Back in the ‘80s and’90s, Konami was known for its side-scrolling arcade brawlers, with special love going to those based on licensed properties such as The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Asterix and more. The company also released several original brawlers for the arcades, which included the Crime Fighters series. Crime Fighters was a well-received game about four undercover cops going after kidnappers and fighting crime bosses and a sequel was released in 1991.
Crime Fighters 2 was released as Vendetta internationally and the connection to the first game was downplayed significantly. The plot this time saw the gang known as the Cobras have to rescue their fifth member from the evil Dead End Gang. Each of the four playable Cobras is based on a well-known figure like Hulk Hogan, Wesley Snipes, Jean Claude Van Damme and Mr. T, and their moves are based on the well-known personas of the figures, such as Hawk (Hogan) being a wrestler and Boomer (Van Damme) a martial artist.
Vendetta is a very well-designed brawler that contains multiple methods of attacks besides just basic punches and kicks. There are two main styles of kicks for instance, with one turning into a jumping attack if the character is moving when using the attack. If an enemy falls down, they can be attacked on the ground with kick attacks, which can also be used to knock them off ledges or into other areas.
Vendetta is a great example of a destructible environment, as many objects can be destroyed even if it has no bearing on the gameplay and serves as part of the presentation instead. That said, the destructible environment does come into play in several areas though, such as destroying scaffolds with enemies on them, or streetlamps with enemies standing below. While the music could have been better, this is an example of a game that perfectly blends presentation and actual gameplay in a satisfying way.
Where Vendetta will alienate some players, however, is the immense difficulty and cheap deaths. It must be remembered that this was released in the arcades in the early ‘90s and is very much a quarter muncher. Some enemies will gang up on the players and cause player lives to go down very quickly before there is a chance to react. Some enemies and bosses even have attacks that will let them grab the player and simply hold them for several minutes while attacking them and draining all life, which will no doubt frustrate many.
Fortunately, continues are free in Arcade Archives, and a difficulty option is also available here. This will still be a hard game, but players will be able to get through it if they do not get too frustrated. Both the two-player version and four-player version are included here as well, so having some friends to help will make things easier.
Something to note is that Arcade Archives Vendetta also includes the version of the game released in Japan as Crime Fighters 2, and there are some differences between the Japanese and international releases. The original version had an S & M themed enemy in leather who would attack the characters by grabbing them and proceeding to dry hump and lick them. There was also a dog enemy removed that would also attack by humping, but the other dog enemy remained in the international version.
Is Vendetta worth checking out? Oh, very much yes, as this is one of the best arcade brawlers from the time. Those used to modern console beat ‘em ups may be shocked at how severe of a quarter muncher it is, but the gameplay is fun for those who do not give in to frustration. Check this out for a good fight.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided