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Heavy Barrel

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Heavy Barrel is a 1987 overhead run and gun arcade game by Data East. Terrorists have seized the underground control complex of a nuclear missile site, and it is up to the player to infiltrate the base and kill the enemy leader. Players begin armed with a laser gun with unlimited ammunition an...

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Developer
Data East

Released on
1987

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

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Description

Heavy Barrel is a 1987 overhead run and gun arcade game by Data East.

Terrorists have seized the underground control complex of a nuclear missile site, and it is up to the player to infiltrate the base and kill the enemy leader. Players begin armed with a laser gun with unlimited ammunition and a limited supply of grenades. Improved weapons and grenade powerups are made available within the game, either in plain sight or within crates that must be unlocked using keys. Additionally, crates may contain orbs or one of the six pieces of the Heavy Barrel superweapon. Like SNK’s Ikari Warriors, the original arcade version featured 8-way rotary joysticks.
The name of the game is from an in-game weapon. The Heavy Barrel is found in six pieces and is an energy cannon capable of destroying any enemy in the game with a single shot (except the final enemy, and possibly one other boss that may have required two shots). The weapon has a wide arc of fire and can be fired as fast as the player’s trigger finger permits, but after thirty seconds its use is exhausted, at which point the bearer reverts to his previous weaponry. Best used to get past tough bosses, the weapon could be built several times in a single game (probably three or four times). In a two-player game, whoever collects the sixth piece is equipped with the Heavy Barrel.

Heavy Barrel

Overview & History

Released by Data East in 1987, Heavy Barrel is a frantic, top-down run-and-gun arcade shooter set in a bleak post-apocalyptic future. The storyline tasks an elite commando with infiltrating a heavily fortified terrorist stronghold to recover the titular "Heavy Barrel"—a devastating, multi-segmented experimental super-weapon capable of obliterating the evil regime. Distinct from standard vertical scrollers of its era, Data East's cabinet famously utilized a rotary joystick allowing players to aim their fire independently of their movement direction, creating a frantic 360-degree combat ballet that demanded intense spatial awareness and twitch reflexes across its punishingly difficult stages.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Players battle through hordes of mechanized infantry, tanks, and automated turret defenses while rescuing captive allied soldiers. The standout mechanic revolves around the Heavy Barrel itself: scattered across each stage are six distinct key-coded components. Collecting all pieces fully assembles the ultimate weapon, granting the player temporary invincibility, screen-clearing plasma blasts, and immense firepower that trivializes bosses. Aside from the standard rifle, players can pick up flamethrowers, bazookas, and spread guns. Power-ups also include speed boosts and shields, vital for surviving the chaotic bullet-hell bullet patterns and cramped subterranean corridors.