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Time Soldiers

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Time Soldiers (known in Japan as Battle Field) Is a 1-2 player (co-op) vertically scrolling shooter developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK in Japan, and Romstar in North America in 1987. You are a Time Soldier, who is asked to rescue five warriors from different time periods: Sirius i...

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Developer
Alpha Denshi Kōgyō

Released on
1987

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

Publisher
SNK

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

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Description

Time Soldiers (known in Japan as Battle Field) Is a 1-2 player (co-op) vertically scrolling shooter developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK in Japan, and Romstar in North America in 1987.

You are a Time Soldier, who is asked to rescue five warriors from different time periods: Sirius in the “Primitive Age”, Laplace in the “Age of Rome”, Dymos in “The World Wars”, Alpha in the “Age of Rome”, and Altair in “Future World”. Each one of them is guarded by one of Gylend’s henchmen, but to get to them, you must fight off other enemies that are specific to each time era. Some of these enemies will drop weapons that you can pick up and use. You can use several teleports scattered in each time era to travel to another.

Time Soldiers

Overview & History

Released by Alpha Denshi (ADK) and distributed by SNK in 1987, Time Soldiers is a vertically scrolling run-and-gun arcade shooter with a distinct chronological twist. Unlike standard military combat games of the era, the storyline follows an unnamed commando whose best friend has been kidnapped by a tyrannical alien warlord named Gizor. To rescue his comrade and stop an impending dystopian future, the protagonist utilizes a high-tech Chrono-Sector device to traverse five disparate historical eras: Prehistoric, Roman, Pirate, World War II, and Future. Utilizing powerful hardware featuring unique rotational controls, the arcade cabinet allowed players to pivot their aiming reticle independently from their movement, setting a benchmark for frantic, multi-directional combat.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Time Soldiers differentiates itself through its aggressive pacing and era-specific enemy design, pitting players against cavemen, centurions, swashbucklers, Nazi-esque soldiers, and killer cyborgs. The game utilizes a dual-plane scrolling mechanic, requiring players to rescue captive comrades trapped inside glowing cells. Freeing these soldiers rewards the player with game-changing power-ups, including a three-way spread shot, a massive laser beam, homing missiles, and temporary invulnerability bubbles. Each historical zone culminates in a massive, screen-filling boss battle—ranging from a towering tyrannosaurus rex to a heavily armored steam locomotive—before forcing the player to collect a temporal gear fragment to unlock the portal to the next historical epoch. If a player loses a life, they respawn instantly on the spot, maintaining the relentless momentum required to survive the bullet-hell onslaught.