Time Soldiers, known in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 as , is a top-viewed run and gun video 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...

 developed by Alpha Denshi

ADK (company)

, also known as , was a Japanese video game production company founded sometime in July of 1980. "ADK" is an acronym for Alpha, Denshi, and the Japanese term for "corporation", Kabushiki kaisha...

, and published 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....

, while later distributed outside of Japan by Romstar

Romstar

Romstar Inc. was a video game distribution company based in Torrance, CA that started operations in 1984. They originally started as the first American distribution arm for SNK . They were known for licensing arcade games from major makers for distribution. Among Romstar's clients include Taito,...

. A Sega Master System version was also produced.

Gameplay

Time Soldiers can be played by either a single player

Single player

A Single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. "Single-player game" usually implies a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" usually refers to a game mode for a single player, where...

, or by two players simultaneously. Players move their characters with an eight-way rotary joystick, shooting enemies along a scrolling backdrop. The rotary joystick allows to walk in one direction while shooting in another (like in the SNK-developed 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...

 series).

The plot involves the protagonists travelling through time to rescue their comrades. Each of the five levels is set in a different time period; The Primitive Age, The Age of Rome, The World Wars, The Age of War and Future World. Unlimited continue

Continue

Continue may refer to:*Continue , an option to continue a video game after all the player's lives have been lost*Continue , a 2008 Cantopop album by Pakho Chau*Continue , a programming language keyword-See also:...

s are available on all levels except the last.

Critical reaction

The Games Machine

The Games Machine

The Games Machine was a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published CRASH, Zzap!64, Amtix! and other magazines.-History:...

magazine praised Time Soldiers for its rich graphics and difficulty curve, comparing it favorably against the Ikari Warriors.