Crime Fighters (video game)

Crime Fighters (クライムファイターズ Kuraimu Faitāzu^?) is a 1989 side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Konami for arcade platforms. Players take control of a pair of undercover police officers who are assigned to rescue a group of kidnapped damsels from a crime boss and his army of punks.

Much like Konami's arcade version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (released during the same year), the game was available in a four-player dedicated cabinet, as well as a conversion kit that was available in 2-player and 4-player versions (meant for either Atari Games' Gauntlet or Konami's own Main Event). Unlike Ninja Turtles, each player character is identical, save for each one sporting a different palette swapped color. Crime Fighters was followed by a sequel titled Vendetta (released in Japan as Crime Fighters 2).

The game was included as part of Arcade Archives on March 18, 2021 for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

Gameplay[]

In the four-player versions, each player position has its own coin slot and each credit value adds around a hundred health points to that position, which slowly drains one health point per tick (similar to Gauntlet). Players are able to accidentally hit each other and cause allies to drop their weapons permanently. After defeating the boss at the end of each level, if the game has more than one current player, then the players are given a time limit that refreshes when a player is hurt and tells the players to fight as long as they want and lose health. While some health is granted at the end of the time limit, it is possible to lose more health than granted during this fight. The two-player version gives players a set number of lives and the health/timer system is replaced with a standard life meter and life counter.

Players start in the first level of play, the subway. Upon knocking down the first few enemies, a large icon instructs player to kick downed opponents. There are buttons to punch and kick; pressing both performs a spinning jump kick that instantly knocks down enemies. It is also possible to grab enemies and attack them, as well as kick them in the groin to stun them. Many enemies have weapons. Certain enemies always use knives to attack, while some "punk" enemies will have lead pipes and later enemies have handguns. Upon defeating these enemies a player may pick up their weapon and use it indefinitely (including handguns in the two-player versions); however, if the player is hit once, they will drop the item and it will disappear (except for handguns in the four player versions, provided that they have ammo).

In the final stage, the final boss throws a key to the player and tells them to pick it up. Doing so will allow the boss to pull out a machine gun and shoot at the player. Should the player run out of health at this point, the game will end and a bad ending will be seen with the final boss telling the player to try again. However, the player can choose not to get the key and kick (or shoot if the player has a handgun) the main villain repeatedly until he is defeated. Upon winning the game, player will then be subjected to a difficult final all boss round where they must defeat every boss in the game, who all appear onscreen at once.

Regional differences[]

Like many Konami video games from the era, the game went through many changes during its export localization:

The export version features only two buttons, punch and kick, and removes the third button from the original, reverse kick.
The timer and credit counter are removed in the export versions.
The player characters' energy is represented by a numerical hit point value which is always on countdown to zero, instead of a health bar like in the Japanese version. Additional hit points may be added by inserting more coins into each player's corresponding coin slot.
Characters can use a reversal kick by pressing the kick button while an opponent is behind them, which knocks them down in a single hit (except bosses).
The Gun now has limited ammo, although it is possible to pick it up again if an enemy knocks it off the player's hand, unlike the Japanese version. Also, each gunshot is as strong as three punches/kicks, and knocks down most enemies in one shot.
It is possible to play the extra stage (enemy boss revenge) more than once.

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Trivia[]

Some bosses seem to be inspired by popular horror/slasher films:
- Stage 2 boss: A parody of Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th series.
- Stage 4 boss: A parody of Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series.
- Stage 5 boss: A parody of Freddy Krueger from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series.
The dying pose of the Stage 7 boss seems to be a parody of Sergeant Elias's death scene from the 1986 war film Platoon.
Mace Swinger and Axe Wielder appear as nonogram puzzle images in the mobile game Pixel Puzzle Collection.