Introduction Strikers 1945 III, released in Japan as Strikers 1999, was developed and published by Psikyo, released in arcades in 1999 as the third mainline entry in the Strikers 1945 series. The game moved its setting forward from the World War II theme of the first two games to a more contemporary, near-future military conflict,…
Introduction Strikers 1945 II was developed and published by Psikyo, released in arcades in 1997 as the direct sequel to the original 1995 Strikers 1945. The game expanded the roster of playable World War II-themed fighter planes with new aircraft and refined each one’s weapon patterns and special bomb attacks, while introducing a wider variety…
Introduction 1941: Counter Attack was developed and published by Capcom, released in Japanese arcades in February 1990 and reaching North America that May as the third entry in the studio’s 19XX vertical shoot ’em up series, following 1942 and 1943: The Battle of Midway. Set in a fictionalized continuation of the earlier games’ World War…
Introduction Strikers 1945 was developed and published by Psikyo, released in arcades in 1995 as the Japanese shoot ’em up studio’s tribute to Capcom’s earlier 19XX series, borrowing that franchise’s WWII fighter-plane theme while building an entirely original game around it. Players choose from a roster of real and fictional World War II-era aircraft, each…
Introduction 1943: The Battle of Midway was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1987 as the direct sequel to 1984’s 1942. Set once again during World War II, the game puts players back in the cockpit of a fighter plane, this time a Lockheed P-38 Lightning battling through a campaign loosely themed…
Introduction Elevator Action Returns was developed and published by Taito, released in Japanese arcades in 1994 as the sequel to the studio’s 1983 original, Elevator Action. Players once again control a spy infiltrating tall, multi-floor buildings, riding elevators and escalators between levels while shooting enemy agents, collecting secret documents from marked red doors, and avoiding…
Introduction The Simpsons was developed and published by Konami, released in arcades in 1991 as a four-player side-scrolling beat ’em up based on the already hugely popular animated sitcom. Up to four players simultaneously control Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa Simpson as they fight through the streets of Springfield to rescue baby Maggie from a…
Introduction Double Dragon II: The Revenge was developed and published by Technos Japan, released in arcades in 1988 as the direct sequel to the genre-defining original Double Dragon. The game opens with the previous game’s villain gang gunning down Marian, the love interest whose kidnapping drove the first game’s plot, sending martial artist brothers Billy…
Introduction Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone was developed and published by Technos Japan, released in arcades in 1990 as the third entry in the Double Dragon series. The story follows Billy and Jimmy Lee once again, this time chasing down a mysterious criminal organization across a series of real-world locations, including China, Egypt, and…
Introduction Marvel Super Heroes was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in November 1995 as the studio’s second Marvel-licensed fighting game, following 1994’s The Punisher, and its first entry built around a proper Marvel Comics superhero roster rather than a single licensed property. Loosely adapting Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet comic book storyline,…
Introduction Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, known in Japan as Vampire Hunter, was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in 1995 as the direct sequel to the previous year’s Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors. The game expanded the original’s horror-themed roster with new characters, including the zombie boxer Lord Raptor and the golem-like…
Introduction Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in Japan in July 1994 as the first entry in the Darkstalkers fighting game series. Set apart from Capcom’s already-established Street Fighter series by its horror movie monster theme, the game’s roster includes the succubus Morrigan Aensland, the Frankenstein’s…