Wild Dog (Time Crisis)

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caption = Wild Dog, as he appears in Time Crisis 3
comic_color =background:#c0c0c0
character_name = Wild Dog
real_name = Unknown
publisher = Namco
debut = "Time Crisis"
last appearance =
age = Unknown
creators = Takashi Sano
status = Active?
alliances = The Wild Dogs
previous_alliances = Wild Fang, Kantaris Syndicate, Sherudo Garo, NeoDyne Industries, Zagorias Federation, Hamlin Battalion
powers = Expert skill in firearms, martial arts, and explosives, advanced agility, variable bionic gun-arm, inexplicable ability to cheat death.

Wild Dog is a fictional character from the "Time Crisis" video game series.

Background

Wild Dog is the leader of a notorious mercenary syndicate known as "the Wild Dogs" who provide clandestine support to world-class criminals and other paramilitary organizations. Wild Dog is primarily an antagonist: he is the final boss of the original "Time Crisis" game and serves as a major boss character in every subsequent installment of the series, usually being fought just prior to the final boss fight.

Wild Dog is notable for being the only character, hero or villain, to appear in every "Time Crisis" game to date (with the exception of the spin-off game Crisis Zone). Almost all other characters in the series only appear in a single game, with the exceptions of Richard Miller and Kantaris from the first "Time Crisis" game, who appear in the PSX spin-off "Time Crisis: Project Titan".

Wild Dog is also notable for being the only Time Crisis character with his own theme music, which plays in every game when the player is fighting him. Scott McCulloch voiced Wild Dog (Dave Mallow voiced Wild Dog in "Time Crisis 4").

According to the radio drama within the CD Time Crisis - 3D Sound Ensemble, Wild Dog had fought Richard Miller, who seems to be the only person who is able to fight Wild Dog one on one, at least one time before the event in "Time Crisis".

Appearances

Time Crisis

In the first "Time Crisis", Wild Dog is shown to have a great deal of influence within the criminal underworld of the country of Sercia; he and his mercenary army are hired by deposed Imperial dictator Sherudo Garo to help him stage a coup against the democratically elected government. ["Wild Dog," "Time Crisis" (San Jose: Namco Hometek Inc., 1996), 17.] After V.S.S.E. agent Richard Miller kills Sherudo Garo, Wild Dog takes the president's daughter Rachel MacPherson hostage, and escapes to a waiting helicopter on the roof of the castle while setting off explosive charges throughout the area. Miller catches up with Wild Dog just as the mercenary leader is about to make his escape. Miller battles Wild Dog and his remaining soldiers in a fierce gunfight. After Miller defeats him, Wild Dog accidentally drops his radio detonator, which activates as it falls to the ground, engulfing the tower and Wild Dog in a massive explosion. [Source: Time Crisis instruction booklet for the PlayStation]

Project Titan

In "", Wild Dog makes his second appearance. After Richard Miller battles master assassin Ricardo Blanco, Wild Dog arrives on the roof of Blanco's mansion in a helicopter. A wounded Ricardo tries to escape on Wild Dog's helicopter, but Wild Dog uses his new machine gun weapon-arm to gun Blanco down, yelling "I'll kill you all! You're next, Miller!" before riding off. It turns out that Wild Dog is the mastermind behind the game's plot, and that he is building an army of titanium robot soldiers known as "Project Titan". Richard confronts Wild Dog at his headquarters and battles him once again; after an intense firefight, Wild Dog escapes in his helicopter and sends his robot army to kill Richard. However, Richard shoots at the helicopter. His shot is perfect, severely damaging the copter and causing it to fall. It crashes and destroys the robot army, apparently killing Wild Dog in the process. ["Wild Dog," "Time Crisis: Project Titan" (San Jose: Namco Homtek Inc., 2001), 23.]

Time Crisis II

In "Time Crisis II", it is revealed that Wild Dog survived. ["Wild Dog," "Time Crisis II" (San Jose: Namco Hometek Inc., 2001), 21.] In the introduction, Christy Ryan says, "There's some news...he's still alive!" This time, Wild Dog is working for corporate CEO Ernesto Diaz, who is attempting to launch a nuclear military satellite into orbit. When V.S.S.E. agents Keith Martin and Robert Baxter reach the Neodyne Industries satellite launch site, Wild Dog is the first to confront them. He moves considerably slower this time around. At first, Wild Dog is assisted by enemy soldiers; later in the battle, he is joined by a rocket launcher-wielding Ernesto Diaz. Eventually, the agents defeat Wild Dog, causing him to shout, "V.S.S.E! You fools!" before detonating himself with his radio detonator. [Source: Time Crisis 2 during gameplay]

