The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy

Last updated

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy
The Cliffhanger - Edward Randy arcade flyer.jpg
Developer(s) Data East
Publisher(s) Data East
Producer(s) Minoru Sano
Designer(s) Hiro Nakamura
Programmer(s) Hidemi Hamada
Shinji Hirao
Artist(s) Chie Kitahara
Fujimi Ōnishi
Hitomi Fujiwara
Composer(s) Akira Takemoto
Platform(s) Arcade
Release
  • WW: November 1990
Genre(s) Action
Mode(s)

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy, also known as simply Edward Randy, [lower-alpha 1] is a 1990 action video game developed and released by Data East for arcades worldwide in 1990. Set during the 1930s in a European region, where an elderly scientist escapes from a Nazi-like army under the leadership of general "Dark Ogre" after being manipulated for his research on a secret mass destruction weapon, players assume the role of Edward Randy on an adventure to rescue the scientist's granddaughter Charlotte, who holds a prism stone that is a key piece for the enemy. Headed by Terra Diver producer Minoru Sano, the game was created by most of the same team that would later work on several projects at Data East. It was influenced by films such as Indiana Jones as well as manga and anime such as Lupin the Third .

Contents

The title was met with mostly positive reception from critics and players alike, earning awards from Gamest magazine, but it did not sell enough units during its run worldwide. Conversions for multiple systems were planned but never released. The rights to the title are currently owned by G-Mode. [1]

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot. ARC The Cliffhanger - Edward Randy (Edward Randy).png
Gameplay screenshot.

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy is an action game where players assume the role of Edward Randy across seven stages fighting against Nazi-like soldiers led by the general "Dark Ogre" in order to rescue Charlotte, who holds a prism stone that is key to the enemy's secret mass destruction weapon. [2] [3] Players control Edward using an eight-way joystick and two buttons for attacking and jumping respectively. Edward attacks using a whip in eight directions depending on the direction pressed on the joystick. Edward can also slide on the ground when the jump button is pressed while holding the joystick sideways or diagonally. Pressing the joystick diagonally upwards causes Edward to run, while pressing down on the joystick in the air allows him to stomp enemies on the ground. Edward can also perform a spin-attack by looping their whip left or right on certain objects. There are no lives in the game and Edward's remaining health is directly linked to the number of points gained by players on each stage. Players can revive Edward's health by defeating enemies but points are lost when hit by enemies.

Synopsis

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy takes place during the 1930s in an unspecified European country. [2] Research on a secret weapon of mass destruction was being conducted in this country under the leadership of a fearsome Nazi-like army general, the "Dark Ogre", but an elderly scientist decides to escape after learning that he was being manipulated by the general. The scientist gives the key piece of his research, a prism stone, to his granddaughter Charlotte as he escapes and the general pursues the prism with the full force of his army. Charlotte takes refuge in the home of Edward Randy, a teenage boy who was preparing for his first date in half a year with his girlfriend Jennifer, as Edward suddenly finds himself in the midst of a huge adventure involving a dangerous plan to destroy the world.

Development

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy was created by most of the same team that would later work on several projects at Data East, with members of the staff recounting the project's development process and history through various Japanese publications. [4] [5] [6] [7] Its development was helmed by Terra Diver producer Minoru Sano, with Hiro Nakamura acting as designer. [4] [5] [6] [7] Hidemi Hamada and Shinji Hirao served as co-programmer while Chie Kitahara, Fujimi Ōnishi, Hitomi Fujiwara and several other artists were in charge of creating the pixel art. [4] The sound design was handled by Gamadelic members Akira Takemoto, who composed the soundtrack, and Hiroaki Yoshida, who created the sound effects. [4] [8]

