The 16-bit Arcade and Console Era (1990-1995) - Vandyke
Though it’s brief and tough to play single-player, this game more than makes up for its clunkiness with loads of imagination.
RELEASE DATE: 1990
DEVELOPER / PUBLISHER: UPL
BEST VERSIONS: Arcade
Vandyke was a tough sell for me at first, because it’s the sort of game it’s easy to give up on when you first play it. The basic idea – Golden Axe or Rastan meets Ikari Warriors with a splash of Gauntlet – is kind of oddly executed and has a stiff learning curve due to the game’s most irredeemable feature:
It doesn’t allow you to continue once you lose all your lives in the single-player mode.
In 1990, that was already an outdated idea for an arcade game, but in the modern era, it’s unforgivable unless you’re a fan of Soulslikes or roguelikes where permanent death and repetition are part of the gameplay experience. If you’re up for that sort of challenge, there’s plenty to like about Vandkyke, but if you’re not, don’t fret - played with an emulator, most of the permadeath challenge is erased by either saving states or playing in two-player mode, where one player can tag in if they lose all their lives to assist the other still-living player.
And honestly, two players is the best way to play Vandyke anyhow because it’s a short but fun hack and slash game where you’re a long-haired, muscular barbarian in red or blue briefs and boots swinging around a sword or, if you can acquire them, a flail, some bombs or a spinning boomerang-style disc weapon. Your strength can be increased by grabbing bicep power-ups, and you also have a health bar made out of six hearts that can be restored by picking up meat. There’s also a bomb power-up that clears the screen, though you can’t carry it with you, and a fairy who’s suppose to aid you, but often seems to just fly around in random patterns. One of the more annoying aspects of the game is that power-ups are doled out randomly when you open chests, including the starting sword weapon, which is far less fun than the others.
The enemies are plentiful and frequently overwhelm you, but interestingly, some of the enemies (particularly the skeletons) have no collision damage and can easily be outrun. This is particularly helpful to know in the lava stage, a platforming area where you will die a lot if you try to go after every enemy, but where outrunning them until you get to a place where you can move around will enable you to avoid damage. Some of the enemies are truly weird, too, like muscle-men in spinning wheels, beret-wearing men in unitards wielding razor claws and bug-like dragons that pop up out of treasure chests. But the sheer number of the foes, and the way they explode when you kill them, is satisfying, even if the game gives many of them annoying sound effects and they tend to attack in large waves of identical enemies rather than varied groups.
The boss battles are definitely the most memorable aspect of the game, some are quite imaginative. The first is a green elephant that has a djinn caught in its trunk, and he not only attacks you with slow-moving fireballs but also winds up and charges at you as the elephant extends its trunk. The third appears to be a desiccated old man in a cloak but he’s actually made of wriggly worms at you through his sleeves. The fourth is a huge skeleton worm that crawls around on ribcages like the legs of a giant millipede. The sixth is a giant stone head that reminds me of the strange flying ship in the movie Zardoz. And the final boss is a huge turtle shell with hydra heads in place of its legs. There’s also a Medusa-style snake woman on the second stage and a duo of pint-sized dragons on the fifth.
Vandyke’s short length and bold graphics make it a good way to kill 20-30 minutes if you just want some mindless fun. It was only released in arcades but is available on modern platforms via the Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives series.
As Our Series Continues…
We’re moving on to the 1990s console and arcade games to cover one of the golden eras of video gaming as gaming shifted to 16 bits at home and true 3D in the arcades!
We’ll cover shoot ‘em ups, run and guns, fighters, brawlers, RPGs, platformers and, of course, strategy games, sports games and more. Take some time learn about great games you may have missed like M.U.S.H.A., Ranger X, Thunder Force III, Liquid Kids, Alligator Hunt, Arabian Fight, Gaiapolis, Popful Mail, Keio Flying Squadron, Boogie Wings, Kid Dracula, Little Samson, The Space Adventure, Rocket Knight Adventures, Rolo to the Rescue and even oddities like The Haunting Starring Polterguy and The Ooze!
If you missed my series on the hundreds of 1980s PC, console and arcade games you probably never played, you can find the entire archive at https://greatestgames.substack.com.
Anything I don’t share here will be in my upcoming book, tentatively titled The Greatest Games You (Probably) Never Played Vol. 3. Subscribe to this newsletter so you won’t miss it!
If you missed my series on the hundreds of 1980s PC games you probably never played, you can find the entire archive at https://greatestgames.substack.com.
Anything I don’t share here will be in my upcoming book, tentatively titled The Greatest Games You (Probably) Never Played Vol. 3. Subscribe to this newsletter so you won’t miss it!