Spikes of Rage
SpikeOut is a Beat 'em Up action game developed by Toshihiro Nagoshi and released by Sega in 1998.
Described by SEGA themselves as an updated version of the company's own Streets of Rage series, and intended as a Spiritual Successor, much like its predecessor the player assumes the control of four street brawlers, named Spike, Linda, Tenshin and White, to take on the legions of Yakuza infesting the city.
The game's arcade release is notable for being the first arcade cabinet console capable of synchronised play, allowing communication with other cabinets between players.
An Updated Re Release titled SpikeOut: Digital Battle Online is made available in December 1998.
The game also has a sequel, SpikeOut: Battle Street for the Xbox, though it plays out less as a sequel and more of a reskinned version of the original game, repeating entire levels, plot threads, and bringing back all special attacks, bosses and enemies from the original while adding a few new elements.
The SpikeOut series of games contain examples of:
- Absurdly Spacious Sewer: The second level is set within one of these, filled with enemy mooks. As well as a rather disgusting and annoying segment where you're fighting in knee-high sewage water that's rushing into you, that is constantly pushing you to the other side of the arena ending with a sewer grate.
- Acrofatic:
- The "Glace" and "Cindy" enemies are all obese women who can chase you around and even perform a high kick when fighting you.
- Randolph, the second boss, is an overweight brute who can move surprisingly fast. His Spin Attack allows him to zip across the screen at high speed and take away quite a lot of health if hit.
- Oswald, another boss in the mall level, is another overweight brute who can move pretty fast despite his size.
- Anchors Away: Keiser, the boss of the wharf stage, who's dressed like a ship's captain and carries a small anchor as a club to complete the level's navy theme.
- Badass Family: As seen in the later special edition SpikeOut: Battle Street, Spike's son, Spike Jr. have inherited his father's skill in kicking ass and beating up punks.
- Batter Up!: The "Kevin" and "Wayne" enemies are dressed as baseball players for some inexplicable reasons. And carry clubs with them, ideal for smashing you up close.
- Battle in the Rain: The first level have a stage set in a rain-drenched alley.
- Battle Aura: When you triggered "CHARGE" mode (when your meter is at maximum), you gain a burning aura around you. During this period your hits deals double damage, and can send mooks flying if hit point-blank.
- Big Fancy House: The final stage is set in Mikhail's manor, whose interiors resembles closer to a palace. From ornate stairs with marble railings to stone lions and an indoor bar and lounge, you spend the whole level just going deeper and deeper into the manor.
- Bland-Name Product: The stage set in The Mall have a Kevin Clime clothing outlet and a Tower Books store (guess Tower Records decide to outsource with selling books instead of CDs).
- Bonus Stage: In between levels, there are stages that allows you to beat up a stream of idle enemies in a single area within a given time limit.
- Boss Warning Siren: "HERE COMES THE BOSS!" - flashing yellow text in CAPS before each battle.
- Broomstick Quarterstaff: The sweeper enemies are armed with scrubbing brooms as weapons. If left idle for too long, they'll actually ignore you and start scrubbing the floor until you approach.
- Chairman of the Brawl: When the SEGA mall stage leads to an empty food court, expect mooks to grab chairs and tables as improvised clubs.
- Charged Attack: There's a "CHARGE" meter on top of the screen, right next to your health bar. And it can be triggered to execute an empowered kick or punch that deals more damage.
- Circling Birdies: Inflicting enough consecutive hits and enemies will start seeing circling stars. They're stunned for a few moments allowing you to finish them off, but if they recover they'll keep on fighting.
- Company Cameo: The stage in SEGA Mall have SEGA banners (featuring Sonic the Hedgehog no less) hanging off the walls. Besides posters and a twenty-feet inflatable of Sonic (SEGA's main mascot) appearing all over the place in one area.
- Double Weapon: The second-to-last boss, Schneider, swings a two-sided heavy spear. Sometimes he twirls it like a fan while trying to slice you with it.
- Dual Boss:
- There's a pair of brutes named "Red" and "Blue" at the end of one level that you must fight in tandem.
- Wanda and Geena fro. The second game are two female wrestlers who attacks together.
- Dual Wield:
- Tomahawk wields two knives in tandem in his boss battle.
- Ryuji, one of the Yakuza's enforcers, uses two tanto together.
- Immelman from the sequel uses two massive blades strapped to his elbows.
