Growl (Genesis)

Today, I play another side-scrolling beat em up game. But not to rescue damsel in distress like usual. My motive is for earth’s ecology, this time. I play Taito’s Growl (1991) or Runark in Japanese version on Sega Genesis.

That’s some majestic title logo. I like the waterfalls coming out from the letters. The reason why I pick Sega Genesis version over arcade version, it’s because my childhood memory. Not the kind of “I played this as kid over and over again” nostalgic memory. It’s bitter memory that I failed to get my hand on action game collection that includes Growl because my big brother picked sport game collection (that includes Bimini Run and Omega Race that are barely sport game despite the title). I can’t hate him. He’s nice guy overall. So, my motive for playing this game is kind of similar with Mass Destruction.

I wonder if the waterfalls follow the “Runark” logo in Japanese version…

They FREAKING do! I must commend Taito for their dedication on visual effect. There’s not much difference between Growl and Runark. Both games are in English. I mean the simple English that’s easy to understand but you may notice some flaw in grammar or vocabulary. The only difference that I notice is the “Go forward!” symbol that usually appears after you clear all enemies in the screen. In Growl, it’s fast forward symbol but with triple arrowheads instead of double. While in Runark, it’s human pointing hand. Is the disconnected hand deemed too scary for westerners? Or did Taito assume Japanese barely recognize fast forward symbol? I have no answer for both these questions and the reason why the “Go forward!” symbols are different other for the sake being different. The tune/jingle of “Go forward!” also different. I assume ark in the title, related to Noah’s/Nuh’s Ark because -you know- we’re about to save animals from extinction. So, what danger upon these animals that make them go extinct? It’s something more malevolent (and certainly less virtuous) than flood wipes out evil people. It’s…   

 

…evil poachers that irresponsibly hunt those poor animals. We know that these animals have tusk and fang. But those are pale in comparison with guns. Even the thickest skin of Rhino can be penetrated *No giggling there* with .375 Holland&Holland Magnum. The only scenario (that I can think of) where humans can’t beat animals even with gun is: if the animals are Zoids. Try taking down giant mechanical animal with hunting rifle or bear trap. You just simply can’t!

I know the narration says there’s irresponsible hunting going on but that picture doesn’t portray it well. It’s more like someone getting lost in the wilderness of Africa because they refuse to hire tour guide. The stingy sod.    

Here's the heroes that more than willing to save those animals from evil hunters. They’re ranger corps which is kind of anti-poacher, I guess. My pick is definitely Gen who is clearly bloody Indiana Jones! The name “Gen” is mostly certain is Taito’s attempt to fool Lucas Arts. You may think “the effort is petty” but hey! It works. As far as I know Lucas Arts never sue Taito for this. Besides the similarity with Indy, the reason I pick Gen is his stats is pretty well balanced. Burn and Khan have pitiful attack power. Character that is lacking on attack power in beat em up game, sounds bad unless they have unique characteristic such as having faster attack/movement speed or ninja. Jack is the opposite of Khan. He has high attack power but fragile. I’m afraid he will die as soon as getting 2-3 punch from the hunters. That sounds like any protagonist of Contra. By the way, all of these chaps share similar moveset. They only differ from their stats.

That escalated pretty quickly. The hunters take drastic initiative measure against our heroes. They really mean business! Luckily Indy Gen is safe because he takes safety prone position in the nick of time. If crouching can avoid explosion damage in Poy Poy, then this standard safety lying position can work too. The rangers should consider increasing their hang-out place’s security or at least lock the main door. 

In arcade version, the prologue scenes are better in comparison. The poachers look more actively hunt animals by adding someone who aim gun at those poor fauna. In addition, all of 4 rangers are in cutscene in this version. Most likely, the genesis version must do with these visual lacking due to console’s limitation. The genesis version also doesn’t have speech voices (including the famous “Hey! C’mon!” upon inserting coin”). Yet I choose to play the genesis version. One of the reasons is it has more vibrant color, for starter.

If you want review of Arcade Version, you can check this one. I highly recommend you read it.

