Cannon Spike
Cannon Spike, originally released in Japan as Gunspike (ガンスパイク, Gansupaiku), is a multi-directional shooter arcade game released in 2000 by Psikyo and later in the same year for the Dreamcast by Capcom. It uses Capcom-designed characters and runs on Sega's Naomi Hardware. Cannon Spike is similar to games like Smash TV and Capcom's Commando, although with primary focus on boss fighting. Cannon Spike is noted as the last game released for Dreamcast in Europe, published by Bigben Interactive and exclusively sold at retail in Game outlets.
Cannon Spike | |
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European Dreamcast cover art | |
Developer(s) | Psikyo |
Publisher(s) | Capcom |
Director(s) | Shinsuke Nakamura |
Producer(s) | Tatsuya Minami |
Programmer(s) | Kenichi Fujita Kunihiko Nogomi Michiaki Negoro Katsuya Shikanouchi Kokichi Ogi |
Composer(s) | Masaki Izutani Toshiya Kobayashi Kaori Kumakura Kensuke Sato |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Dreamcast |
Release | Arcade 2000 Dreamcast |
Genre(s) | Multi-directional shooter |
Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
Arcade system | Sega NAOMI |
The international name of Cannon Spike is the name of a trademark attack performed by Cammy, a character from the Street Fighter series of video games and one of the protagonists of this title.
Characters
The game's playable characters, which come from a range of Capcom games, include:
- Arthur from Ghosts 'n Goblins
- Baby Bonnie Hood (or Bulleta in Japan) from Darkstalkers (hidden character)
- Cammy from the Street Fighter II series
- Charlie (or Nash in Japan) from the Street Fighter Alpha series
- Mega Man (or Rockman in Japan) from the Mega Man series (hidden character)
- Shiba Shintaro from Three Wonders
One other character, Simone, was made specifically for the game and has not been featured in any game since. Simone shares a few similarities with another Capcom character, Linn Kurosawa, from Alien vs. Predator. Vega appears as an enemy character, named Fallen Balrog or Revenger Balrog in all regions.
Gameplay
In its arcade incarnation, the game is played using a joystick and three buttons; Mark (used to lock onto a targeted enemy), Shoot, and Attack (a close-range strike, usually more powerful or with greater knock-back compared to ordinary shooting.) In addition to these basic commands, each character also has a ranged special attack (unleashed by pressing Shoot and Attack simultaneously), a close-range special (Mark and Attack simultaneously), and a super special (all three buttons simultaneously). The use of the super special requires a Special Token, occasionally dropped by a defeated enemy and always dropped by a defeated ally in 2-player mode.
Reception
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In Japan, Game Machine listed Cannon Spike on their November 15, 2000 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the year.[13]
Greg Orlando reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Cannon Spike is not quite artillerific, but it is a mindlessly fun way to murder some time."[12]
The Dreamcast version received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[1] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.[5] Game Informer gave it an average review, over two months before its U.S. release.[6]
References
- "Cannon Spike for Dreamcast Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- Thompson, Jon. "Cannon Spike (DC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- Edge staff (January 2001). "Cannon Spike". Edge. No. 93. Future plc.
- EGM staff (2000). "Cannon Spike". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis.
- "ドリームキャスト - ガンスパイク". Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 915. Enterbrain. 30 June 2006. p. 52.
- "Cannon Spike". Game Informer. No. 89. FuncoLand. September 2000.
- "REVIEW for Cannon Spike". GameFan. Shinno Media. 15 November 2000.
- Uncle Dust (27 November 2000). "Cannon Spike Review for Dreamcast on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- Nash, Joe (November 2000). "Cannon Spike Review". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- Shoemaker, Brad (13 November 2000). "Cannon Spike Review [date mislabeled as "17 May 2006"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- Chau, Anthony (16 November 2000). "Cannon Spike". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- Orlando, Greg (November 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 11. Imagine Media. p. 124.
- "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 622. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 November 2000. p. 17.