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy was conceived as an experimental action project featuring a Indiana Jones-like character in conjunction with Joe & Mac and a sequel to Karate Champ , with Nakamura stating that Edward Randy was the first project he was in charge and proved difficult to be approved. [6] [7] Nakamura originally wanted to develop a shoot 'em up title, as he was a fan of the genre, however, Data East told him that one was already in production by one of his co-worker, which later became Boogie Wings . [7] Due to lack of experience with fighting games, Nakamura passed over Karate Champ 2 and was left with Edward Randy, as another of his co-workers was assigned to Joe & Mac. [7] During the planning phase, staff members introduced their favorite things into the game design document that read like a sequel to Indiana Jones , however it took time and proved troublesome for the team to implement what they wanted, in addition of balancing issues with the whip attack and its use to move across causing internal issues. [6] Nakamura was told that creating such project was deemed impossible and was nearly scrapped, with one of his co-workers from Boogie Wings questioning Data East over their decision of cancelling Edward Randy at the planning phase. [7] However, Nakamura was told to make a sample and the project became a game once the artist drew some graphics. [7]

When creating The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy's cinematic-style presentation, the team were influenced by films and one staff member stated that no other game at the time captured the cinematic feeling. [6] In addition to Indiana Jones , the game was also influenced by manga and anime such as Lupin the Third , as one of the character designers was a fan of Lupin; Randy's character design took cues from Arsène Lupin III, such as the way he runs bowlegged. [7] Edward Randy also contains parodies or homages to works by Hayao Miyazaki and Buster Keaton. [7] [ citation needed ] When making the pseudo-3D visuals, one staff member came with the idea of swapping backgrounds on the fly during the flight, while the team were working with rectangular pixels instead of square pixels for sprites, which were not working properly and the graphics looked warped as a result, prompting to manually draw all animations for various objects from scratch. [6] Nakamura claimed Data East wanted a second player character for revenue, which was added by the art staff. [7] Nakamura also claimed that the printed circuit board used for the game contained "five times" the memory size than previous releases from Data East. [7]

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy lasted a year in development and barely made its deadline, with Nakamura stating he was told by Data East to stop and finish production, with one team member claiming he overworked between two and three days prior to its showcase at the 1991 AM Show. [6] [7] Despite development issues, former Data East members have regarded Edward Randy as the project they had most fun working on. [6]

Release

Edward Randy was released in arcades by Data East across Japan, Europe and North America in November 1990. [9] [10] In North America, it was released under the title Edward Randy, as seen in a Data East USA brochure [11] and RePlay magazine. [12]

In 1991, Elite Systems acquired the license to convert Edward Randy across multiple platforms including the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and PC for an early Spring 1992 release, however they were never released. [13] [14] [15] [16] A Sega Saturn conversion was under development by Xing Entertainment and scheduled for a 1997 launch but it was never released. [3] [17] After being impressed with their work on Gauntlet IV , Sega asked M2 if they wanted to develop a Game Gear project, with M2 president Naoki Horii stating in a 2016 interview that the company wanted to port Edward Randy but they were handed with Gunstar Heroes . [18] As of November 2010, it has not received a conversion to home consoles. [19]

Reception and legacy

According to Hiro Nakamura, The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy sold 4,000 arcade units worldwide, including 2,000 units in Japan and 2,000 units overseas. [7] In Japan, Game Machine listed the title on their 1 March 1991 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. [23]

Computer and Video Games 's Julian Rignall scored the game with an overall 82% rating. [20] Both John Cook and Mike Pattenden of CU Amiga praised the hand-drawn visuals. [24] French magazine Tilt gave it a positive outlook. [25] Zzap!64 praised its visuals, sound design and action. [26] AllGame 's Jason Rhoades rated it with a 2 out of 5 stars ranking. [27] Retro Gamer gave it an overall positive retrospective outlook. [19] Former Treasure designer Tetsuhiko "Han" Kikuchi was a fan of the game, naming the characters Edward M. Cognac and Randy M. Green in Guardian Heroes after the former's main protagonist. [19] [28] Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata stated that "As unpolished as the action is, Edward Randy is still a must play for anyone infatuated with 2D graphics. It’s clearly a title ahead of its time, and it feels a bit like a Treasure game before Treasure truly existed." [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: エドワード・ランディ, Hepburn: Edowādo Randi

Related Research Articles

<i>Out Run</i> 1986 video game

Out Run is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet. The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations.

