Hyper Dyne SIDE ARMS [Model H54G-1004]

Hyper Dyne SIDE ARMS © 1989 NEC Avenue, Limited.

Side Arms is a horizontal scrolling shooter developed by NEC Avenue and conversion of Capcom's arcade of the same name. Life on planet Earth is on the brink of extinction - an alien race called the Bozon has launched an unprovoked invasion and is on a quest to systematically find and annihilate any kind of terrestrial life. However, a group of heavy armed forces led by human survivors desperately attempts to save the planet - two heavy mechanical suits (known as Alpha and Beta mobile-suits), manage to infiltrate deep into enemy territory and are now humanity's last hope for survival. The player takes control of Alpha and fights his way through a variety of colorful, enemy-packed levels. But Side Arms - Hyper Dyne introduces a few unique features that sets it apart from the crowd - for instance, the Alpha can fire in two directions (forward or backward) based on which action button is pressed. Additionally, and in the Capcom tradition (or early tradition in the mid-1980s), various enemies leave behind power-up icons when killed - however, these power-pods come with a twist and cycle through different weapons and Speed up/Speed down icons when shot. Weapons range from Bits, 5-Ways Shotgun, Mega Bazooka Launcher and 3-Ways. But if the player happens to shoot at these pods for too long, they eventually lock themselves up into a bonus item, such as a cow, a star or a Yashichi (the latter two grant the player with rapid-fire shots). Each weapon can be stored for later use (press Run to switch from one to the other), and each one can be powered up a maximum of three times (however, the last active weapon used is lost when the player takes a fatal hit). Another powerful weapon in the game is Beta - although the second player's mobile-suit is not playable in this port, it can nevertheless be called (through the use of hidden Alpha icons) and combine with the player for devastating effects. Side Arms consists of nine levels and is single player only.