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Blood Brothers

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Blood Bros. is a 1990 arcade game developed and published by TAD Corporation in Japan and Europe, while it was later published in North America by Fabtek. It is a spiritual sequel to Cabal, with almost identical mechanics. A bootleg of this game is known as West Story. In Blood Bros., two bloo...

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Developer
Tad

Released on
1990

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

Publisher
Fabtek

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

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Description

Blood Bros. is a 1990 arcade game developed and published by TAD Corporation in Japan and Europe, while it was later published in North America by Fabtek. It is a spiritual sequel to Cabal, with almost identical mechanics. A bootleg of this game is known as West Story.

In Blood Bros., two blood brothers, a cowboy and an Indian, team-up to hunt down “the most wanted outlaw in Dodge City,” Big Bad John. The gameplay mechanics are extremely similar to TAD Corp.’s earlier machine, Cabal, however this game did not seem to appear as a trackball-controlled variant.

The setting is the Wild West where the player moves a cross hairs and shoot at objects on a stationary screen. The player character can duck and roll along a one dimensional plane. A boss must be defeated before advancing to the next level.

Licensed to Fabtek for US manufacture and distribution.

Blood Brothers

Overview & History

Released in 1988 by East Technology and distributed by SNK, Blood Brothers is a cult-classic, wild-west themed cabinet arcade shooter that takes heavy inspiration from Cabal. Set in a corrupt frontier town overrun by the nefarious outlaw Bull McGuffin and his ruthless gang, the storyline follows a nameless dynamic duo of frontier lawmen—often dubbed "Sticks" and "Merry Man"—who wage a relentless, single-handed war against relentless hordes of bandits, mounted cattle rustlers, and fortified stagecoaches to restore justice to the American West.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard side-scrolling beat 'em ups, Blood Brothers utilizes a unique perspective where players view the action from the foreground while their avatars are positioned at the bottom of the screen, free to move left and right along a horizontal axis. The core mechanic revolves around dual-axis control: the player moves their character horizontally to dodge a ceaseless barrage of incoming dynamite sticks, thrown knives, and pistol fire, while simultaneously manipulating an independent crosshair to snipe enemies lurking in the mid-ground and background architecture. Destructible environments are a major feature; virtually every building, barrel, and wooden balcony can be blasted to smithereens, often revealing hidden power-ups, extra dynamite stashes, or trapped hostages. Character moves include rolling evasive maneuvers to dodge projectile fire and unleashing screen-clearing dynamite explosions that obliterate all lesser grunts on screen. The frantic pacing culminates in intense boss fights against towering armored foes, Gatling-gun fortresses, and locomotive-riding outlaws.