<i>After Burner</i> 1987 video game

After Burner is a rail shooter arcade video game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player controls an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by destroying incoming enemies. The plane is equipped with a machine gun and a limited supply of heat-seeking missiles. The game uses a third-person perspective, as in Sega's earlier Space Harrier (1985) and Out Run (1986). It runs on the Sega X Board arcade system which is capable of surface and sprite rotation. It is the fourth Sega game to use a hydraulic "taikan" motion simulator arcade cabinet, one that is more elaborate than their earlier "taikan" simulator games. The cabinet simulates an aircraft cockpit, with flight stick controls, a chair with seatbelt, and hydraulic motion technology that moves, tilts, rolls and rotates the cockpit in sync with the on-screen action.

<i>Chase H.Q.</i> 1987 video game

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.

<i>Truxton</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Truxton is a 1988 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan and Europe by Taito, as well as in North America by Midway. Set in a future where the Gidans alien race led by Dogurava invaded the fictional planet Borogo, players assume the role of fighter pilot Tatsuo taking control of the Super Fighter ship on a last-ditch effort to overthrow the alien invaders.

<i>Snow Bros.</i> 1990 video game

Snow Bros. is a 1990 platform arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan first published in Japan, then in North America by Romstar and later in Europe. Starring the eponymous snowmen twins Nick and Tom, players are tasked with travelling through 50 stages, throwing and building snowballs, jumping on and off platforms to navigate level obstacles while dodging and defeating monsters in order to rescue the princesses Puripuri and Puchipuchi from captivity. Although first launched in arcades, the game was later ported across multiple platforms, each one being created by different third-party developers and featuring several changes or additions compared with the original version. Conversions for various microcomputers were in development but none were officially released to the public.

<i>Operation Wolf</i> Arcade video game

Operation Wolf is a light gun shooter arcade game developed by Taito and released in 1987. It was ported to many home systems.

<i>Super Hang-On</i> 1987 video game

Super Hang-On is a motorcycle racing arcade video game released by Sega as the sequel to Hang-On. It uses a simulated motorcycle arcade cabinet, like the original game. An updated version was released in arcades 1991 as Limited Edition Hang-On.

<i>Tumblepop</i> 1991 video game

Tumblepop is a 1991 platform arcade video game developed by Data East first published in Japan by Namco, then in North America by Leprechaun Inc. and later in Europe by Mitchell Corporation. Starring two ghosthunters, players are tasked with travelling across different countries, capturing enemies and throwing them as bouncing ball, jumping on and off platforms to navigate level obstacles while dodging and defeating monsters in order to save the world.

<i>Joe & Mac</i> 1991 video game

Joe & Mac, also known as Caveman Ninja and Caveman Ninja: Joe & Mac, is a 1991 run and gun platform game released for arcades by Data East. It was later adapted for the Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Amiga, Zeebo, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

<i>Midnight Resistance</i> 1989 video game

Midnight Resistance is a side-scrolling run and gun game produced by Data East and released in arcades in 1989. Midnight Resistance is set in a dystopian future where the player controls a member of a resistance movement who goes on a mission to rescue his kidnapped family from a drug kingpin.

<i>Forgotten Worlds</i> 1988 video game

Forgotten Worlds, titled Lost Worlds in Japan, is a side-scrolling shooter video game by Capcom, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1988. It is notable for being the first title released by Capcom for their CP System arcade game hardware.