- Enemy-Detecting Radar: On the bottom of the screen, where the player(s) is an arrow while mooks are depicted as coloured dots. Said radar also points out the next exit.
- Groin Attack: Battle Street allows you a new option to aim for the nuts, either in fights or picking up projectiles and flinging them. Appropriately enough, mooks suffering a nutshot have a new animation where they double over while holding their weak spots.
- Hedge Maze: One level is set in a greenery maze filled with enemies, though this maze is rather straightforward and in the unlikely case of you getting lost, the game will point out where you need to be going.
- Hurricane Kick: Spike the hero's version of a Spin Attack translates as such.
- Improbable Weapon User: There are a handful of black mooks in the game who attacks you with tennis racquets. Appropriately enough you fight them near a sports store in the mall stage, guess where they got their weapons?
- Kick Chick: Fiona from the second game fights exclusively with kicks. Including an uppercut where her right foot swings over ninety degrees behind her before finding its way into someone's groin.
- The Mall: The level after exiting the sewers is set in one of these, crawling with enemies and devoid of shoppers.
- Nostalgia Level: Battle Street brings back several stages fron the original 1998 game, including a faithful recreation of The Mall stage.
- Pipe Pain: Long metal pipes are a recurring weapon enemies will use for lashing at you.
- Powerful Pick: One of the bosses, Gaspar, swings a pick as a weapon.
- Praetorian Guard: The hooded, cultist-like enemies who serve Belian and Mikhail personally appears only at the end of the game before you face their bosses. They can tank plenty of hits before going down and serves as their boss' personal guards.
- Punched Across the Room: In both games, having your Charge power level at maximum allows you to send enemies flying across the area with each hit.
- Sinister Scythe: The cultist leader King Mook boss, Belial, uses one as tall as himself as a weapon.
- Spin Attack:
- You can pull this off as a Desperation Attack, letting you sweep your punch / kick in a circle that knocks out enemies from a wide radius around you.
- The second boss, Randolph, spins like a corkscrew throughout his battle. Getting hit by his spinning punch knocks you off your feet and leaves you vulnerable to his other attacks.
- Mikhail, the game's Final Boss, spins in circles using the Hurricane Kick variety of this trope.
-
Spiritual Successor: Often seen as the 3D version of Streets of Rage. Both franchises are made by the same company, so it makes sense. Slashout, a spin-off the series, is a spiritual successor to Spikeout and Golden Axe. - Shout-Out Theme Naming: There's a Wolfpack Boss trio of brawlers named Huey, Louie and Dewey, dressed even in the exact same colours!
- Story Branching: You're given a branching choice after defeating the first boss, allowing you to select your next stage, between wharfs, shopping malls, sewers, and assorted areas before converging into the mansion stage. The bosses you fight also depends on your choices.
- Suplex Finisher: Pressing grab while near enemies allows you to suplex them over your head. It deals far greater damage than punches or kicks.
- Switching P.O.V.: In Battle Street, you'll spend the entire game cycling through all the available main characters in each separate segment.
- Tattooed Crook:
- Kingoro, one of the bosses, fights you bare-chested, and like every Yakuza enforcer he's covered in tattoos, including an Oriental dragon across both shoulders.
- There are lower-level Yakuza brutes who fight bare-chested while clad in wooden slippers and white trousers, with their backs covered in tattoos.
- Top-Heavy Guy: Keiji, one of the bosses, is a muscular brute whose abs bulges out of his jacket, but has disproportionately skinny and short legs.
- The Triads and the Tongs:
- While the game's main threat comes from the Yakuza, there's one area filled with triad mooks, with their members having Chinese-sounding names like Dai-Ying, Hong-Dao, Jiang, and the stage's boss, a dreaded triad leader complete with golden silk robes adorned with dragon stitchings…Wang.
- The triads makes a return in Battle Street and have a far greater presence, including having a Dragon Lady boss named Hong Long (red dragon).
- Villain in a White Suit: Ryuji, another Yakuza enforcer wearing a white suit, who will Dual Wield a pair of tanto to slice you up real good.
- Wrestler in All of Us:
- Carlos, one of the bosses, is dressed like a wrestler and uses grappling, wrestling moves to pummel your characters.
- Wanda and Geena, a Dual Boss from the second game are female examples, dressed in wrestling leotards and mohawks.
