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Side Arms

TurboGrafx-16

TurboGrafx-16

Originating in the arcades, Side Arms is a horizontally scrolling shoot ‘em up in which you control Lieutenant Henry, armed with crude weaponry and protective jump-suits. You must save the earth from the mercenary invaders of Bozon. You must first reach Bozon’s territories, then wipe out its forc...

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Developer
Capcom

Released on
1989

Size
1 Player

Version
TurboGrafx-16

Requirements
NEC TurboGrafx-16

Downloads
Shooter

Publisher
Radiance Software

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Originating in the arcades, Side Arms is a horizontally scrolling shoot ‘em up in which you control Lieutenant Henry, armed with crude weaponry and protective jump-suits. You must save the earth from the mercenary invaders of Bozon. You must first reach Bozon’s territories, then wipe out its forces hidden in caverns and lurking in underground seas, before destroying the main invasion ship. Lots of extra weapons can be picked up, often with similar tokens to those in 1943 and some other Capcom titles. Most weapons can be shot either to the left or the right, giving you more range to launch attacks.

Side Arms

Overview & History

Originally launched as a Capcom arcade coin-op in 1986, Side Arms (subtitled Side Arms: Hyper Dyne) made its iconic home console transition to NEC's TurboGrafx-16 in 1989, courtesy of Hudson Soft. The storyline drops players into a futuristic, interstellar war where the Earth is under brutal siege by the alien Bozon menace. To counter this existential threat, the Earth defense forces deploy the advanced Mobile Suit armor, a mechanized battle-suit piloted by ace human fighters. While the TurboGrafx-16 version famously omitted the arcade's two-player simultaneous cooperative mode, it compensated with vibrant, colorful sprite work, crisp audio adaptation, and faithful translation of the chaotic horizontal-scrolling shoot-’em-up action. Players must blast through seven grueling stages of mechanical horrors, alien bio-creatures, and screen-filling boss mechs to save the human race.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Side Arms distinguishes itself from typical horizontal shmups through its unique directional firing mechanics and weapon-swapping system. Unlike ships locked facing forward, the Mobile Suit features independent control over its movement and shooting direction, allowing pilots to rain fire backward or forward simultaneously. Throughout the stages, players collect various power-up icons that transform the suit's offensive capabilities, ranging from the devastating 3-Way spread and Boomerang guns to the heavy-hitting Mega Crush bomb, which clears the entire screen of lesser enemies. A defining mechanic is the Mobile Suit power armor itself; picking up specific items temporarily morphs the pilot into a powerful jet or tank-like configuration with specialized attack patterns. Weapon energy levels can be upgraded sequentially, rewarding skilled survival with exponentially increased firepower essential for surviving the punishing difficulty curve of later levels.