GamesActionOne of Treasure’s all-time-great beat ‘em ups owes its inspiration to a PC sidescroller from a developer mostly known for schoolgirl fighting gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionOne of Treasure’s all-time-great beat ‘em ups owes its inspiration to a PC sidescroller from a developer mostly known for schoolgirl fighting gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
Pasokon Retrois our regular look back at the early years of Japanese PC gaming, encompassing everything from specialist ’80s computers to the happy days of Windows XP.
Developer:Fill in CafeReleased:14/1/1994 (X68000)Japanese PCs:X68000, FM Towns(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
It’s this keen focus on the fighting that gives my pleasantly nimble mech access to the sort of moves most other beat ‘em ups can only dream of. I’ve got air throws here.Air throws. Is there anything more satisfying than sending a giant lump of angry metal crashing into the ground from 20 feet up in the air?
Image1of5(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
Image1of5(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
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(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
Normally the answer to that would be “No.” But this is Mad Stalker, a game that can’t help but go the extra mile. At the most basic, there are two attack strengths—weak and strong—tied to two separate attack buttons. So far so ordinary. But the great thing is that even on a game that takes up less disc space than a single modern screenshot, this always throws out two very different moves: a quick elbow jab vs a slow standing uppercut, for example.
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Holding forward while pressing the same attack buttons alters not just a standing move’s properties but its animations as well, that quick elbow strike becoming a knife hand jab with longer reach—and slightly longer recovery time too. Double-tapping forwards or down before attacking causes my mech to perform one of two different kinds of rushing blade attack, the length and power of each depending on the strength of the attack. And as if that wasn’t enough, a hadouken-style input makes my mech pull a gigantic gun out of nowhere, firing a slow moving shot straight ahead. I have a response for every situation, it’s just on me to learn how to use them well.
And I need to do it quickly, because Mad Stalker’s always looking for new ways to turn something I thought I knew into a health-sapping problem. This is why Mad Stalker introduces floating electrified orbs into the mix just as I start getting overly confident with aerial attacks. The belligerent balls controlling the upper half of the screen force me to rethink my once-sound strategy on the fly. A later boss can drag my mech towards it and initiate a painful grab, encouraging me to either keep away or use quick, careful hit-and-run tactics. Airborne enemies might quickly swoop into the unreachable background to reposition themselves instead of trying to pass directly overhead, making me rethink my usual response.
The good news is that however creatively they’re swooping around the screen, there are only ever two or three large enemies sent my way at a time. The bad news is I’m expected to take them all seriously. Any nameless mech the same size as my own has a similar set of moves, and probably a few unique ones on top. Boss battles are even more stressful. The AI’s alert and aggressive, happy to wait for me to stand my ground, arm raised defensively in front of me as I anticipate an incoming mid-height attack, only to respond with a low kick to the steel shins instead.
Image1of4(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
Image1of4(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
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(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
(Image credit: Fill in Cafe)
I had no idea Mad Stalker was this in-depth before I bought it fromProject EGG’s online download storea few years ago. I just knew I liked the idea of punching mechs in the face with another mech.
No, that’s not it. Mad Stalker’s something to be Treasured.
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