Game of the Day 3/21/2016: Sidearms: Hyper Dyne

[celerystalker]

Sidearms: Hyper Dyne is a late '80s horizontal shooter from Capcom, which was ported to the Turbografx 16 in its time, and later emulated on Capcom Classics vol. 2 for PS2 and Xbox. You play as a humanoid in a power suit and jet pack of sorts, collecting powerups, weapons, and points while desperately trying to stay alive while enemies swarm at you from all angles. Fortunately, you have a nice arsenal at your disposal, as well as the ability to shoot left and right by pressing either the I or II button.

You have a big hit box and a very, very short invincibility upon death, so if you die once in Sidearms, you'll likely die again quickly until the screen clears. Multi-directional weapons such as the shotgun or 3-way are the order or the day, as clearer screens keep you from falling into this trap, and the shotgun can also shoot down enemy bullets. You can change weapons on the fly by pausing with Run, which will show you your speed level and any weapons you've obtained.

Speaking of speed, it's worth noting if you don't have a manual that icons that say "Pow" are not in fact power, but speed. Orange ones speed you up, while blue icons slow you down. Over-correcting is a big danger here, so staying at a comfortable level is very important. To increase weapon power, you pick up multiple of the same weapon icon. Simple, but if you didn't know, seeing "Pow" for speed is confusing.

Other cool features are things like the scrolling changing direction mid-stage, a powerup that gives you extra armor with an 8-way firing addition, nice, quick bosses, and the crazy fast pace of the game. The bosses are exceptionally fair, offering a reasonable fight after scraping to survive each stage instead of relentless cruelty, because the stages themselves are more than willing to lay you to waste. Also, it's cool seeing some of the traditional Capcom bonus items from the era such as barrels, strawberries, and cows. Even some of the sound effects and those icon sprites are shared with Black Tiger, so if you love late '80s Capcom, these feel like a warm blanket.

Sidearms is tough, but in many ways feels like a spiritual successor to Section Z, much as how Black Tiger was to Ghosts 'n Goblins. The Turbografx port is tremendous, and its 3 credit challenge is pretty hard, but totally doable. Sidearms is a quality shooter and a must for Section Z fans, even if it does eschew that game's labyrinthine structure for more traditional design. I love it.

Played this one? Any arcade memories?

[Black_Tiger]

This was one of my favorite arcade games bitd and I own the pcb and all Turbo/PCE versions. For me, the sound of an arcade will always be a mix of the sounds of Ghosts 'n Goblins, Trojan, 1943 and Sidearms. Just thinking of it makes me smell cigarette smoke. :P

The Turbo/PCE version has pixel perfect graphics, with extra parallax stars and better sound.

Sidearms Special was one of my first CD games, along with Super Darius and Golden Axe. The Japanese family that owned the electronics store in my hometown brought them back from a trip to Japan. Since the TG-16 version of Sidearms wasn't released in Canada, Sidearms Special was the first home version I played. A year or two later, when my Mother made a trip to Seattle, I asked her to buy the TG-16 version, since it was a game I knew I could only get from the U.S. It was fun to play on my TurboExpress.

[celerystalker]

This was one of my favorite arcade games bitd and I own the pcb and all Turbo/PCE versions. For me, the sound of an arcade will always be a mix of the sounds of Ghosts 'n Goblins, Trojan, 1943 and Sidearms. Just thinking of it makes me smell cigarette smoke. :P

The Turbo/PCE version has pixel perfect graphics, with extra parallax stars and better sound.

Sidearms Special was one of my first CD games, along with Super Darius and Golden Axe. The Japanese family that owned the electronics store in my hometown brought them back from a trip to Japan. Since the TG-16 version of Sidearms wasn't released in Canada, Sidearms Special was the first home version I played. A year or two later, when my Mother made a trip to Seattle, I asked her to buy the TG-16 version, since it was a game I knew I could only get from the U.S. It was fun to play on my TurboExpress.

That's a great set of memories! Any big differences on the PCE CD version? I've got the Capcom Classics emulation and the US TG16 HuCard, but haven't tried the CD.

[FoxNtd]

Damn, and I have this for PCE. I think it's called Sidearms Special. Tried it once, got stuck on a boss I couldn't understand how to defeat and forgot to come back and try again. Need to give it another run. Curious about the different versions and what they really are. I believe there's a Hucard version as mentioned above.

[Dire 51]

This was another Capcom classic that I really didn't get to play until it showed up on Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2, but I had actually encountered once or twice in arcades over the years. Fantastic shooter. I don't like it quite as much as I like Forgotten Worlds, but I like it a whole lot better than Section Z.

[celerystalker]

Damn, and I have this for PCE. I think it's called Sidearms Special. Tried it once, got stuck on a boss I couldn't understand how to defeat and forgot to come back and try again. Need to give it another run. Curious about the different versions and what they really are. I believe there's a Hucard version as mentioned above.

The screenshots and actual game photo are of the US HuCard release, as that is the version I own (well, that and the Capcom Classics version). I'd love to know about any features unique to the PCE CD version!

[Steve W]

I used to play the hell out of the arcade version when I was about 19 or 20. There was one in the lobby of my local Minyards Supermarket, along with Avengers (the Capcom beat-em'-up, not the Marvel super hero game), Legendary Wings and Rastan. Even though I played it whenever I could, I probably only got about halfway through the game. Once they rotated that machine out of the store, I thought I'd never get the chance to play it again, until I discovered was a home version for the Turbo. I was a little bit let down by the graphics and sound effects, which were weaker approximations of the arcade game. The same thing happened with the home versions of Rastan - without the great audio, it was just a fairly generic scrolling hack n' slash. That was always the problem with home ports - I remember buying Splatterhouse for the Turbo, bashing the first 'water monster' with the board and not hearing the echoing roar when you kill him, and feeling a bit sad.

Thanks to emulation I've been able to replay some of these old games that are only classics to me. I still haven't devoted enough time to Side Arms to get more than a couple levels in, though.

[Dire 51]

I remember buying Splatterhouse for the Turbo, bashing the first 'water monster' with the board and not hearing the echoing roar when you kill him, and feeling a bit sad.

I had the exact opposite experience. I'd originally played the TG16 port about a year before I discovered the arcade game. When I did find the arcade game, I was amazed by all the extra detail and sfx that had been cut from the TG16 port, and when I heard the Water Dead's roar the first time I killed one (and the moan that accompanied it beforehand when it rose out of the water), I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Of course, that feeling was slightly tempered afterwards by knowing I'd probably never own the arcade game.

[FoxNtd]

The screenshots and actual game photo are of the US HuCard release, as that is the version I own (well, that and the Capcom Classics version). I'd love to know about any features unique to the PCE CD version!

http://pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Side_Arms_Special.htm

According to this the CD version comes with a new mode of gameplay. I presume the standard mode matches the HuCard version?

[Gentlegamer]

If I'm not mistaken, a "chibi" version of the main character is used as the select icon on later Capcom games, like Street Fighter II and its variations.