Initially, we fight for animal’s sake. But our reason to fight the poachers become more personal because they ruin our rest time. I immediately grab rocket launcher from nearby destroyed barrel and use it to the villains because they deserve rocket to their face. You can see them turns into gibs when I hit them with rocket launcher. But don’t worry it’s bloodless gib. What you should worry is the flashing effect of the explosion. It can be uncomfortable for you.

The control is pretty standard. Moving D-pad to move the ranger you picked, around. Pressing “A” button to attack or use weapon. Pressing “B” to jump. Pressing “C” to do the spinning jump attack that costs bit of health, useful for clearing crowd. The other reason I pick Genesis version is this shortcut to perform desperation attack.      

 

Who do I think I am? I’m bootleg Indy with rocket launcher. Not exactly Batman but he won’t kill you for whipping helpless lion. On the other hand, I will kill you with this rocket launcher.     

 

You’re lucky that I’m out of rocket to launch. I can use the rocket launcher as battering instrument but probably not worth it because I swing it slow. I can drop the weapon by pressing “C” button.  

 

Machete is better weapon than empty rocket launcher, obviously. The key to defeat enemies that come at large group which is pretty often happen, is use any weapon that your hand can grab. Tossing barrel or crate also good idea.

 

From the first look of this, I think the eagle is attacking the poacher. However, this moment is supposed to be the poacher catching the eagle by the legs.  

After I beat up that poacher and his friends, this big guy makes a spectacular entrance. He walks in while carry a pickup truck over his head and then throw it away. I’m not in this moment because I’m blinking during post-knocked down invincibility.

This big brute can do some drop kick! But our eagle friend will assist in this boss fight by clawing his face with sharp talons. 

He’s down but not defeated yet. Everytime he’s on all four, he will get up again with explosion and charge at me very fast. The only safest strategy that I can come up with during this phase is: wait for him on exact either top or below his position. When he’s running at you, do neutral jumping kick to counter attack him. Neutral jumping kick means you don’t move to anywhere while doing the jump kick.

The first boss explodes for good this time. Then I set those eagles on the train cart free. I hope they will help me in future.

I take a ride on the top of the railcar’s roof. Unlike in The Amazing Spiderman or Streets of Rage 4, this one makes sense because the railcar is for animal cargo. So, I have to ride the train on the roof. Naturally, the poachers are opposed to my idea to hitchhike on their train especially if I’m their enemy. During unarmed situation, your best bet is jumping kick. One solid hit of it can send enemies flying. You may notice that the blonde secretary type enemies have stick hand grenade as their standard issue even right at the prologue scene. Don’t let them sexiness fools you. They wear short skirt (that sometime you can see their panty slightly) but they will occasionally pull out the grenade from their bosom. You get that right. It’s stored in their bra of all thing! At least put it in back pocket which is slightly safer place to store explosive weapon for God’s sake!

The eagles do return to help me in this fight. But they can’t do something with railway pole that about to hit me. It’s okay. I can’t blame them. It’s all my fault, really.    

The train leads me to more eagles in distress! Destroying the cages is not enough. I have to destroy the barrels surrounding them too just to be sure. Besides, there’s tasty apple that I can eat to restore some of my health.

 

There’s also firearm that you can use to defeat your enemies. This moment where I shot down that guy with AK-47 rifle is a huge step up from that time when Indy shot down a scimitar-wielding man with handgun.

Surely, you can’t be proper Indiana Jones without whip. Moreover, whip is arguably the best weapon. Because I can hit all enemies on my left and right. Heavy_specialweapon09.wav

Look at that cur making pun out of poor stag. The only reply that I can come up with is: “I will whip you out!”

Lucky me! The poor stag that I rescued, call their friends to aid me on this fight. I bet the poachers won’t be happy about making big bucks again. Heh!

Some of these 1930s courier-looking poachers carry throwing knife. So, be careful when you see them in distance. They will most likely throw a knife from distance away from your punch/kick/machete/whip.

There’s sub-boss fight against these portly gents wearing fez hat. I don’t think this type of gentlemen associated with pro wrestling but they’re keen doing elbow drop. For once, the whip is useless because these portly men don’t knock away when get whipped. Light flinch is the only their getting-hit response. Jumping kick is better in this situation. After defeating these 4 portly gents. There’s another batch of them just several steps from here. Strangely, they explode when defeated. As someone who’s also thick, I fear that I may explode when I’m knocked out.

