The Punisher (1993 video game)

The Punisher
Sales flyer for the arcade game
Developer(s)	Capcom Sculptured Software (MD)
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Designer(s)	Noritaka Funamizu (director) Akiman (designer)
Composer(s)	Yoko Shimomura Isao Abe Shun Nishigaki
Platform(s)	Arcade Mega Drive
Release date(s)	Arcade April 22, 1993 Mega Drive/Genesis NA June 1, 1994 EU 1995
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player 2 player co-op
Rating(s)	AAMA: Animated Violence-Mild
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	CPS-1 + QSound
Display	Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

The Punisher (パニッシャー) is a 1993 arcade game developed and released by Capcom. It stars the Marvel Comics' anti-hero vigilante Punisher, and co-stars S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury as the second player's character.

Story

The Punisher is a beat 'em up where Punisher and Fury embark on a quest to kill the New York crime lord Kingpin, engaging on various foes and stage bosses mostly in hand-to-hand combat. Several established Marvel Universe villains appear throughout the game, such as the Mafia captain Bruno Costa, Bonebreaker, Bushwhacker, Jigsaw, and the Kingpin himself as the final boss.

Gameplay

The gameplay follows the same side-scrolling beat'em up formula Capcom established in Final Fight. Much in the same way that Capcom's Cadillacs and Dinosaurs did when released the same month, the game distinguishes itself by the frequent use of several firearms (Ingram submachine gun, M16 rifle, an improvised flamethrower), along with the traditional melee and thrown weapons (including baseball bats, hammers, knives, Japanese swords and shuriken), as well as improvised weapons such as lead pipes or car tires. Common enemy characters the players confront during the course of the game include basic street thugs, classic-style Mafia mobsters, gun-toting mercenaries, and even teleporting ninja women and skeleton-like cyborgs resembling T-800. Unlike in Final Fight, Punisher and Nick Fury's size, abilities, and tactics are essentially interchangeable; they both use the same punch, kick, throw, and special piledriver and "megacrush" attacks. There are also several sections of the game in which the characters draw their handguns enabling the player to shoot the enemies.

Mega Drive version

Cover artwork of the Mega Drive version (PAL version)

A (16 Meg) home version of The Punisher was released for the gaming console Sega Genesis (Sega Mega Drive) in North America in 1994 and for the European Mega Drive in 1995. This version, while published by Capcom, was developed by Sculptured Software. In addition to the noticeably worse graphics and sound (due to the limitations of the hardware), there were several design and gameplay changes to the game and many of the previously breakable background objects were rendered unbreakable in the Genesis version. There is also some content censorship in this version (for example, the animation of cigar smoking by Fury being removed from the game, the female ninja enemies not wearing provocative costumes, and the boss character Scully not being shot following his interrogation instead and he is thrown off screen).

Reception

The Genesis port holds an average rating of 73.33% according to GameRankings. As of August 2010 its average rating at GameFAQs is 8.3 / 8.0 (reviews / users), compared to 8.8 / 8.6 for the arcade version. The game was also ranked by IGN #10 among the Top 10 Greatest Superhero Games in 2010 and as #5 on the list of Top Five Marvel Arcade Games by iFanboy in 2010.

Soundtrack

Music from the game was included in Tenchi wo Kurau II -The Battle of Red Wall- ~ G.S.M. Capcom 7, released by Pony Canyon in 1993.

See also

• Punisher computer and video games

External links

• The Punisher Genesis at MobyGames
• Make Mine Marvel: The Punisher Arcade Game on Marvel.com
• The Punisher (Arcade Game) - Marvel Comics Database
• The Punisher flyers - Arcade Flyer Archive
• (Japanese) Japanese game guide
• (Japanese) Another game guide