 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2023) |
| Finest Hour | |
|---|---|
 Arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Composer(s) | Katsuro Tajima |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer (alternating turns) |
| Arcade system | Namco System 2 |
Finest Hour [lower-alpha 1] is a 1989 run and gun video game developed for arcades and published in Japan by Namco. It was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console on August 25, 2009. [1]
The player must take control of a Transformer-like battlemech known as Sygnus, who is equipped with a laser cannon, Vernier jump-jets, auto-targeting, and an automatic cooling system. Pushing that joystick twice in the same direction will make Sygnus switch from a march to a dash while he is moving, and the player may not make him change the direction that he is facing in mid-air. He has no "life meter", just a temperature meter which increases when he is hit, and decreases when he is not hit - but, if the timer should run out, his cooling device will break. If he should overheat, the game will immediately be over. The game is made of four stages which must be finished twice.
In Japan, Game Machine listed Finest Hour on their October 15, 1989 issue as being the eighth most-successful table arcade game of the year. [2]
Chase H.Q. is a vehicular combat racing game, originally released as an arcade video game by Taito in 1988. It is sometimes seen as a spiritual successor to Taito's earlier Full Throttle. The player assumes the role of a police officer named Tony Gibson, member of the "Chase Special Investigation Department". Along with his partner, Raymond Broady, he must stop fleeing criminals in high-speed pursuits in a black Porsche 928.
Ikari Warriors, known as Ikari in Japan, is a vertically scrolling run and gun video game released for arcades by SNK in 1986. It was published in North America by Tradewest. At the time there were many Commando clones on the market. What distinguished Ikari Warriors were rotary joysticks and a two-player cooperative mode. The rotary joystick controls were in turn based on SNK's earlier TNK III (1985). Ikari was originally intended to be an official licensed adaptation of the film Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), but SNK were initially unable to acquire the rights to the film.
Star Wars is a first-person rail shooter designed by Mike Hally and released as an arcade video game in 1983 by Atari, Inc. It uses 3D color vector graphics to simulate the assault on the Death Star from the 1977 film Star Wars. There are three connected gameplay sequences: combat against TIE fighters in space, flying across the surface of the Death Star, and the final trench run. The sequence repeats with added complications and the Death Star regenerating for each. The player's X-Wing fighter has a shield which only protects against damage a certain number of times, then the next hit ends the game. Speech synthesis emulates actors from the film.
Call of Duty: Finest Hour is a first-person shooter video game developed by Spark Unlimited and published by Activision for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. It is the first console installment of Call of Duty.
Strider, released in Japan as Strider Hiryū, is a hack-and-slash platform game released in arcades in 1989 by Capcom. Set in a dystopian future where Earth is ruled by the tyrannical Grandmaster Meio, it follows the titular Strider named Hiryu as he attempts to end his tyrannical reign for good. The game resulted from cooperation between Capcom and manga publisher Moto Kikaku. It marked the video game debut of Strider Hiryu, after the character was introduced in the 1988 manga Strider Hiryu.
Tennis is a sports video game developed by Nintendo in 1983, and released for the Family Computer (Famicom) in 1984. The arcade game version Vs. Tennis was also released for the Nintendo VS. System in 1984, becoming a hit at Japanese and American arcades that year; it was the sixth top-performing arcade game of 1984 in the United States. Tennis is one of 17 launch games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America and Europe. The game was re-released for the Game Boy as a launch game in North America.
1986 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario Bros. 2, along with new titles such as Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Dragon Quest, Ikari Warriors, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Out Run and R.B.I. Baseball. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Hang-On in Japan, Hang-On and Gauntlet in the United States, and Nemesis (Gradius) in London. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games in Western markets were Super Mario Bros. in the United States and Yie Ar Kung-Fu in the United Kingdom.
Victory Road, also known as Dogō Sōken in Japan and Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road in North America, is a run and gun video game released by SNK for arcades in 1986. The game is a sequel to Ikari Warriors, released earlier the same year.