Then I ride on this boat where elephants being caged. But the only thing that hold those elephants are that flimsy wooden fence. They can break that open easily, I reckon. The boat also feels lacking. I see no wheelhouse which is the essential part of a ship! There’s only elephant cage, so how this ship sails? At least it has chimney to let out engine’s smoke.

The boss of this ship is this big guy that cover his head with burlap sack. He may look menacing but he’s barely horror slasher’s antagonist. Wield machete or chainsaw, at least! Lucky for me, I have picked this handgun. Always bring gun to fistfight. You will win easily.

Aw look at that scary man begging for mercy. He later gives me machete and suddenly running at me. But my handgun still has ammo, so I shot him down for good this time.

Then the bootleg Indy kicks the fence. I’m still questioning why the elephants don’t try to break it in first place. My best guess is they have been administered with tons of tranquilizer injections so they remain calm and sleepy.  

You probably can predict that every animal that I rescued will help me in a fight. Except that lion. The selfish bastard. Anyway, the elephant runs over poachers like no care in the world. They deserve getting run over by elephant anyway. As you can see those trampled poacher will turn into gib that consist of limbs and rocks. They’re not human. They don’t care about earth’s ecosystem. Their heart turn to stone because of their cruelty and stupidity. Soon their body also become cold rocky. Disgusting!

The poachers have tank! They bombard us from off-screen, scaring the elephant. Surely, I can’t fight the tank with my fist of ecology’s justice alone. Thankfully, papa elephant charging into the tank and disabling it. Now I can beat up all of the tank crew which is 12 men and women. In reality, tank crew consists of 4 personnel: Commander, ammo loader, aimer, and driver.

Although the key to success in this game is weapon, the unarmed combat is pretty fun because there’s grapple! Sometime, lesser enemies on all fours after taking some beating. It’s cue that you can start grabbing them. The grabbing system is akin to Double Dragon’s and not the sticky grab system from Final Fight. There’s randomly chosen 3 grabs: punching in the mouth, slamming left and right, and knee strikes to the head.

 

Silent Dragon (Arcade)

The latter reminds me of Silent Dragon (1992), made by East Technology Corp. and published by Taito. I can assume Taito suggested to add knee strike grab because it looks great in Growl/Runark. I don’t think I will review Silent Dragon in future so I suggest you read this review, written by the same guy who made Growl/Runark arcade version review back then.

Our hero entered a dark cave. The only light source is torch that our hero hold. That means he can’t use his hand to punch enemies around. The attack is replaced with strong kick which is slow but can knock away enemies in one hit. However, jumping kick is still the safest way to deal with these poachers. I kind of baffled here. Our hero doesn’t hesitate to blow away the poachers to smithereens with rocket launcher but can’t bring himself to use torch to burn enemies. Learn a bit from that nameless explorer in Cursed of Dead God, Gen!

Now, I’m out of the dark cave. Ground beneath my feet slide down but I’m fine. This eagle gladly offers me a travel service to move pass the gap. Engineer_thanks01.wav

 

When pressing “C” button, I unleash desperation attack that can attack group of enemies at the cost of some health. There’s the usual whirlwind kick that definitely better looking than Cody’s in Final Fight. Then there’s this wild front spin. It happens if there’s enemy in front of me. It’s like Terry Bogard doing Crack Shoot but after drinking gallons of beer.

 

Here's the slamming left and right but in still image. It’s almost similar to slam in Hyperstone Heist.

 

Oh joy! The brother of Burlap sack guy is here to revenge his brother’s death. There’s no gun around here but I can use those rocks against this mug. Me and big rock are friends since Kagero/Deception 2.

 

Don’t mind me. I’m just moving these rocks to next boss fight area. They’re Goddamn useful. 

 

The first boss is back but with triple the amount! Naturally, the fight is thrice more difficult. But the key to win is remain the same: use weapon and neutral jump kick when they charge at you.

 

Certainly, they’re not the final boss. This creep-looking guy is. The way I can describe him is: the mixture between Joker and Penguin but with red top hat. Also, with Killer Croc’s strength because it takes huge amount of strength to lift a tank and then throw it to me.