<i>Super Monaco GP</i> 1989 video game

Super Monaco GP is a Formula One racing simulation video game released by Sega, originally as a Sega X Board arcade game in 1989, followed by ports for multiple video game consoles and home computers in the early 1990s. It is the sequel to the 1979 arcade game Monaco GP. The arcade game consists of one race, the Monaco Grand Prix, but later ports added more courses and game modes based on the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<i>Detana!! TwinBee</i> 1991 video game

Detana!! TwinBee, released in Europe and North America as Bells & Whistles, is a 1991 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Konami. It is the fifth entry in the TwinBee series and the second to be released for arcades following the original TwinBee. Set several years after the events of TwinBee, players assume the role of Light and Pastel taking control of TwinBee and WinBee to defeat invading forces of the evil alien Iva and save planet Meru after receiving an SOS message sent by Princess Melora.

<i>John Madden Football</i> (1990 video game) 1990 video game

John Madden Football, released as John Madden American Football in Europe, is an American football video game released by Electronic Arts. Loosely based on the 1988 video game of the same title, it was the first entry in what eventually became the yearly Madden NFL series on home consoles, initially released for the Sega Genesis in 1990. It is sometimes called Madden '90 or Madden '91 to distinguish it from subsequent entries in the series.

<i>Hellfire</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Hellfire is a 1989 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published in Japan by Taito and North America by U.S.A. Games. The first horizontal shoot 'em up title to be created by Toaplan, the game takes place in the year 2998 where a space matter known as Black Nebula created by robot dictator Super Mech spreads and threatens to engulf human-controlled galaxies, as players assume the role of Space Federation member Captain Lancer taking control of the CNCS1 space fighter craft in a surprise attack to overthrow the enemies with the fighter craft's titular weapon.

<i>Liquid Kids</i> 1990 video game

Liquid Kids is a 1990 platform arcade video game developed and published by Taito. Starring the hippopotamus Hipopo, players travel through the land of Woody-Lake throwing water bombs, jumping on and off platforms to navigate level obstacles while dodging and defeating monsters in order to rescue Tamasun from her captor, the Fire Demon. The game was ported to the PC Engine and Sega Saturn. Home computer versions were in development but none were officially released to the public.

<i>Space Gun</i> (video game) 1990 first-person shooter arcade game

Space Gun is a 1990 first-person shooter arcade game released by Taito. The game is set aboard a crippled space station that has been overrun by hostile alien creatures. The objective is to rescue human crew members while destroying the alien creatures. The game lets the player shoot limbs off the creatures, resulting in blood splatters.

<i>Twin Hawk</i> 1989 video game

Twin Hawk is a 1989 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by Toaplan and published by Taito. Taking place at the end of an alternative World War II setting, where general Giovanni and his army plots to take over the fictional country Gorongo, players assume the role of a wing commander from the Daisenpū squadron taking control of a Flying Fortress fighter aircraft in an effort to overthrow the enemy.

Electro-mechanical games are types of arcade games that operate on a combination of some electronic circuitry and mechanical actions from the player to move items contained within the game's cabinet. Some of these were early light gun games using light-sensitive sensors on targets to register hits, while others were simulation games such as driving games, combat flight simulators and sports games. EM games were popular in amusement arcades from the late 1940s up until the 1970s, serving as alternatives to pinball machines, which had been stigmatized as games of chance during that period. EM games lost popularity in the 1970s, as arcade video games had emerged to replace them in addition to newer pinball machines designed as games of skill.

<i>P-47: The Phantom Fighter</i> 1988 video game

P-47: The Phantom Fighter is a 1988 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by NMK and published by Jaleco. Set during World War II, players control a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft to face against the Nazis, who are occupying multiple countries around the world. Its gameplay involves destroying waves of enemies, picking up power-ups and new weapons, and destroying bosses. It ran on the Mega System 1 hardware.

