Bloody Wolf

Developer(s)	Data East
Publisher(s)	Data East, NEC Home Electronics
Designer(s)	Yoshiaki Honda
Platform(s)	Arcade Game, TurboGrafx/PC Engine, Virtual Console
Release	1988 (Arcade), 1989 (PC Engine), 1990 (TurboGrafx) 2007 (Wii)
Genre(s)	Run and gun
Mode(s)	Single player, 2-player

Template:Nihongo title, released in Europe as Battle Rangers, is a run and gun arcade game released by Data East^[1] in 1988. Two commandos 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.[1]

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 Action, as well as the President.

Gameplay

The game uses a side-view^[1] 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.

Levels

Players progress through several "scenes," each ending with their own bosses.

Scene 1: Town
Scene 2: Jungle
Scene 3: River
Scene 4: Cliff
Scene 5: Base
Scene 6: Marsh
Scene 7: Detention Camp

Enemies

Enemies in the game attack in a manner that corresponds to the weapon they carry and their uniform color.

Soldier Types:

Green Soldiers: Typical enemy soldier. Attack with a rifle and grenades. Sometimes descend from the sky with a parachute.
Red Soldiers: Basically the same as Green Soldiers except they constantly charge at the player with their bayonets.
Blue Soldiers: Utilize their machine guns to employ rapid-fire attacks.
Yellow Soldiers: Strapped with explosives and willing to die for a cause, these deadly soldiers flash yellow and self-detonate upon contact with anything.

Armored Soldiers: Most bullets do little to penetrate their tough exterior. The knife on the other hand can penetrate the armor and kill the soldier.
Scuba Soldiers: Crafty swimmers who emerge from underwater for an aggressive assault.

[2]

Weapons

Throughout their mission, players may receive various weapons from rescued hostages, which will replace their Machine Gun until ammo runs out or the player dies.

Machine Gun: Initial weapon. Unlimited Ammo.
Knife: Always equipped and automatically used when player attacks an enemy at close range. Several parts of the game, such as the river raft ride in Scenario 3: River, limit the player to using only this weapon.
Gun: Basically a shotgun. Shots spread to hit multiple targets.
Bazooka: Destructive weapon that usually destroys targets with one hit.
Grenade: 20 initially equipped. Inflicts massive damage to most enemies and bosses.
Flash Bomb: Temporarily immobilizes enemies with a blinding flash.

[3]

Items

Players can use a multitude of items, which aid them with the different aspects of game play. Items can be obtained by either destroying crates, unlocking crates, or rescuing hostages who reward the player with the item.

Key: Allows player to open locked crates.
Infra-red Scope: Once obtained, infrared beams become visible in any surrounding area.
Fins: Players move through water faster.
Rosary: Capable of granting its carrier brief invincibility.
Body Armor: Reduces damage by enemies to its wearer.
Food: Slightly restores health.
Medicine: Fully restores health.

[4]

Ports

The game was ported to the PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 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.

(To see a sample of gameplay footage, click here: [5])

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 President 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 Dragon #164 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Bloody Wolf review for Virtual Console, accessed January 2009
^ Lesser, Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk (December 1990). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (164): 47–57.((cite journal)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Plot

Gameplay

Ports

Reception

References

External links