The arcade version can be played by up to two players alternating. The game's controls consists of an eight-way joystick and two action buttons. Similarly to Kung-Fu Master or Rush'n Attack, the player jumps by holding the joystick upwards instead of having a dedicated jump button like other side-scrolling action games. Instead, one button is used to swing the sword at enemies and the other button is used to hold the shield to block enemy attacks, including projectiles such as throwing knives and arrows. The shield can be held towards the player while standing or crouching, as well as upwards vertically and diagonally. Some enemies will throw magic balls which will cause the player to lose their sword and shield if they block. During these instances, the player will fight barehanded, with the sword and shield buttons used to punch and kick respectively. The sword and shield will appear on-screen after some point, allowing the player to recover their weapon. Other power-ups includes floating hearts that will restore the player's health and jumping spots where the player can jump higher than usual. The game consist of six stages, where the player will face the usual series of small fry enemies, as well as a sub-boss at the middle of each stage and a boss at the end. The player is allowed to start the game at any of the six stages. However, the player must play through the entire game again after defeating the final boss, Achilles, in order to see the true ending (similarly to Ghosts'n Goblins). The player can continue after a game over depending on the dip switch settings.
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Nice game, unfortunately, too short
It's alright as far as side scrolling action games of this era go. It controls well enough, though some of the bosses will almost certainly kill you instantly on your first attempt. The gameplay itself doesn't really evolve beyond what you experience in the first 30 seconds.
You have a shield so it’s basically Dark Souls.
Taking another dive into the Arcade Stadium, we have Trojan, a game which is a spiritual successor to both Kung-Fu Master and Ghosts ‘n Goblins, one of which I have never played before, and one that has left scars that will never heal, so that can only spell out a good quality product, right? Well… somewhat. Fundamentally, it can be a fun time, and it does have some tiny elements that make it somewhat unique compared to other titles at the time, but not only does it suffer from what you would expect an arcade game to have, but what little it does have can’t save it from being overshadowed by the inevitable curse of mediocrity.
The story is detailed enough, which I can appreciate, but it all just boils down to “Go stop evil” at it’s core essentials, the graphics are good, but they do look like every other Capcom arcade game from that era, so nothing really special, all the music sounds like the exact same twangy garbage, the controls are pretty good overall, and the gameplay is about what you would expect if you took a look at a screenshot, but I will admit, it can be fun and satisfying at points.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you run through various stages, defeating plenty of enemies along the way, getting power ups to help you out, and fighting both mini bosses and regular bo- yeah, you all have heard all of this before MANY times, especially from me. And of course, as usual, there are one or two aspects that make the game stand out somewhat from other games at the time. Throughout the game, you are equipped with a sword and shield, which allows for both attacking AND blocking, something that most platformers around the time almost never had. I have to admit, I really like this gameplay addition, as it allows for more quick thinking and strategy that does help out a lot, while also not making things too easy on the player (which we will get to soon enough).
Aside from that though, there isn’t really that much else unique with the original game, and it just comes off as (say it with me now) incredibly generic amongst many of the other titles out at the time. However, this is only for the arcade version, which is the version that I played, but for the NES version, there was apparently plenty of other additions made to the game. These additions include more powerups, hidden rooms for more goodies, more bosses, and even a Versus mode where two players can battle it out in a three round match. I’m not sure how all of that stuff works out in terms of quality, but if you are ever considering playing this game (which you probably won’t), then play the NES version, as you will definitely be getting more bang for your buck.
On the whole, I did enjoy the game to a degree, but of course, since it is an arcade game, it can’t let us go without giving us a good ol’ dose of that arcade syndrome. There will be plenty of enemies coming at your from all directions, and while I wouldn’t say it is THAT hard in the regular side-scrolling levels, it does get pretty harrowing in the gauntlet levels, where you have to traverse down various rooms while facing off against enemies in VERY TIGHT corridors. As you can imagine, getting out of these rooms without taking any damage is really fucking hard, as they attack fast and rapidly, and what doesn’t help is that your health can be depleted in seconds if you aren’t careful. But like I mentioned, you do at least have a shield to help you get past the enemies, which did make the experience less stressful.