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars is a platform arcade game released by Sega on December 10, 1986. It was ported to the Master System on March 10, 1988. It was also released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on March 9, 2009, and in the PAL regions on April 17, 2009.
Coca-Cola: Suzuka 8 Hours is a 1992 motorcycle racing arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is based on the homonymous real-world racing event. Players control a racer using a handlebar controller and must race against computer-controlled opponents while remaining in first place. It ran on the Namco System 2 arcade hardware. A direct sequel, Suzuka 8 Hours 2, was released a year later.
Yokai Dochuki is a 1987 platform arcade game developed and released by Namco in Japan and other parts of Asia. The player controls a young boy named Tarosuke as he must make his way through Jigoku, the Japanese concept of Hell, to reach Buddha, who will determine his fate. Tarosuke can fire small "ki" bullets at enemies to defeat them; he can also charge them to increase their power. Enemies will drop money when defeated, which can be used to purchase weapons and other items in stores. Two versions of the arcade original were released: a Japanese version and an English version which was released in other Asian countries outside Japan. The Arcade Archives release includes both versions.
Sonic Blast Man is a video game franchise by Taito starring the titular superhero, Sonic Blastman. The game originally started as an arcade video game in 1990, but eventually made its way to the SNES in 1992, with much different gameplay. Both versions received a sequel.
Front Line is a military-themed run and gun video game released by Taito for arcades in November 1982. It was one of the first overhead run and gun games, a precursor to many similarly-themed games of the mid-to-late 1980s. Front Line is controlled with a joystick, a single button, and a rotary dial that can be pushed in like a button. The single button is used to throw grenades and to enter and exit tanks, while the rotary dial aims and fires the player's gun.
Konami '88, released as '88 Games in North America and as Hyper Sports Special in Japan, is the third in the Track & Field game series by Konami, where players test their Olympic skills against other world-class athletes. As the title implies, it is loosely based on the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Mat Mania, known in Japan as Exciting Hour: The ProWrestling Network or simply Exciting Hour, is a Japanese wrestling arcade video game developed by Technōs Japan and published by Taito in 1985. It is a spiritual successor to the 1983 arcade game Tag-Team Wrestling, also developed by Technōs Japan, but published by Data East. The arcade game was a commercial success in Japan and North America, becoming the highest-grossing arcade conversion kit of 1986 in the United States.
Sky Destroyer is a rail shooter video game released by Taito in 1985 as an arcade game as well as for the Family Computer. Controlling a Japanese World War II monoplane, the player assumes the role of the pilot of the respective naval aircraft who is required to destroy enemies to clear stages.
Crime Fighters (クライムファイターズ) is a 1989 side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Konami for the arcades. The players takes control of a duo of undercover police officers who are assigned to rescue a group of kidnapped damsels from a crime boss and his army of punks.
Megablast (メガブラスト) is a horizontally scrolling shooter released internationally in arcades in 1989 by Taito. One or two players control space fighters assigned to deal with an alien invasion using incredible firepower through eight stages. Many of the minibosses resemble previous Taito game characters.
Tehkan World Cup, originally released as World Cup in Japan, is an association football video game released to arcades in 1985 by Tehkan, the former name of Tecmo. It features multiplayer gameplay and trackball controllers. It was released in both upright and table arcade cabinets, but was most commonly released in a cocktail cabinet form factor. Its arrival coincided with the buildup to the 1986 FIFA World Cup. It featured the then colors of several of the world's top teams such as West Germany, Argentina and Brazil, although it did not mention any team by name.
Alpine Surfer is an arcade snowboarding video game developed and released by Namco in 1996. It runs on Namco System Super 22 hardware, and is based on their Alpine Racer series of snowboarding games. The game also allows two cabinets to be linked together, supporting cooperative play, much like their Final Lap and Winning Run series.
 | This Bandai Namco-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This run and gun article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |