Taito F3 cart. published 24 years ago:
Elevator Action Returns (c) 1995 Taito.
Elevator Action Returns is a scrolling platform shoot-em-up for one or two players who each take on the role of a special task force operative and must foil a terrorist group that has planted nuclear bombs in various facilities. Players must also obtain the secret intelligence data scattered throughout each facility in order to disarm the bombs.
The objective of the game is to enter all of the red-coloured doors in each stage, then proceed to the exit. If players miss one of the red doors, they will be unable to progress beyond a certain point. There are also blue-coloured doors and entering these will award the player a special item, these include health refills, special firearms, sub-weapons and bonus points.
The player's default weapon is a semi-automatic handgun with unlimited ammunition but more powerful weapons - either a missile launcher or machine gun - can be found. These have limited ammunition, however and if the ammo for either weapon runs out, players will revert to their default weapon. Extra ammunition for these weapons can occasionally be found, however.
It's possible to conserve ammo by attacking an enemy at close range, triggering a melee attack rather than firing a weapon. When an enemy is defeated with a close-range attack, the amount of points awarded is doubled. Players can also attack the enemy with a jumping attack or can throw an explosive (which serves as the character's sub-weapon). Explosives are thrown by pressing the SHOOT and JUMP buttons simultaneously while standing or crouching and the type of explosive used depends on which character the player is using.
Objects within the environment can also be used to fight enemies. Elevators can be used to crush enemies standing above or below one. There are also oil drums that can be exploded with gunfire, they will then leave a trail of fire that will burn any enemies that come into contact with it. During the latter half of the game, players will also have to deal with electric barriers that will harm both players and enemies alike.
Each player character has a health gauge that shows the amount of damage they have sustained and when the gauge reaches zero, the player will lose a life. Players can choose to play as one of three different characters:
* Kart Bradfield - The fastest and most agile of the group. His default gun is a Glock 18, which he can upgrade to either an AK-47 assault rifle or an MM-1 grenade launcher. His sub-weapons are hand grenades that explode and clear the whole floor. He is the slowest shooter of the three when using his default weapon.
* Edie Burret - The fastest shooter of the three. Her default gun is a Beretta M92F, which can she can upgrade to either an MP5K sub-machine gun or an ARWEN 37 launcher. Her sub-weapons are incendiary grenades that produce a pool of flame, this lasts a short while and kills almost all enemies that come into contact with it. She has the lowest health of all characters but fires her default gun faster than the others.
* Jad the Taff - The strongest and most durable of the three. His default gun is a Desert Eagle, which he can upgrade to either an M60 machine gun or an 80mm recoil-less rifle. His sub-weapons are sensor bombs that explode in fragments whenever an enemy comes within range. He has the most health of all the characters but is the slowest walker.
Elevator Action Returns consists of six stages: a skyscraper, an airport, an underground arcade, a sewer, an underwater oil plant and a missile base.
- TECHNICAL -
Runs on the "Taito F3 System" Hardware.
Game ID: E02
Players: 4
Control: 8-way joystick
Buttons: 4
- TRIVIA -
Elevator Action Returns was released in February 1995.
This game is known in US as "Elevator Action II".
The game forbids the initials 'SEX' on the high score table. If you try, it gets changed to 'AAA'.
Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Elevator Action Returns - PCCB-00186) on July 21, 1995.
- TIPS AND TRICKS -
* Instruction:
Move an elevator by moving up and down when you are standing inside it.
Press up to enter red and blue doors, and down to exit from them.
Press down to collect items when standing next to them.
Tap left or right twice to run.
Press up and Fire to shoot diagonally upwards.
While you are ducking, your secondary weapon will travel a shorter distance.
You can jump over elevator shafts.
You must enter all the red doors in order to escape from the building.
Enter a blue door to find a random item.
* Characters list:
Kart Bradfield : 24 years old, male.
Not a fast gunner. Great agility.
Secondary weapon: Hand Grenade - damages a wider area.
Edie Burret: 22 years old, female.
Less defensive power. Fast gunner.
Secondary weapon: Fire Bomb - produces fire in small area.
Jad the Taff: 32 years old, male.
Slow moving. Great stamina.
Secondary weapon: Sensor bomb - detonates when an enemy is nearby.
* Items list:
Power: Special weapon (with limited ammunition)
Life: Restore health
Bomb: Extra secondary weapons
Point: Bonus points
- SERIES -
1. Elevator Action (1983)
2. Elevator Action Returns (1995)
3. Elevator Action EX (2000, Nintendo Game Boy Color)
4. Elevator Action - Death Parade (2009)
5. Elevator Action Deluxe (2011, PSN)
- STAFF -
Game designers : Yusuke Tsuda, K. Terada
Programmers : Tkhc.03, Iromust, Nob, Y. Mori
Programming support : Komochi Yagi, A. Kurabayashi
Character designers : Masami Kikuchi, Makoto Fujita, T. Yoshiba, Tohru Kawaishi, Baw Baw, Y. Kajihara, M. Kamiya, Trd, Tsd, Yukiwo Ishikawa, Y.A.P
BGM composer : Yasuhisa Watanabe (Zuntata)
Sound effect (Zuntata) : Ishikawa Babio (BABI), Munehiro Nakanishi, Kamaty
Designer : Toshiyuki Takenami
Hardware : Katsumi Kaneoka
Location test : M. Fukumoto, N. Omura, R. Matsuse, Piratsuka, T. Koike, Pasona, Alpha Star
Exective producer : Koichi Nakamura
- PORTS -
NOTE: These are ports released outside the USA. For US ports, please see the US version entry, "Elevator Action II".
* CONSOLES:
[JP] Sega Saturn (feb.14, 1997) "Elevator Action Returns [Model T-19903G]"
[JP] Sony PS2 (jul.28, 2005) "Taito Memories Joukan [Model SLPM-66057]"
Sony PlayStation 2 [AU] (mar.30, 2006) "Taito Legends 2 [Model SLES-53852]"
[EU] Microsoft XBOX (mar.31, 2006) "Taito Legends 2"
[EU] Sony PS2 (mar.31, 2006) "Taito Legends 2 [Model SLES-53852]"
* COMPUTERS:
[EU] PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (mar.31, 2006) "Taito Legends 2"
- CONTRIBUTE -
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