The Basics

This game is a scrolling beat 'em up. The objective is simple: enemies will come onto the screen, and you need to defeat them. Clearing one wave of enemies lets you move on through a stage, where you'll encounter more thugs. At the end of each stage there is a boss who must be beaten to move on. Use every move at your disposal (see the characters page for how to do them). You can tell how much health an enemy has, as when you start attacking them their life bar appears beneath the one for your character.

Picking up and throwing objects

If you see an object you want to pick up -such as barrels, plants and even arcade machines -just move up to it and press the attack button. Your character will automatically pick it up. Press the attack button again to throw the object.

Using weapons

Throughout the game there are many different weapons you can use, from baseball bats to assault rifles. You can either get weapons by smashing open crates and other objects, or by defeating an enemy who has a weapon. To pick up a weapon, just stand over it and press the attack button. Weapon usage isn't infinite, there is a counter that appears above the grenade counter which tells you how many times you can attack with the weapon. For example in the screen above, Punisher could hit enemies with the bat 5 more times.

Gun battles

At various points in the game, thugs and gangsters with guns will run on. Whenever this happens, your character will pull out their own handgun which has infinite ammunition. The aiming is pretty much automatic as long as you face your opponent. To fire the handgun, just press the attack button.

Grenades

For each life you will get four grenades. Grenades are used by jumping, and then pressing the attack and jump buttons together. Your character will drop a grenade beneath him, and the large explosion that follows will hurt any enemy close to it.

Super Grenades

If you literally have zero life remaining -one more hit will kill you -you can throw grenades by pressing the attack and jump buttons together, as long as they've got one. Your character will throw a grenade and then hit the deck, as the explosion is bigger than the normal one and usually these grenades will hurt everything on the screen.

Hopping

Just double tap any direction to hop. This just makes you move faster so you stand a better chance of getting out of the way of an attack.

Rolling

Double tap any direction and hold it on the second tap for this. Your character will roll. This is a great evasion move, but it also opens you up for some good offensive moves. Whilst rolling, you can press the attack button for your character to do a kick move. In the Japanese version of the game it also lets you use the flame kick move, which is done by pressing the jump button, then holding down and pressing the attack button. You can also use your special attack whilst rolling, only doing so will have it cover more ground than usual.

Off the wall jump kicks

If you see a wall, jump towards it and hold left or right. As you touch the wall, press the jump button again. Your character will leap off from the wall and deliver a powerful jump kick.

Special Attacks

As long as your life isn't at zero, you can use a special attack. Press the attack and jump buttons together. Your character will do a move that will knock down any enemies near to them -perfect if you are surrounded! But remember, whenever you hit someone with one of these, you will lose a little life.

Giant Swing

Whilst holding an enemy, press the attack and jump buttons together. Your character will swing their opponent around by their ankles and let go, sending them flying. This does a lot of damage, but be wary as it will make you lose a little life whenever you do it. You cannot use this move if you have zero life.

Game Over and Continue

Each credit will get you two lives on the default settings. Once you run out of lives you'll be taken to the continue screen, where you have a short amount of time to insert more coins. Press the start button to continue, and you will continue from where you last died. If the timer runs out, the game will end.