Today's title is Vigilante by Irem, released to arcades in 1988 and it hit the 8-Bit Sega Master System shortly therrafter - a Turbografx-16 version launched over here with the console in 1989 (though that's the cool Japanese cover you're looking at above - Domestic TG-16 and SMS box art was typically quite atrocious and not worthy of posting!
So then, where does this title leave you? Not a very deep game , you simply walk to the right - punch guys - kick them in the neck - occasionally, pick up a pair of nunchucks Bruce Lee style and lay waste to your foes. This has taken a step-down from titles like Double Dragon/Ninja Turtles as you're simply moving across a single plane, and your move set is extremely limited as noted. Also, it's strictly a one-player affair.
That all being said, the game was infused with a certain charm all the same. A throwback at the time it was released, it still had some nice polish to the graphical style and their was a bit of nodescript character, if such a thing exists, to the game. It managed to look nice and was quite remniscient of Irem's much older effort Kung Fu, though certainly not as enjoyable as that title.
Overall, most would call this a shallow, forgettable game, an I am inclined to agree - yet for some reason, perhaps pure nostalgia, I'll dip into games like this or Robocop and just get into their vibe and just feel like I sympathize with that bad-ass little charater on the screen. I can go a few rounds to help him save his girl! He just wants a little love, that's all..
The more you look at Vigilante, the more it feels like some crazy comic book which time has long forgotten. Buried forever in the past, pretty boring at the end of the day, but still it has that je ne se quois...
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