage has a Sub Boss as well as an End Boss to defeat. All of which have 2 forms to defeat. The 2nd form always reveals itself after the boss takes enough Damage and will have different attacks. The Final Stage has players fighting against every single Sub Boss and Final Boss that they encountered through the past 6 Sections before facing off against the Final Boss
The Arcade Machine allowed for up to 3 players to play the game at the same time. Guns were mounted to the machine and look like Machine Guns
The game was known for having irregular boss
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...
es, such as a zombie punk who mutates into a dog, or a jeep which starts coming to life. One stage ends with the militiamen having to rescue a female CIA agent from that stage's boss.
A sequel entitled Beast Busters: Second Nightmare was released in 1999
1999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
on the Hyper Neo Geo 64
Hyper Neo Geo 64
The Hyper Neo Geo 64 was an arcade system created by SNK, and released in September 1997, being the first and only "Neo Geo" branded arcade system of the Neo Geo family....
.
A handheld sequel Dark Arms: Beast Busters
Dark Arms: Beast Busters
Dark Arms: Beast Busters is an action role-playing game released by SNK for Neo-Geo Pocket Color in 1999. It is the follow-up to the SNK arcade shooter Beast Busters. Dark Arms features a girl, Meghan Loughlin, whose job is to defeat and contain an outbreak of demons and act as a mediator between...
was released in 1999
1999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
for the Neo Geo Pocket Color
Neo Geo Pocket Color
The Neo Geo Pocket Color , is a 16-bit colour handheld game console by SNK. It was the last console they produced in the Neo Geo family...
in the form of an Action RPG
According to Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux
Paul Edward Theroux is an American travel writer and novelist, whose best known work of travel writing is perhaps The Great Railway Bazaar . He has also published numerous works of fiction, some of which were made into feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
owned a Beast Buster arcade machine and frequently took it with him on tour via cargo plane.