Violent Storm

Infobox VG
title = Violent Storm


developer = Konami
publisher = Konami
designer =
series = Crime Fighters
released = 1993
genre = Scrolling Fighter
modes = Up to 3 players simultaneously
cabinet = Upright
arcade system = Mystic Warriors Based Hardware
display = 288 x 224 standard resolution
input = 8-way joystick, 2 buttons
platforms = Arcade

Violent Storm is a 1993 beat-em-up released for the arcades by Konami, a part of the Crime Fighters series.

Main characters

The game features 3 playable characters:
* Wade - blonde man wearing blue outfit; he has average power and speed.
* Boris - red-haired man dressing red with silver and sunglasses; typical strong-but-slow character, able to throw most things and enemies with ease. Only him can lift up an enemy by jumping up to the air while grabbing him.
* Kyle - black-haired man dressed in green and gray with dog tags; capable of kicking at near lightspeed he is the fastest and weakest of the three.

Enemies

Regular enemies

*Talcus / R. Talcus - the basic punch-bag enemies commonly seen through the game. They have mohawk hairstyle and pants (these share the same color) with silver keys hung aside, tanktop and thick shoes. They basically attack with punches and kicks, plus being able to do several regular actions the player can perform (i.e. break objects, jump and crouch, block attacks, pick up untouched food to regain health and the like). Their colors are golden mohawk and pants with default skin for Talcus, red mohawk and pants with tanned skin for R. Talcus.

*Jaxom - somewhat more durable and intelligent than Talcus, these guys have frilled brown hair and sport a kind of torn-down sweatshirt with long boots (both also sharing an equal color), headband, bracers and beggar pants. They fight very basically with the addition of more hit points and smarter fighting technique. Just like Talcus / R. Talcus, Jaxom enemies also wear golden or red sweatshirt and boots with default or tanned skin tone.

*Ryuken / R. Ryuken - these hindu-looking kung fu artists may be dangerous despite their stupid face. These creeps attack with a rich arsenal of several martial techniques - which also include sweep kicks, flying kicks, flying knee strikes, frankensteiner leg-drop and even a M. Bison-style head-stomp jump. They are much deadlier when the player gets caught in a group of them or with other enemies diverting attention so that they can strike freely. Ryuken and R. Ryuken enemies come both in monk outfits, being blue with purple for the former and red with graffiti for the latter.

*Dr. Hogun - these homosexual hoodlums with dirty appearance are passive but dangerous enemies. They have a big passion for explosives, and their main attack is to throw a powerful bomb and back off. Due to their VERY LOW amount of health, there is no real strategy for these guys, the player must just hit them once and they're down for the count - and, no need to say, avoiding their bombs.

*Crossbones - lunatic guys with fondness for steel. A Crossbones is never seen without his faithful steel pipe, which in his hands becomes a dangerous tool of destruction. They have orange or crimson mohawks and tightpants, black punk shirt and boots, and hop on one foot when idle. Very rarely, or never at all, a Crossbones drops its steel pipe when defeated.

*Liza / Eliza - the female enemies of the game have a devious-looking smile. Beyond playing with sharp knives most of the time, these treacherous femme fatales can kick, sweep kick and jump kick along with great skill, so the player is advised to take them down first and quick. Liza is red-haired with black dress and boots, Eliza comes in blonde hair and lavender clothing. Just like Crossbones, they never drop knives when defeated - however, if they throw a knife and it's deflected, the player can then pick it up.

*Lollypop / Lollypop Jr. - big walking mountains of concentrated fat. They are dim-witted Arabian-looking men suffering from diabetes mellitus. Obvious to their shape, they rely more on their brute strength and monstrous weight. Varying from sumo slaps and punches, belly flop rushes to grabbing the player and smashing him against the ground and even fire breathing, they are a force to be considered in battle. Lollypop and Lollypop Jr. wear "sugar" and "cherry" pants, respectively. There's also a "secret" version named Y. Lollypop, who wears "gold" pants and appears only in a 2-player game - this version of the character may be probably a bug from the game programming or something leftover from the beta prototype of the game.

*Gigadeath - repulsive thugs with heavy metal looks. Characteristically they have long colorful hair, wear black leather clothing, metal piercings, bracelets, pocket chains and thick boots. They always carry a thick piece of chain to whip and even dizzy the player. Gigadeath enemies can appear with purple or green hair and rarely with small variations on their colors.

*Spike / B. Spike - the most annoying among the regular enemies of the game, they will give stormy times for careless players. True to the name, they have iron spikes protruding from every place of their bodies and clothing. They can rush with a spiked shoulder towards the player, can grab and toss backwards, grapple and bear hug or face knee, slap with powerful hands and so. Spike enemies wear green pants while B. Spike enemies wear purple pants. In Stage 4, there is a unique version named R. Spike, which is also his unique appearance in the whole game - just like Y. Lollypop, described above, R. Spike has blood-red spikes and wears silver pants, and has two personal techniques, Spike Roller and Spike Driver.