Also, remember how I said this game was inspired by Ghosts ‘n Goblins? Well, you can certainly tell that’s the case, because this game makes you beat it twice in order to see the true ending, and no, that is still never going to not be a bad aspect of these older games. Sure, the game isn’t really that long (at least it won’t be if you are good at it), but still, making the player go through the same game twice just to beat it has always been an incredibly lazy way of stretching out game length. I have yet to find a game that does this and actually managed to make it work, and I don’t think I ever will.
Overall, while it does have a unique approach to taking on enemies in this era (at least, you know, in this genre), it doesn’t help the game feel less like yet another generic Capcom arcade title, with the usual issues that comes with these games not really helping things out whatsoever. That being said, I still had a good amount of fun, and I wouldn’t consider the game to be bad, just sort of… there. Hey, at least it doesn’t actively make me suffer while playing it, so it gets props just for that alone.
Game #240
The story is detailed enough, which I can appreciate, but it all just boils down to “Go stop evil” at it’s core essentials, the graphics are good, but they do look like every other Capcom arcade game from that era, so nothing really special, all the music sounds like the exact same twangy garbage, the controls are pretty good overall, and the gameplay is about what you would expect if you took a look at a screenshot, but I will admit, it can be fun and satisfying at points.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you run through various stages, defeating plenty of enemies along the way, getting power ups to help you out, and fighting both mini bosses and regular bo- yeah, you all have heard all of this before MANY times, especially from me. And of course, as usual, there are one or two aspects that make the game stand out somewhat from other games at the time. Throughout the game, you are equipped with a sword and shield, which allows for both attacking AND blocking, something that most platformers around the time almost never had. I have to admit, I really like this gameplay addition, as it allows for more quick thinking and strategy that does help out a lot, while also not making things too easy on the player (which we will get to soon enough).
Aside from that though, there isn’t really that much else unique with the original game, and it just comes off as (say it with me now) incredibly generic amongst many of the other titles out at the time. However, this is only for the arcade version, which is the version that I played, but for the NES version, there was apparently plenty of other additions made to the game. These additions include more powerups, hidden rooms for more goodies, more bosses, and even a Versus mode where two players can battle it out in a three round match. I’m not sure how all of that stuff works out in terms of quality, but if you are ever considering playing this game (which you probably won’t), then play the NES version, as you will definitely be getting more bang for your buck.
On the whole, I did enjoy the game to a degree, but of course, since it is an arcade game, it can’t let us go without giving us a good ol’ dose of that arcade syndrome. There will be plenty of enemies coming at your from all directions, and while I wouldn’t say it is THAT hard in the regular side-scrolling levels, it does get pretty harrowing in the gauntlet levels, where you have to traverse down various rooms while facing off against enemies in VERY TIGHT corridors. As you can imagine, getting out of these rooms without taking any damage is really fucking hard, as they attack fast and rapidly, and what doesn’t help is that your health can be depleted in seconds if you aren’t careful. But like I mentioned, you do at least have a shield to help you get past the enemies, which did make the experience less stressful.
Also, remember how I said this game was inspired by Ghosts ‘n Goblins? Well, you can certainly tell that’s the case, because this game makes you beat it twice in order to see the true ending, and no, that is still never going to not be a bad aspect of these older games. Sure, the game isn’t really that long (at least it won’t be if you are good at it), but still, making the player go through the same game twice just to beat it has always been an incredibly lazy way of stretching out game length. I have yet to find a game that does this and actually managed to make it work, and I don’t think I ever will.
Overall, while it does have a unique approach to taking on enemies in this era (at least, you know, in this genre), it doesn’t help the game feel less like yet another generic Capcom arcade title, with the usual issues that comes with these games not really helping things out whatsoever. That being said, I still had a good amount of fun, and I wouldn’t consider the game to be bad, just sort of… there. Hey, at least it doesn’t actively make me suffer while playing it, so it gets props just for that alone.
Game #240
Like most arcades ports on the Famicom/NES, Trojan was reworked as a brand "new" game. However in that case, it's still pretty close to the original.
There's a few differences in level design (most notably a short water section in stage 2 or the removal of those godawful spider enemies) and even underground sections hiding power-ups. Overall the game feels easier and slower and the power-ups are very limited: the jump boots add something that was already present as contextual actions in the original (high jump), and the speed-up should have been your default speed. Feels like they removed stuff to put them back as hidden "features".
