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ヘビーバレル
©1989 Data East Corp./DECO
Release: 1990-03-02 (¥5800)
Cartdridge DFC-XH
Action/Run'n'Gun
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Released in America as
HEAVY BARREL
( NES-HV-USA )
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Heavy Barrel is an overhead action game by Data East and
conversion of their own arcade game originally released in 1987. The adventure
begins conventionally enough - a group of terrorists has gained control of a
sensitive nuclear site and must be stopped. Players must infiltrate the underground
facilities and terminate the unabated terrorist threat. They come equipped with
a standard Machine Gun and a set of Grenades - more weapons can be
picked up along the way such as the wide 5-Way Rifle, the Flame Thrower
or the lethal Laser Gun. They all have limited ammunition and must be
recharged for maximum effectiveness. Different grenades are also available
such as the twice as powerful Super Grenades, the rotating Ion Balls or the Smoke Bombs.
But our heroes have a secret weapon, the Heavy Barrel. This prototype
gun was taken apart by the scientists who built it and the pieces scattered
throughout the underground complex. Once the gun is reassembled, its amazing
powers can be unleashed for a short amount of time and another one needs to
be assembled as soon as it runs out of power. Weapons, special items and the
Heavy Barrel's pieces are all hidden inside small locked crates that can
only be opened with red keys carried around by red terrorists. The game features
more crates than keys and this short supply forces the player to strategically
decide of which ones to open, and which ones to pass on.
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Heavy Barrel was an arcade game originally released in 1987 by Data East (picture on the left).
It used special controls called 'Rotary Joysticks' which allowed the player to
control the soldier's movement and firing direction separately. This option was obviously
removed from the Famicom version. The game was ported to PC DOS (1989),
Apple II (1989), Famicom (1990) and a LCD game released by
Tiger (1988) even exists. The Famicom version tested here has a major
gameplay difference with the arcade - in the original game, only the Heavy Barrel's
pieces and grenades are hidden inside the crates and all the other weapons are clearly
visible on the playfield which makes the game easier to play.
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Game Staff (Copied from the American version end credits) :
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Director
Kyo Sawada
Graphic Designers
T. Sawa
Miyachan
Namichan
T.Tan
K. Nakayama
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Sound Programmers
Shogo. S
Z. Miura
Masaaki. I
Seiuch. H
Yuji. S
Y. Taka
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Programmers
Astoria Jack
Shen Jian Long
K. Miyahara
Zhuge Qing
Thanks to
K. Akibayahsi
T. Sahara
E. Nishiyama
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Special Thanks to
Mark Beaumont
Jim Whims
Ray Musci
H. Oishi
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Producers
A. Kawai
Y. Nakamura
H. Nakamoto
K. Ohta
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
O
V
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Heavy Barrel is definitely a game I don't get tired of. Although
it is a straightforward affair in which players (up to two at the same time!)
shoot at endless waves of enemy soldiers, Heavy Barrel knows how to
keep you busy and entertained. There's always something new thrown at the
screen and I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I assembled the
Heavy Barrel - I don't think I have ever seen such manly and powerful
blasts of energy flashing on a Famicom screen. Breathtaking. Only
the crate/key combination is a bit of a tricky business, later levels barely
give you enough keys to get on with your mission... Although Heavy Barrel
is not as smooth and polished as the arcade game (it definitively shows up the
Famicom hardware limitations in places), it is still a hell of a ride
and anyone who loves run-n-gunners should pick it up.
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