Blade Master

The Slum... an area of town completely forgotten. No one could imagine the cruelness suffered by innocent people who were transformed into horrible mutant creatures by genetic experiments. They hovered everywhere and completely took control of the town. Mutation Nation is a 1-2 player action game where you must control your hero and beat up any mutant that gets in your way, by either using your fists or one of four special attacks. A boss at the end of each area needs to be defeated if you want to proceed further through the game.

The game takes a greater departure from its predecessors in both story and presentation. The heroes are now members of a ninja clan who have to dispatch an evil emperor before he is released. Players can choose which character they want for the first time, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Two bosses that confront the player can also be playable after a certain chapter of the game, allowing players to re-select their character if they wish.

Target: Renegade is a scrolling beat'em up (or flip-screen on certain versions) computer game released on the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum systems in the late 1980s by Ocean Software on their "Imagine" label, as well as a Nintendo Entertainment System version published by Taito. The game is a sequel to Renegade and was followed by Renegade 3. When acquiring the license to convert the original arcade game Renegade to home computers, Ocean acquired the option to produce and release their own home-computer-only sequels to the game, and Target Renegade was the first of these sequels. On most formats, the game caters for one or two players and concerns itself with the adventures of a streetfighter (or a pair of identical streetfighters) known only as "Renegade", who seek(s) revenge against a local crime kingpin named "Mr. Big" for murdering his or their brother Matt. The player character varies, depending on the format, but is usually represented as topless apart from a leather vest and wearing jeans. Regardless of the format, the cover of the game and the title screen (as seen on the image to the right) portrays a topless street fighter performing a flying kick through a window. In keeping with video game box art and advertising of the era, the character shown in this illustration bears little relation to any character in the game itself. The actual picture is based on Martial Arts Legend Joe Lewis from the cover of his book The World's Greatest Fighter Teaches You How To Master Bruce Lee's Fighting System, but has been adjusted so as to fit in with the character of Renegade. The game comprises five levels, though details of enemies and weapons vary from one version to another (the NES version in particular is more like Double Dragon than the home computer versions). The NES and C64 versions of the game do not have a two-player co-operative mode.

In a futuristic city named Neo-Detroit, a scientist named Jeed kidnaps two police officers, Maxima and Rocky, and transforms them into cyborgs, but failed to implant on them a chip that would make them obey his will. They eventually escape his grasp and decide to defeat the mad scientist. He pits his army against the two, but they are no match for Maxima and Rocky. Maxima and Rocky eventually find out that Jeed kidnapped his own daughter to prevent her from stopping him. Maxima and Rocky defeated Jeed and saved his daughter. In gratitude for rescuing her, she returned them to normal.

In the year 2281, the war spanning half a century over territory between the United World Forces and the Raian Kingdom had at last come to an end. But this peace was not to last. A year after a truce was signed between the two forces, former Raian army captain Azrael, who has converted himself into a cyborg in an attempt to become "the perfect warrior", has marshalled several thousand other cyborgs and declared war against the Raian Kingdom. Robbing mobile weapons from the army, this group of rogues has invaded the Raian capital of Merkid and has begun to abduct the civilians. The United World Government, receiving an emergency message from the planet Raia, has but one choice: to organize and dispatch an army formed around its elite corps, a squadron of warriors called "Bloody Armor", to eradicate the enemy forces and rescue the civilians. And so, in October 2282, the United World Forces begin to launch its attack upon the planet Raia. The most intense battle in human history is about to begin...

On the baddest streets of the city they know your name. You are lean and mean... the karate master they call the Vigilante! Your turf was left alone. Your friends and neighbors lived in peace. Until the Rogue gang got too big for their britches. You chilled, hoping things wouldn't get too rough. No such luck. They've taken your girlfriend Maria, and there's only one thing you can do... get her back... anyway you can! You have fists of steel! Legs like pistons! And courage that just won't quit! You will need all three because the Rogues are waiting with knives, guns and a whole bunch of nasty punks. And you'll have to fight fast. If the Rogues make it back to their headquarters before you rescue Maria, all hope will be lost. But catch them first and you'll fight the leader of the Rogues. Win Maria... and your turf... will remain safe. Feel any pressure? No way. You're the Vigilante!

The player begins the game by choosing from one of four different forest rangers, each with a different amount of health, attack strength, and jumping height. The game's controls consists of an eight-way joystick for moving the character and two action buttons (attack and jump). The player can perform a variety of different attacks (punches, kicks, and finishing blows) depending on the position of an enemy. By pressing both buttons while surrounded by enemies, the player can perform a special attack that strikes every enemy around him. By pressing both buttons while holding the joystick upwards, the player will perform a longer jump. The player can procure weapons by destroying barrels and wooden crates or disarming certain enemies. There are a total of eight weapons which can be obtained: three melee weapons (a pipe, a sword and a whip), two throwing weapons (knives and hand grenades), and three firearms (a pistol, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher). The barrels and crates can also be picked up and thrown at enemies as well. When the machine gun or rocket launcher runs out of ammunition, these are still wielded by the player as melee weapons. The pistol, on the other hand, is thrown by the player after all of its bullets are used. The player can drop his current weapon by pressing down and attack while wielding it. If a weapon lies on the ground after a certain period, it will vanish completely. There are seven regular stages (called rounds) and a bonus game, for a total of eight stages. The locations include a city, a moving train, a boat, a jungle, a cavern, and the hideout of the poachers. There are six types of enemy characters throughout the game, excluding the final boss (who has two forms). There are also animal helpers that will help out the player after they're rescued from a poacher, such as an eagle, a herd of deer, and an elephant.

The Mad Gear Gang has spread crime and violence throughout the streets of Metro City. Only one man has enough guts to take the streets back from them, Mayor Mike Haggar. Now the Mad Gear Gang has kidnapped his daughter Jessica to bring him under their control. But they've made one mistake: Haggar's furious and he wants someone's head! Guy and Jessica's boyfriend, Cody, are joining Haggar to clean up the slime-filled streets and rescue Jessica. Along the way you'll find food to replenish your health, or better yet, search for weapons to knock the living daylights out of your enemies. So join Haggar and his friends as they try to free the city from the evil clutches of the Mad Gear Gang!

Players One and Two start with the two selectable protagonists, Rick and Allen. Each private detective uses different fighting styles, attempt to solve cases by beating up each criminal they encounter. Lots of special items can be found by throwing enemies into the background and breaking things, typical of this popular genre in the 1990s arcades. Along the way they are harangued by all manner of thugs and toughs, whose costumes range from 1980s hip-hop wear to stereotypical pirates. The bosses are tough by way of strange special attacks.

Pu·Li·Ru·La is a surreal arcade beat 'em up created by Taito, first released in 1991. Pu·Li·Ru·La takes place in Radishland, a land where time is kept correctly flowing with a time key. However, "a bad man appeared and stole the time key to stop the time flow. The towns were attacked one by one, the time flow was stopped and they received damage", as the English translation explains. Zac and Mel, the playable characters, are requested by an old man to defend their town. The old man also gives the children a "magic stick" to fight with