Hyper Dyne SIDE ARMS Special [Model HACD9002]

Hyper Dyne SIDE ARMS Special © 1989 NEC Avenue, Limited.

Hyper Dyne Side Arms Special is a horizontal scrolling shooter developed by NEC Avenue. This special edition, released only five months after the HuCard game, includes a port of the original Hyperdyne Side Arms arcade game, basically identical to the HuCard version with a remastered CD quality soundtrack, and a special version called Side Arms Before Christ. However, this exclusive mode is a lot more than just an arranged version of the original game. First of all, the weapon menu screen has been removed and collecting a weapon now simply activates it. Power-up icons automatically cycle through weapons and don't need to be shot at anymore, and the weapons behave slightly differently. Additionally, a new Fire Ball weapon has also been added, as well as a blast of energy (similar to the Mega Bazooka Launcher from the original game) that can be charged up by holding the fire button. Beside, NEC Avenue surprisingly removed the merging option (which was Side Arms's signature feature) and it is not possible for the Alpha and Beta mobile-suits to combine anymore. However Side Arms Before Christ consists of ten levels and features new exclusive bosses and levels, but is still single-player only.