Line #21 VideoGame/Vigilante


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vigilante_1988.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Hey, come on!]]
3	->''"The police cannot stop the street gangs. As a [[TitleDrop Vigilante]], you must defend your turf!"''
4
5	''Vigilante'' is a 1988 single-plane BeatEmUp game by Creator/{{Irem}}, the SpiritualSuccessor to their earlier ''VideoGame/KungFuMaster''. Originally an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame, it was ported to numerous computers and the Platform/SegaMasterSystem and Platform/TurboGrafx16, with the arcade original finally seeing a re-release in 2019 on Platform/NintendoSwitch and Platform/PlayStation4 as part of the Arcade Archives lineup.
6
7	In the metropolis of New York City, law and order have broken down. As the Vigilante, you must take the law into your own hands and venture into the mean streets of New York in pursuit of your kidnapped girlfriend Madonna (nope, not [[{{Music/Madonna}} her]]), engaging thugs in street combat.
8
9	!!Tropes:
10	* TheBigRottenApple: This game depicts a version of New York City where the PoliceAreUseless and crime has overrun the city, hence why a vigilante needs to take matters into his own hands.
11	* {{Bowdlerise}}:
12	** In the Master System version, the Skinheads were renamed the Rogues. The ending text was also changed -- compare the [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/arcade/a/vigi.htm arcade ending]]("Law and order failed but, the Vigilante prevailed") and the [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/mastersystem/a/vigi.htm Master System Ending]]("You prevailed... and the [[DubNameChange Rogues]] bit the dust!"). Part of the text for stage 3's intro was also slightly altered, by removing the "her" from the "Her time is running out!!!" line.
13	*** Curiously, the [=eShop=]/PSN description and in-game manual for the Arcade Archives release also features a similar name change (they're referred to as the "Rogue Gang"), though the game itself retains the original Skinheads name.
14	** Likewise, the opening text in the [=TurboGrafx-16=] version (as well as the home computer ports) had the word "law" changed to "power" ("Take the power into your own hands!").
15	* DownInTheDumps: The second stage is set in a junkyard.
16	* DualBoss: The Mad Brothers (a.k.a. the Tough Brothers) at the end of Stage 2. The Master System version just has a standard boss named Mad Dog.
17	* DubNameChange: Besides the aforementioned Skinheads/Rogues change, Madonna was renamed Maria in the Master System version, likely to avoid having people mistaking her for [[{{Music/Madonna}} you-know-who]]. Almost all of the enemy characters are also named differently in the manuals for both, the Master System and [=TurboGrafx-16=] versions.
18	* EveryCarIsAPinto: Whenever the vigilante knocks a gang member off his motorcylce, it skids a few feet then explodes in a ball of fire.
19	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The artwork for the cabinet and flyer for the US version uses Madonna's likeness, from the ''Music/TrueBlue'' era.
20	* PoliceAreUseless: The game's intro states this.
21	* RegeneratingHealth: All of the bosses can slowly regain life energy if not hit often; but only the Japanese arcade version refills your life bar at the start of the next level. For example, if you lose half of your health on stage 2 in the Western arcade versions, it will not be refilled when you get to stage 3-your health will only be refilled if you lose a life. This was fixed in the Platform/SegaMasterSystem and Platform/TurboGrafx16 ports.
22	* RooftopConfrontation: The fifth and final stage.
23	* SaveThePrincess: Your girlfriend has been taken hostage.
24	* ShoutOut:
25	** The final level features a billboard advertising one of Irem's arcade adaptations of ''VideoGame/LodeRunner'', though it isn't directly mentioned by name. The [=TurboGrafx-16=] version featured billboards for ''Mr. Heli'' and ''VideoGame/RType'' instead, while the Master System version didn't feature any of them.
26	** A cinema present at the end of stage 1 on the Amiga/Atari ST ports is playing ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'', though the sign itself is missing some letters (it's shown as "C____URE ___M _HE _LACK _AGOON").
27	* TimedMission: Each stage has a time limit; the sooner you clear one, the bigger will be the bonus.
28	* UnwillingSuspension: Madonna is being suspended from a pulley in the final stage.
29	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: You can see the van holding Madonna at the end of each of the first three stages, but it always drives off after the boss is defeated.

Context VideoGame / Vigilante