NS Arcade Archives: Assault

7 thoughts on “NS Arcade Archives: Assault”

1. Namco must really love ACA considering the amount of games landing on the service, Hamster will definitely hit 800 games with Namco's support!

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2. (Part 1) Bandai Namco's 1988 release Assault is a multi-directional shooter; it's NOT to be confused with twin stick shooters, which used dual analog sticks. It was one of the first games to use the Namco System 2 hardware, itself capable of sprite scaling and rotation. Music was composed by mainstay Shinji Hosoe while designs for the player's tank and enemies were designed by Mobile Suit Gundam artist Kunio Ogawara. Controlling a caterpillar-tread tank, the player is tasked with clearing eleven stages by destroying enemies and avoiding projectiles. Similar to Battlezone (1980), the game features a twin-stick control scheme, where pushing the joysticks forward moves the tank forward and pulling backwards reverses direction. Turning is done by moving only one joystick forward. Pushing both joysticks left or right will flip the tank over, which allows the player to get through narrow spots. Pushing both joysticks apart allows the player to do a Power Wheelie, which fires powerful grenades at enemies. The player can also perform Rapid Rolls (strafing) by pushing both joysticks either left or right. The game's eleven stages include large deserts, mechanical bases, forests and rivers. The end of each stage features a large mechanical structure that must be defeated, which will shoot projectiles at the player. Stages also contain large "Jump Pads" that catapult the tank into the sky when touched, allowing the player to shoot powerful blasts towards enemies on the ground and to view other sections of the map. A flashing arrow will appear on-screen to point the player towards the level exit.

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3. (Part 2) Taking a page from Thunder Ceptor, Namco released a Japan-only update titled Assault Plus, released that same year. Both versions were included on 1996's Namco Museum Vol. 4 for PlayStation (re-issued on PSN in 2013-2014); Assault Plus is unlockable with a cheat code. The games were compatible with the PS Analog Joystick, which predated the Dual Analog and later Dual Shock by one year. The arcade version appeared on Wii Virtual Console on June 9, 2009 (at least for a while), but it includes the vanilla release and I'd presume it used motion controls to replicate the arcade setup. Assault makes its global Arcade Archives debut on Hamster's Arcade Archives for PS4 and Nintendo Switch (September 29, 2022 worldwide + Asia). The dual analog sticks are the closest approx of the arcade (but there's an alternate setup based on Namco Museum Vol. 4); players have also made rounds using the various Virtual-On Twin Stick controllers. While the Hamster release includes the Early and Later revisions of the JP release, Assault Plus is sadly missing. It's also unlikely Hamster will include the US version without paying royalties to WB Discovery, who's been in trouble over unsavory decisions. According to ex-Wolf Team designer Kazuyoshi Inoue, Assault was an influence for Granada alongside Grobda, as co-designer Toshio Toyota was a fan of arcade games.

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4. I loved this game years ago buying this right freakin now omg

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5. Namco must love having YM2151 in their arcade games on Switch!

   I hope Starblade comes soon, as well as KnuckleHeads and NebulasRay.

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6. Assault on the core (capital continent).

   "ASSAULT" is a shooter released by NAMCO (Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.) in 1988.
   
   The first title of the SYSTEM II game circuit board with new features such as "zoom in, zoom out, and rotate functions".
   
   Take control of your tank and battle invaders to reclaim your homeland.

   The "Arcade Archives" series has faithfully reproduced many classic Arcade masterpieces.
   
   Players can change various game settings such as game difficulty, and also reproduce the atmosphere of arcade display settings at that time.
   
   Players can also compete against each other from all over the world with their high scores.
   
   Please enjoy the masterpiece that built a generation for video games.

   The options menu and manual are available in Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

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7. After being stuck on the PS4 and remaining exclusive to Japan and Asia for 7 years, the Nintendo Switch version of Darius on Arcade Archives is finally here! For those who don't know, Darius is Taito’s well-known horizontal-scrolling shooter that first hit the arcades in 1987 (although the title screen says 1986 for some reason). In Darius, you control the starship known as the Silver Hawk while going on a mission to take down the Belser empire before they wipe out the planet. The game features a three-screen panoramic display, power-ups, and more. Unfortunately, when you run the game on a three-screen emulator, the game will look extremely letterboxed, even when playing on the modern widescreen TV. It's a shame because Darius was quite a successful game back in the day, even when it got ported to several platforms including the PC Engine. We’ll also note that the Arcade Archive version on the Switch will come with the “Extra Version” of Darius. This version features fixes to the overall gameplay for a more balanced difficulty, new optimized FM music, DCSG sound effects, and of course, new modes. But compared to the original version, how does this play? Well, stay tuned to find out it tomorrow here on Arcade Archives.

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