The most interesting thing about Trojan is probably the multiplayer mode: a 1-on-1 duel between two players (the first Capcom fighting game?).
Not a bad port, but pretty forgettable.
There's a few differences in level design (most notably a short water section in stage 2 or the removal of those godawful spider enemies) and even underground sections hiding power-ups. Overall the game feels easier and slower and the power-ups are very limited: the jump boots add something that was already present as contextual actions in the original (high jump), and the speed-up should have been your default speed. Feels like they removed stuff to put them back as hidden "features".
The most interesting thing about Trojan is probably the multiplayer mode: a 1-on-1 duel between two players (the first Capcom fighting game?).
Not a bad port, but pretty forgettable.
In 1983, Kenzo Tsujimoto founded Capcom after being forced out of his own previous company. That company was Irem.
Tsujimoto was a good businessman (pretty obvious when you look at where Capcom is 40 years later), and as a good businessman he did the obvious: scouting who he thought was Irem's best game designer for his new company. That man was Takashi Nishiyama.
Nishiyama's first game was the "golden age" classic Moon Patrol, but his next game was even more important: a Jackie Chan movie adaptation called Spartan X, and renamed Kung-Fu Master in the West. Kung-Fu Master is basically the origin of the beat'em up genre. You walk from right-to-left (and then left-to-right), beating the shit out of absolutely everyone who appears. And it's great! It's hard to think of a better video game concept (except maybe shooting things of course).
So, what about Trojan? Well, Trojan is basically a conceptual sequel to Kung-Fu Master. Except this time you're not playing a karateka dude (or Jackie Chan), but a warrior armed with a sword and a shield fighting his way through some sort of post-apocalyptic future (a very 80s' setting).
It seems a bit derivative at first, but in the sword and shield lay the true ambition of Trojan: it's a game about spacing and blocking. Like in Kung-Fu Master, when you're not mowing down legions of mooks you fight tense boss battles, usually one-on-one. At that point learning to use the block button and being wary of the bad guy's range is incredibly important.
Well, on paper. In execution, it doesn't work as well. Trojan is janky as hell. Crappy hitboxes, uneven difficulty, dumb strategies involving button mashing,... It's not good. It's not a completely terrible game, it can actually be a fun time-waster at times, but it doesn't realize its ambitions at all.
Looking back at Nishiyama's career as a whole, it wouldn't be fair to dismiss Trojan totally. It's not very interesting to play, but the building blocks for greater things were already there. It was still a long way to go though.
Tsujimoto was a good businessman (pretty obvious when you look at where Capcom is 40 years later), and as a good businessman he did the obvious: scouting who he thought was Irem's best game designer for his new company. That man was Takashi Nishiyama.
Nishiyama's first game was the "golden age" classic Moon Patrol, but his next game was even more important: a Jackie Chan movie adaptation called Spartan X, and renamed Kung-Fu Master in the West. Kung-Fu Master is basically the origin of the beat'em up genre. You walk from right-to-left (and then left-to-right), beating the shit out of absolutely everyone who appears. And it's great! It's hard to think of a better video game concept (except maybe shooting things of course).
So, what about Trojan? Well, Trojan is basically a conceptual sequel to Kung-Fu Master. Except this time you're not playing a karateka dude (or Jackie Chan), but a warrior armed with a sword and a shield fighting his way through some sort of post-apocalyptic future (a very 80s' setting).
It seems a bit derivative at first, but in the sword and shield lay the true ambition of Trojan: it's a game about spacing and blocking. Like in Kung-Fu Master, when you're not mowing down legions of mooks you fight tense boss battles, usually one-on-one. At that point learning to use the block button and being wary of the bad guy's range is incredibly important.
Well, on paper. In execution, it doesn't work as well. Trojan is janky as hell. Crappy hitboxes, uneven difficulty, dumb strategies involving button mashing,... It's not good. It's not a completely terrible game, it can actually be a fun time-waster at times, but it doesn't realize its ambitions at all.
Looking back at Nishiyama's career as a whole, it wouldn't be fair to dismiss Trojan totally. It's not very interesting to play, but the building blocks for greater things were already there. It was still a long way to go though.