References

  1. ↑ "DATA EAST Revival Project - DATA EAST Title List". G-Mode . Marvelous. 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 Tōrō, Kurihara (April 1991). "紹介 - The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy (エドワード・ランディ)". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 56. Shinseisha. p. 113.
  3. 1 2 3 Kalata, Kurt (7 August 2017). "The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Data East (1990). The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy (Arcade) (in Japanese). Data East. Level/area: Staff.
  5. 1 2 Tane, Kiyoshi; Yamoto, Shinichi; Abe, Hiroki (1 May 2002). データイースト (DECO) (in Japanese). Ohta Publishing. pp. 94–97, 170. ISBN   978-4872336702.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help) (Translation by Shmuplations. Archived 2019-12-30 at the Wayback Machine ).
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 データイースト (DECO) (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Hobby Japan. 30 June 2012. pp. 1–95. ISBN   978-4798604183.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help) (Translation by Shmuplations. Archived 2019-12-30 at the Wayback Machine ).
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Tada, Kiyofumi. "DECO's Golden Age". gamengai.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  8. ↑ Fuentes, Edgar S. (21 June 2017). "Vandal Game Music: 'Gamadelic' Data East Sound Team - Repasamos el legado de Gamadelic, la brillante formación de músicos de Data East". Vandal (in Spanish). El Español. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Yanma (December 1990). "Super Soft Hot Information - Video Game!: エドワードランディ". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 102. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 236.
  10. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 114–5. ISBN   978-4990251215.
  11. ↑ "Data East USA brochure". Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "When you think coin-drop... Think Data East. We've got it all". RePlay. Vol. 16, no. 2. November 1990. pp. 12–3.
  13. ↑ "Edward Randy". Games-X . No. 2. Europress. 3–9 May 1991. p. 4.
  14. ↑ "News Games: Back To The War!". ACE . No. 45. EMAP. June 1991. p. 11.
  15. ↑ "News - Buzz: Randy Devil". CU Amiga . No. 93. EMAP. June 1991. p. 12.
  16. ↑ "CVG News: Elite Activity Explosion". Computer and Video Games . No. 115. EMAP. June 1991. p. 12.
  17. ↑ New Release (新作ンフト): エドワード・ランディー ァーグードギァーズ (in Japanese). Sega. 1997. p. 32.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  18. ↑ Saeki, Kenji (26 December 2012). "「3D スペースハリアー」インタビュー 「SEGA AGES」から「バーチャルコンソール」、そして3DSにいたるまでの道のり". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2020. (Translation by Sega. Archived 2017-04-07 at the Wayback Machine ).
  19. 1 2 3 "The Unconverted: The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy". Retro Gamer . No. 83. Imagine Publishing. November 2010. p. 50.
  20. 1 2 Rignall, Julian (February 1991). "Arcade Action - Adventures of Edward Randy". Computer and Video Games . No. 111. EMAP. p. 94.
  21. ↑ "VG: エドワードランディ". Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). No. 15. SoftBank Creative. December 1990. p. 141.
  22. ↑ ザ・ベストゲーム2 - アーケードビデオゲーム26年の歴史: ゲーメスト大賞11年史 (in Japanese). Vol. 5 (4th ed.). Shinseisha. 17 January 1998. p. 16. ISBN   9784881994290.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  23. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 398. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 March 1991. p. 29.
  24. ↑ Cook, John; Pattenden, Mike (February 1991). "Arcades: Following In Their Trails... - The Cliffhanger — Edward Randy". CU Amiga . No. 12. EMAP. p. 76.
  25. ↑ "Arcades - The Cliffhanger Edward Randy". Tilt (in French). No. 91. Editions Mondiales S.A. June 1991. pp. 50–51.
  26. ↑ "Corky's Coin-Ops - The Cliffhanger Edward And Randy (Data East)". Zzap!64 . No. 78. Newsfield Publications. October 1991. p. 37.
  27. ↑ Rhoades, Jason. "Edward Randy - Overview". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  28. ↑ "Power Profiles - Tetsuhiko "Han" Kikuchi". Nintendo Power . No. 284. Future US. November 2012. pp. 68–69.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.