Let's Rodeo, Boys!
A Konami Shoot 'Em Up licensed arcade game released in 1992, based on the namesake cartoon series.
The nefarious Masked Bull has escaped from jail and kidnapped Lily Bovine. Marshal Moo Montana and the C.O.W.boys spring into action, embarking on a mission spanning across locations in Moo Mesa to take on the Masked Bull's henchmen and rescue Lily.
In this game you can play as any of the four playable heroes: Marshal Moo Montana, Cowlorado Kid, Dakota Dude, and a fourth hero, Buffalo Bull.
The gameplay is similar to fellow Konami shooters Mystic Warriors and Sunset Riders which were released around the same time. Up to four players run through various colorful stages shooting down bad guys and blowing stuff up, before facing the boss at the end of the stage. From there, you can choose which stage you want to tackle next, all leading to the final showdown with the Masked Bull himself.
This Video Game Contains examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: Saddlesore Scorpion and Boothill Buzzard, two bumbling henchmen of Sheriff Terrorbull in the show, are much more competent and threatening in this game, taking up the role as bosses.
- Ascended Extra: Buffalo Bull is featured as the fourth playable character, when in the original cartoon he was just a sporadically appearing minor character.
- Big Bad: The Masked Bull (Really Sheriff Terrorbull) is the villain of the game.
- Big Boo's Haunt: The Ghost Town stage takes place in a literal namesake. The boss is Boothill Buzzard.
- Canon Foreigner: This game introduced Five Card Stud and the Spider Boss, two characters who didn't appear in the show proper, but were created for this game.
- Not really. Five Card Stud is actually Five Card Cud from the cartoon but using his original toy's design and with a slightly different name with and the Spider Boss is actually Sid Arachnid from the cartoon but with a new color scheme and no name given.
- Corrupt Cop: Sheriff Terrorbull shows up as the first boss in the intro stage. It should come as no surprise that he's later revealed to be the Masked Bull.
- Damsel in Distress: Lily Bovine gets held captive and has to be rescued.
- Death by Adaptation: Boothill Buzzard appears to die after he is defeated, as he collapses to the ground and his spirit with a halo flies away.
- Death Dealer: Five Card Stud one of the bosses attacks the player with floating playing cards.
- Final Boss: The Masked Bull is the final boss of the game.
- Foe-Tossing Charge: Being bulls, the Player characters can use a charge attack (Hitting the Jump and Shoot buttons at once) that makes them charge forward head-on, smashing through obstacles and enemies.
- Friendly Fire Proof: Thankfully, you can't shoot each other in Multiplayer.
- Inevitable Waterfall: In the Sheeza Butte level, there is a section where the guys have to swim up a waterfall, all while avoiding cascading debris falling downward.
- Levels Take Flight: The Niagara Desert and Wagon Train stages involves the heroes carried by birds as they blast airborne enemies.
- Life Meter: Uncommon of a game of this genre, the characters can take up to three hits before dying.
- Mayor Pain: Mayor Bulloney appears at the very end of the final level where Lily is rescued. If you watched the show, it wouldn't be far fetched to assume that he's complicit on the Masked Bull's scheme in some way.
- Minecart Madness: Five Card Stud's level first takes place on a moving minecart train that eventually crashes, sending the player hurtling into the boss fight with Five Card at his saloon.
- No Name Given: The unnamed Spider boss is strangely not given a name. He is the only boss to not have a subtitle on his splash screen.
- Smart Bomb: The heroes can grab a special item that functions as this. Firing one massive shot that fills the screen.
- The Unfought: Mayor Bulloney is part of the Big Bad Duumvirate with Sheriff Terrorbull in the show, but he isn't fought by the heroes. Instead, he suspiciously appears at the very end where the guys rescue and free Lily.
- The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: Upon rescuing Lily Bovine, she and the player characters build Skull Mountain up to be this, where the Final Battle with Masked Bull is to take place. However, Masked Bull subverts this by stepping outside his evil lair to challenge the heroes.
- The Wild West: The Overall Setting of the game.
- Winged Soul Flies Off at Death: In the Ghost Town stage, the zombie enemies and Boothill Buzzard have angels fly away after they are defeated.