Time Crisis 3

Wild Dog makes a third appearance in "Time Crisis 3". ["Wild Dog," "Time Crisis 3" (San Jose: Namco Hometek Inc., 2003), 29.] The intro cutscene describes him as "An old rival." The two V.S.S.E. agents, Alan Dunaway and Wesley Lambert, react to his appearance with exasperation: "Don't you ever die?!" In addition to Wild Dog, a second mercenary named Wild Fang appears alongside him. Wild Fang dresses in very similar attire to that of Wild Dog; he is much younger and sports a signature "kick" attack, where he essentially kicks large objects at his foes (including steel girders and bulldozers), turning them into deadly projectiles. Although Wild Dog no longer uses martial arts as extensively, he has installed a new multi-weapon arm into his left gun-arm, which he can switch between a gatling gun, a rocket launcher, and a flamethrower; he also displays increased reflexes, speed, and reaction time. Wild Fang simply falls and dies upon defeat. After Alan and Wesley corner and defeat Wild Dog, he falls to the ground and utters, "Beaten by a couple of young punks!" before detonating himself once again. [Source: Time Crisis 3 during gameplay]

Time Crisis 4

Wild Dog appears again in "Time Crisis 4". The game's intro cutscene describes the enemy as: "Those who stand in your way... and him." He makes his entrance at the Colorado Air Force Base by using his newly-installed grappling hook to pull down the helicopter carrying V.S.S.E. agents Giorgio Bruno and Evan Bernard. Afterwards, Wild Dog retreats into a hangar, where he lures Bruno and Bernard into a series of traps, such as cruise missiles and a three-way corridor that has a closed-wall trap. When finally cornered, Wild Dog unleashes his latest gun-arm option: an "object-lifting tractor beam". He uses this to lift and hurl objects at Giorgio and Evan until he is gunned down. His tractor beam then malfunctions and attracts a large pile of debris, burying Wild Dog. As Giorgio and Evan approach the pile, they see Wild Dog's right hand rise from the rubble, holding his signature detonator, seemingly "killing" himself yet again.

Character

Wild Dog usually wears sunglasses with circular lens and a brown, floor-length trenchcoat, which he throws off before he fights. Underneath he wears a collared shirt and a tie, of which the designs vary with each game that Wild Dog appears in, and suspenders that hold up his brown trousers. He has black hair, which has been progressively greyed. Often when facing defeat or capture Wild Dog will often blow himself up to cheat death and evade capture. Despite appearing dead he often comes back to combat VSSE. While most of the heroes and villains of the "Time Crisis" series have come and gone with each game, Wild Dog is the only game character, albeit an antagonist, present in every "Time Crisis" game except Crisis Zone.

Combat abilities

Wild Dog is a very dangerous combatant. He is proficient in the use of various weapons, explosives and martial arts, often using all his combat skills together in his battle with V.S.S.E. agents. He is also a fast opponent, constantly moving around the screen, which makes him hard to shoot. At the time of "Time Crisis", Wild Dog used dual Mauser C96 pistols, grenades, and martial arts.During the events of Time Crisis 4 Wild Dog's age seems to catch up with him, as he is forced to employ stealthier tactics rather than resort to brute force and gunplay.

Wild Dog lost his left arm after V.S.S.E. agent Richard Miller defeated him at the end of "Time Crisis". After that incident, Wild Dog had to install a cybernetic weapon-arm (first seen in "Time Crisis 2", but is also seen in "Time Crisis: Project Titan") and adopt new tactics to compensate for his gun-arm handicap. Wild Dog made numerous innovations to his weapon-arm from time to time to accommodate new weapons and equipment. Even with the weapon-arm handicap after "Time Crisis", Wild Dog was still proficient in his Mauser C96 utilization with his right hand.

The following weapons were available in Wild Dog's cybernetic gun-arm:
*Gatling gun (introduced in "Time Crisis: Project Titan" and "Time Crisis II").
*Flamethrower (introduced in "Time Crisis 3")
*RPG launcher (introduced in "Time Crisis 3").
*Compact grappling hook (introduced in "Time Crisis 4").
*Tractor beam projector (introduced in "Time Crisis 4"). Wild Dog uses this to lift, swing, and hurl various heavy objects such as crates and forklifts.

References