Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth
| Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth | |
|---|---|
 Front cover of the Sharp X68000 version | |
| Developer(s) |
Fill-in-Cafe (Sharp X68000, Fujitsu FM Towns) Kogado Studio (PC-Engine CD-ROM²) |
| Publisher(s) |
Family Soft NEC Interchannel (PC Engine CD-ROM²) |
| Designer(s) |
Masatoshi Imaizumi Masaki Ukyo |
| Composer(s) | Keishi Yonao |
| Platform(s) | X68000, FM Towns, PC Engine CD-ROM² |
| Release |
Sharp X68000
|
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth (マッドストーカー フルメタルフォース) is a 1994 Japanese beat 'em up video game originally produced by Fill-in-Cafe and published and distributed by FamilySoft for the Sharp X68000. Later versions were retitled Mad Stalker: Full Metal Force. In 1997, the game was substantially remade for the PlayStation. All versions of the game are Japanese exclusive.
Gameplay
Similar to its predecessor beat 'em up game Kung-Fu Master by Irem, it is played in a single plane field, but only scrolling to the right. The game is controlled using an eight-directional joystick and two attack buttons. The player uses the joystick to jump, crouch and move the character towards or away from the enemies. There are two buttons of differing strength and speed (Light and Heavy). The player can perform a variety of basic moves in any position, including grabbing/throwing attacks, while the player can perform special moves by inputting a combination of directional and button-based commands. Players control the Hound Dog throughout each stage knocking out minor enemies, followed by a boss character. If the vitality of the Hound Dog becomes empty, the game is over, and the player will have a chance to continue where he or she left off. The game has a total of six stages with three difficulty levels.
Plot
The following plot summary is taken from the intro:
2142 A.D. Artemis City., a warship built late in the last war is discovered by the military. Aboard are a few hundred SlaveGears, which are put under the control of the ruling government. Two SlaveGears are put under police management for experimental use. These two models are named "Hound Dog" and "Rising Dog". The main computer of the warship, "Omega", suddenly becomes operational. "Omega" accesses the military channel, which freezes Artemis City and gives a command to Rising Dog: "Exterminate the enemy". The research facility is destroyed and Rising Dog escapes into the city. The police recognize the emergency and send out a signal: "Code name Hound Dog. Alert! Terminate all tests immediately, and join with the forces in the city. Repeating..."
Legacy
In July 1994, Mad Stalker was ported to the Fujitsu FM Towns, featuring a Compact Disc Digital Audio version of the FM chiptune background music of the Sharp X68000 version. On September 15, 1994, it was substantially reprogrammed by Kogado Studio and published by NEC Interchannel for the PC-Engine CD-ROM², with exclusive animated cut-scenes, some additional characters, and Compact Disc Digital Audio. Finally, on July 3, 1997, a completely different version was published and distributed by Family Soft for the PlayStation. This version was later ported to the PlayStation Network on January 12, 2011.
On September 24, 1994, Keishi Yonao composed an album titled Mad Stalker 2142 (マッドストーカー２１４２). Most songs are unique to this album, though some were later used in the PlayStation remake. It was published by Polydor Records exclusively in Japan. On December 18, 2006, D4 Enterprise's Project EGG service released the Sharp X68000 version's soundtrack exclusively on their website for download in MP3 format.
According to former Treasure designer Tetsuhiko "Han" Kikuchi, Mad Stalker and Capcom's Alien vs. Predator were the main inspirations for Guardian Heroes' design.[1]
References
- ↑ November 2012 issue of Nintendo Power magazine.