*Bull - he is a minor version of Dabel (Stage 1 Boss), therefore weaker and easier to beat. This guy has all the same actions of the original Dabel (see right below), but has no getting up priority and can be pummeled at will. He even doesn't use his trademark burlap sack in order to mask his hideous face. Makes very rare appearances through the game.

tage bosses

*Dabel (Boss of Stage 1, Train Station) - this fat guy shows up by breaking through a wall. His enormous steel mace can deal massive damage to any careless player. Dabel can rush at the player with it afoot, can jump kick the player, can bash in a sweep motion, crash away a player who dares to keep close to him as he gets up back into charge and even, what's worse, he hammers it against the ground causing heavy junk to rain down and hit the player's head painfully. The burlap sack masking his horrible face can be knocked off him by upward attacking him repeatedly until it drops to the ground. The player who grabs it will grant a big amount of points to score. Minor versions of him (all them named Bull, see right above) can be found throughout the game.

*Joe (Boss of Stage 2, Train) - acting as a typical 1950s "train ticket collector", this nasty figure wants much more than just travel tickets. His giant electric scissors are capable of shocking, bashing away, rushing, cutting and even throwing backwards. Every time he has lost his weapon, Joe will jump off battle and ring his miniature bell to call forth one or more of his Lollypop comrades. At the final part of the battle, Joe will only attack bare-handed, but will only jump a lot and even grapple on the player to pummel his head out. Once defeated, the boss even falls off the train to his death.

*Drigger (Boss of Stage 3, Downtown) - he awaits the player inside a caged arena under a restaurant. This brutish wrestler wearing a tiger skull as a helmet is really a tough break. Excluding his hulking fit and large amount of hit points, Drigger will grab and make lots of different miseries against careless or unlucky players. His slaps, kicks and diving headbutts also are a pain to the neck. Ultimately, as his health comes closer to zero, Drigger tends to get up faster in order to have the upper advantage to crush down his victims.

*Doyle (Boss of Stage 4, Industrial Area) - this guy believes faithfully that human and machine are the perfect combination to bring down any opposition. His machinery - he's actually disguised as a Power Loader as seen in the 'Aliens' movie and the Konami title of the same name - has retractable arms that grab even at a safe distance. However, complete combos and rushing attacks are a welcome take to win this battle. On the other hand, air attacks are not recommended due to him being able to grab out of air and shake the player for a good amount of health gone. When close to defeat, Doyle can fly up and perform a kind of "Descending Kick" which can prove fatal in case of low health. Once defeated, Doyle tries to fly off the place but his jetpack malfunctions and blasts, causing him to fall and dissolve alive into vats of melted steel.

*Mr. Julius (Boss of Stage 5, Tropical Garden) - he is a stone statue given life by Red Freddy himself. He has an inflated ego due to his muscular build and narcissistic poses. This boss likes to show off his physical prowess by performing strong punches, kicks, throws, diagonal Screwdriver Kick and even an Helicopter Spin Kick similar to Kyle's. Despite his big muscles - and even bigger ego - this boss proves himself to be a great idiot stone.

*Sledge (Boss of Stage 6, Bay Area) - this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-look alike may sometimes be a little hard because of his bulking build and super speed. It's much more a matter of avoiding his titanium plate attacks and escaping his near-lightspeed rushes. The player shall not rely on full combos because Sledge can most of time break free of them and attack with impunity. Flying and rushing attacks are much safer choices to take him down.

*Red Freddy (Boss of Stage 7, Museum) - finally the heroes reach Sheena's captors. The boss of Museum stage can be sometimes a pain, specially against unexperienced or unlucky players. This lanky, effeminate, Blanka-like demon can jump kick and sweep kick, whip with his long hair and even mortally slash the life out of his enemies with his long recurved talons; his Spinning Talon Slash is a deadly technique to be feared. Eventually he falls and the game is... almost completed.

*Lord Geld (Final Boss) - the real final boss of Violent Storm. He is partially inspired by Tetsuo from the anime film Akira and Garlic Jr. from the Dragon Ball anime series: he looks like a caped child / dwarf sitting on his throne, only to stand up revealing to be in truth a hulking beast with enormous muscles and many psychic attacks. Once this ominous evil emperor has fallen, Sheena is safe and Violent Storm is completed. NOTE: finishing the game in a cooperative 2-player mode, the player who delivers the final blow on Lord Geld will get Sheena.

Bonuses

One of the bonus point items is a Twinbee doll. Another is the mask (actually a burlap sack) wore by Dabel (1st stage boss) - to gain it, give him enough upward punches until it drops.

External links

* [http://www.vs.cba.pl/ Polish fan club]
* [http://arcade.svatopluk.com/violent_storm/ Screenshots]