 

Wow, he can fire bullet barrage from that claw of his. Meanwhile, I can’ find any gun around these parts. So, I must make do with these rocks, chuck them to him one by one. When the final boss has little health, he starts to on all fours but that -again- is attempt to fool you. Afterward, he will jump around like fleaman from Castlevania series. But the solution is pretty much simple: jump kick.

 

Eventually, I defeat the final boss and free the remaining animals. But wait! The gate close and chest burster back burster aliens appear from the dead body. Demoman_sf13_magic_reac05.wav

 

“This is the final boss controlling evil hunters!” said the narration. So, I must kill this creature. Punching him won’t work well so I need these rocks but I accidentally throw some of them out of screen and I can’t retrieve them. If you can’t have rock to throw at him, just use jumping kick. It works well most of the time but -you know- not as powerful as giant rock to his face. As for him, he can puke explosive green fireball, jump around, and rolling around like Sonic the Hedgehog. 

 

With the creature killed, the animals are free, for real this time. But the fight to protect fauna still continue as long as there’s greedy poachers in this earth. That’s not what narration said. That’s just my pessimistic thought. I notice there’s no giraffe in the pen. Perhaps the wall is too short to contain the long-neck animals.

 

Then the camera moves to the vast scenery of green tree and snow mountains that look like line of chocolate pudding with Vla sauce. Isn’t just me, right?

 

Then the camera stops at the moon and fireworks are in display. Presumably the rangers set these fireworks to celebrate their work to protect fauna and their own rest time.

Taito’s Growl (1991) is fun yet simple side scrolling Beat em up game. It also teaches you to be friendly with animals. You rescue them and they will help you in a fight except lions because they’re ungrateful git. Unarmed combat feels bit monotonous but thankfully the grab adds enough good style on it and pretty useful too. Jumping kick also good too. Moreover, the lesser enemies have just small enough amount of health unlike in Super Double Dragon where all of the enemies have too much health. However, what they lack in health, they cover it with their numbers. You will get surrounded most of the time. As for the weapons, they’re all pretty useful in combat. Machete probably the least useful because it swings quite slow. Whip is the most useful melee weapon because it can hit enemies on the left and right regardless where you’re facing. Belmont clan will be proud of this fact. Rocket launcher has big radius explosion. Needless to say, it's useful again group of enemies plus they like to be in tight formation. Assault rifle and handgun are certainly good weapon. I wish Taito also add shotgun between the rifle and handgun in gun arsenal. Naturally, guns are limited with ammo whereas melee weapons are not. You can carry melee weapons almost throughout the game if you don’t let them expire in ground, that is. Besides melee weapons are more common to find than guns. Tossing crate and rock certainly useful for the combat especially the latter because you can reuse rock as long as you don’t throw it to off screen. The desperation attacks are useful but I can’t tell the difference between the spinning kick and the wild front spin except for the visual. The character diversion is kind of lackluster. I don’t see why you don’t pick the bootleg Indy, except the other player pick him first. His stats are the most stable and balance. Others are either too weak or fragile. The music probably gritty thanks to Sega Genesis’ chip but I like the main music called “Rune & Ark”. The sound effect kind of mediocre.  

All in all, I recommend you to play Growl (1991). It’s fast, fun, simple and zany side scrolling Beat em up game. Then there's cutscene where an elephant headbutts a tank. How can you say "no" to that? Now here’s the question: Do you pick Arcade or Sega Genesis version? As I mentioned before that Arcade version has the speech voice but also has bad platforming section (that’s replaced with dark cave in Sega Genesis version). Meanwhile Sega Genesis version has adjustable credit numbers and difficulty setting. Standard for home console port. This version also more doable and less tedious for number of reasons. 1) You can set the credit to 7 which is more than enough to finish the game. FYI in this playthrough, I only spent 1 continue. 2) Enemies are much easier to knock away with jumping kick. 3) No tedious platforming section. 4) Enemies are easier to get into “on all fours” state. 5) There’s apple you can find in crates or barrels to replenish your health. 6) Easier final boss. So I prefer Sega Genesis version but if you want the goofy speech voice, you pick the arcade version. I won’t judge you if you do so.