Violent Storm

Violent Storm (バイオレントストーム) is a 1993 side-scrolling fighting game for the arcades produced by Konami.

The year could either be in the 50s or 90s. In the beginning, World War III has at last expired. The people are left to pick up the pieces and rebuild their civilizations. However, vicious gangs that prey on these defenseless citizens are obstructing the reconstruction.

The main characters are Boris, Wade and Kyle, vigilantes who protect those who are fearful. Their largest problem is the corrupt, incorrigible, ruthless and lethal gang known as "The Geld Gang". They have commissioned every type of person imaginable. Purple-haired, leather-clad, chain-wielding, lead-pipe swinging, masked, martial art, orange-mohawked and men so strong and immune to pain they use manhole covers as shields.

One day, when the three heroes were patrolling the streets alert, ready and able to help those in need, they saw a woman waving at them, who is a good friend of theirs named Sheena, walking across the street out of a supermarket with groceries. A moment later, Lord Geld's right hand man, Red Freddy, snatched Sheena away while riding on his purple hog. Now, the three braves must save Sheena from the grips of Lord Geld.

Main characters
The game features 3 playable characters:
 * Wade - The balanced character of the trio. His specialty is the uppercut.
 * Boris - The powerhouse of the trio. His damage is unmatched. He has four different devastating throws and backbreakers at his disposal and is able to hit fallen enemies with the pipe.
 * Kyle - The speedy character of the trio. His lower damage is compensated for by his quickness. He can fire off rapid kicks that are excellent at stopping charging enemies.

If Wade or Kyle attempt a regular throw on a heavy enemy or boss, the foe may sometimes free himself and flatten them instead. Only Boris is capable of lifting all enemies above the ground to throw or piledrive them into a location of the player's choosing.

Gameplay
In Violent Storm, up to three players can choose between Wade, Boris and Kyle, who have different fighting styles, speed and moves, some of which are hidden. Players must guide them through 7 different stages, in order of appearance: a declined town, a runaway train, in the taverns with trap doors, inside a metal furnacery, a botanic garden, a bay area near the sea and finally Lord Geld's museum. Along the way, if the players clash any enemy, they will wallop, sock, pommel, whip and slug against the players, sometimes with weapons like knives, lead pipes, bombs, bolts of electricity, spiked balls on chains, garbage cans, vise grips, molten metal and a myriad of other deadly armament.

Regular enemies

 * Talcus / R. Talcus - the most basic 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, crouch, block attacks, pick up untouched food to regain health and the like). Pallettes: Talcus has Caucasian skin with pear-yellow mohawk and pants; R. Talcus has darker skin with apple-red mohawk and pants.


 * Jaxom - somewhat more durable and intelligent than Talcus, these enemies 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 (just like Talcus) with the addition of more hit points and smarter fighting technique. Pallettes: the same color scheme used for Talcus / R. Talcus.


 * Ryuken / R. Ryuken - these hindu-faced kung fu artists may be dangerous despite their stupid looks. They wear kabuki monk outfits and attack with a rich arsenal of several martial techniques - including sweep kicks, flying kicks, flying knee strikes, frankensteiner leg drops and even a M. Bison-style head-stomp jumps. 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. Pallettes: Ryuken wears blue kimono with purple hakama; R. Ryuken wears red kimono with greyish-grafitti hakama.


 * Dr. Hogun - these homosexual men with colorful hair and "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 defeated - and, logically, avoid their bombs. Pallettes: purple-dyed hair and pants.


 * Crossbones - insane-looking guys with fondness for steel. This enemy is never seen without his faithful steel pipe, which in his hands becomes a dangerous weapon 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 his steel pipe when defeated. Pallettes: orange/crimson-colored mohawks and tightpants, black punk shirt and boots.


 * Liza / Eliza - the female enemies of the game have a devious-looking smile with missing teeth. 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. They can sometimes use knives too. 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. Pallettes: Liza has red hair with black dress and boots; Eliza has blonde hair with lavender-colored dress and boots.


 * Lollypop / Lollypop Jr. - big walking mountains of concentrated fat, they are dimwitted 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. There's also a "secret" version named Y. Lollypop, who 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 previous beta prototypes. Pallettes: Lollypop wears sugar-white pants; Lollypop Jr. wears cherry-red pants; Y. Lollypop wears golden/yellow pants.


