PixlBit

An arcade game that gives you both action and exploration with dungeons and dragons

Black Tiger is an arcade game developed and published by Capcom in 1987. It is an action platformer, but also gives you exploration, armor and weapon upgrades, points and money, and plenty of enemies to defeat. The game is set in a fantasy setting; the hero is Black Tiger, who is some barbarian dude with a ball and chain wearing not more than a helmet and a girdle (but he's very buff).

Right away you'll notice that the character is very small onscreen. BT can move, jump, and attack; when he attacks, not only does he swing his ball and chain straight out in front of him, but three knives shoot out too (who knows where he was hiding those!). Unless you get an armor upgrade, BT will die after just two hits; after one hit, his armor will come off (much like in Ghosts n Goblins). Luckily, he never runs out of knives, so you can attack as much as possible and never slow down.

Climbing is another big part of the game as many poles or long vertical platforms will be used to climb to a higher level and jump to the next platform. Along the way, you will find little old men who are frozen; if you run into them, they will unfreeze and thank you for saving them. Then they will do something for you, whether it's giving you more time, zenny coins (the currency of the game), or opening a small shop where you can purchase armor upgrades or potions. These armor upgrades will only last until you take enough damage, giving you a couple extra hits that you can take.

You may also find caves that have a sign above them that says "Inn." But upon entering the screen says "Welcome to the Dungeon." Yes, this "inn" is a mini dungeon in which you can find treasure and items. These are very useful, so you don't want to miss any of them. Plenty of old men can be found in these, and treasure chests often contain loot for points, but sometimes will be a trap--pillars of fire will shoot out and hurt you. Also, as you go through each dungeon, you'll notice arrows posted everywhere, pointing out where you should go. Sometimes these arrows will point up or to the right to show you that you can go either way (usually an inn is to the right, and the rest of the level will continue upwards). You really have to stay on your toes in this game.

There's plenty of enemies in the game. Ugly beasts with shield and battle axe will run up to you and swing at you; bats will fly at you; pyro enemies will shoot fireballs at you; deadly giant skull coins will instantly kill you upon touching them. Upon killing them, enemies will drop points, whether it's only 5, 10, or sometimes 50. Some enemies literally appear out of nowhere, such as the skeleton dudes who pop up out of the ground, or the plant enemies who also pop up out of the ground to try and eat you. Sometimes fire will randomly shoot out of the wall and hurt you (or kill you), and rocks will fall from above very quickly right onto BT! All of this random appearance can be very frustrating.

After three deaths, it's Game Over. However, as the counter ticks down, you can add credits simply by pressing a button, then Continue by pressing start. Obviously, in the arcade, you would have to add more coins to add credits, but since I'm not playing in the arcade, I can simply add credits with a press of a button. In other words, you have unlimited continues, and you're going to need them! I can't even tell you how many times I died! This game is hard (not surprising since it's from 1987).

The bosses in the game are good, but can be really annoying. The blue dragon boss, for example, is big and slow; he shoots fireballs at you while he flies either low to the ground or high into the air. Only two hits will kill you, you can't jump over him, and you're too slow to run under him. The boss itself is not hard, but your character's limitations lead to many deaths, no doubt because they want to get your money. Thankfully, if you die (or even use a continue) you will start at the last place you died; the game is very liberal with check points.

Another tough boss is the little demon boss; he flies around and shoots arrows at you. For this boss fight, you can jump from platform to platform in order to avoid him (he's really fast), attacking as you go. Your real enemy here is the timer; you just don't have enough time to defeat him, so you have to attack as much as possible while moving to avoid him. It's really hard! But of course, once you beat him, you jump in the air and do a victory dance. Beating these challenging bosses is very satisfying. But once again, they often feel cheap because they want your money.

Apparently you can increase your health bar, but you have to rack up a lot of points to do so. Health is definitely the most valuable thing in the game. The music is also pretty good; each dungeon is a different variation of the main theme, which is neat. That arcade sound is really cool too.

                                         What more could you want?

Final Verdict--4 Stars: Recommended

I was going to give it a lower score because of those annoying and frustrating moments, but then I realized that this is a 1987 arcade game. It's actually really good for being that old! The game holds up well after all these years; it's fun at times, challenging at others, and overall a solid action game. This one is considered a Capcom Classic. Black Tiger stands out from Mega Man, Street Fighter, and all the rest. The setting is neat, and who doesn't like fighting dragons? I would say definitely give it a try if you enjoy action platformers; it's available on the Wii Virtual Console and Capcom Arcade Cabinet for PSN and XBLA.

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