 * Gigadeath - repulsive thugs with heavy metal looks (the name is a pun on the Megadeth band). Characteristically they have long colorful hair, wear typical leather clothing, metal piercings, bracelets, pocket chains and thick boots. They always carry a thick piece of chain to use as a whip or in a dizzy-pull maneuver (Gigadeath wraps his chain around the player's waist and strongly pull it back afterwards, causing the player to spin violently and go dizzy in the process). Pallettes: black leather clothing, hair dyed purple or green (with some rare variants).


 * Spike / B. Spike - the most dangerous regular enemy 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 (looking similar to the Road Warriors). 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. In Stage 4, there is a unique version named R. Spike, which is also his unique appearance in the whole game - only in a 2-payers game, just like Y. Lollypop, described above - and has two personal techniques, Spike Roller and Spike Driver. Pallettes: Spike wears forest-green pants; B. Spike wears purple pants; R. Spike wears white pants and sports blood-soaked spikes.


 * 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, unlike the boss, so players can pummel him faster. He even doesn't use his trademark burlap sack in order to mask his hideous face. Makes very rare appearances through the game. Pallettes: pink/purple/beige tanktop and sandals with white pants.

Stage 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. He can rush at the player with it afoot, jump-kick the player, bash the player's ankle level in a sweep motion, deflect away a player who dares to keep close to him as he gets up back into charge and even, what's worse, he hammers his mace against the ground causing heavy junk to rain down at random places allowing to hit the player's head. The burlap sack masking his horrible face - a possible homage to Jason Voorhees in his early Friday the 13th movies - can be knocked off his face by attacking him upwards 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 hole punch is capable of shocking, bashing away, rushing, cutting and even throwing backwards. Every time he has lost his weapon, the foe 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, the boss will only attack bare-handed, mostly grappling on the player to pummel on his head. Once defeated, the boss falls off the train to his death.


 * Drigger (Boss of Stage 3, Downtown) - a physically powerful boss modeled after a stereotypical "savage cage wrestler", wearing a tiger skull as a helmet, who awaits the player inside a cage arena under the restaurant. Excluding his hulking fit and large amount of hit points, he can perform varied punches, slaps, kicks, a wide array of painful grab-and-throw moves and even has a diving headbutt technique inspired on E. Honda's Sumo Headbutt attack. Ultimately, as his health comes closer to zero, the boss tends to get up each time faster in order to have the upper advantage to crush his victims.


 * Doyle (Boss of Stage 4, Industrial Area) - this guy faithfully praises human with machine to be the perfect combination to bring down any opposition. His machinery - he's actually disguised as a Power Loader as seen in the movie Aliens 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, he can fly up and perform a kind of "Descending Kick" which can prove fatal in case of low health. Once defeated, the boss tries to fly off the place but his jetpack malfunctions and blasts, causing him to fall and dissolve alive into vats of melted steel. Doyle also bears some physical semblance to Woody Woodpecker, but in humanoid size.


 * Mr. Julius (Boss of Stage 5, Tropical Garden) - he is a stone statue given life by Red Fredy himself. This boss, possibly modeled after stereotypical Mr. Universe muscle contesters, 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 Inverse Helicopter Spin Kick similar to Kyle's. Despite his big muscles - and even bigger ego - this boss proves himself to be a great brainless stone.


 * Sledge (Boss of Stage 6, Bay Area) - this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-look alike is hard to battle because of his bulking build (complete with titanium plates to block frontal attacks) and Rolento-like super speed. It's much more a matter of avoiding his plate attacks and escaping his near-lightspeed rushes. The player shall not rely on full combos or long attacks because this boss 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, green-skinned demon (he resembles a mixture of Blanka and Adon} 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 him 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.
 * On Level 2 (the train level), picking up a piglet will turn it into a pigskin football, useful to throw at foes. Recovering it from a hit will prove somewhat tedious as the football will bounce several times on the ground before settling down.
 * Stage 7 contains a Pentarou (better known from the Parodius series) arcade machine, in which it is damageable for points.