Cannon Spike, originally released in Japan as Gunspike (ガンスパイク, Gansupaiku), is a multi-directional shooter arcade game released in 2000 by Psikyo and later in the same year for the Dreamcast by Capcom. It uses Capcom-designed characters and runs on Sega's Naomi Hardware. Cannon Spike is similar to games like Smash TV and Capcom's Commando, although with primary focus on boss fighting. Cannon Spike is noted as the last game released for Dreamcast in Europe, published by Bigben Interactive and exclusively sold at retail in Game outlets.

Cannon Spike
Cover of the Dreamcast version of Cannon Spike
European Dreamcast cover art
Developer(s)Psikyo
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)Shinsuke Nakamura
Producer(s)Tatsuya Minami
Programmer(s)Kenichi Fujita
Kunihiko Nogomi
Michiaki Negoro
Katsuya Shikanouchi
Kokichi Ogi
Composer(s)Masaki Izutani
Toshiya Kobayashi
Kaori Kumakura
Kensuke Sato
Platform(s)Arcade, Dreamcast
ReleaseArcade
2000
Dreamcast
  • NA: 15 November 2000[1]
  • JP: 21 December 2000
  • EU: 26 April 2002[2]
Genre(s)Multi-directional shooter
Mode(s)Up to 2 players simultaneously
Arcade systemSega NAOMI

The international title, Cannon Spike, is the name of a trademark attack performed by Cammy, a character from the Street Fighter series of video games and one of the protagonists of this title.

Characters

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The game features seven playable characters, each of which originates from or is inspired by other Capcom games. These include Cammy and Charlie from the Street Fighter series; Arthur from Ghosts 'n Goblins; the original characters Shiba Shintaro and Simone, based on Siva from Three Wonders and Linn Kurosawa from Alien vs. Predator respectively; and the secret characters Baby Bonnie Hood from Darkstalkers and Mega Man.[3] In addition, Vega from the Street Fighter series appears as an enemy character, named "Fallen Balrog" or "Revenger Balrog" in all regions.

Gameplay

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In its arcade incarnation, the game is played using a joystick and three buttons; Mark (used to lock onto a targeted enemy), Shoot, and Attack (a close-range strike, usually more powerful or with greater knock-back compared to ordinary shooting). In addition to these basic commands, each character also has a ranged special attack (unleashed by pressing Shoot and Attack simultaneously), a close-range special (Mark and Attack simultaneously), and a super special (all three buttons simultaneously). The use of the super special requires a Special Token, occasionally dropped by a defeated enemy and always dropped by a defeated ally in 2-player mode.

Reception

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The Dreamcast version received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] Electronic Gaming Monthly and Game Informer gave it average reviews, months before its U.S. release.[7][9] Greg Orlando of NextGen said that the game was "not quite artillerific, but it is a mindlessly fun way to murder some time."[15] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.[8]

Also in Japan, Game Machine listed the arcade version in their 15 November 2000 issue as the second most-successful arcade game of the month.[16]

Notes

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  1. ^ In an early review, two critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Dreamcast version each a score of 6/10, and the other gave it 6.5/10.

References

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  1. ^ Justice, Brandon (31 October 2000). "Cannon Spike Firing; Gunbird 2 in Flight in 2000". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  2. ^ "The Last Days of Dreamcast". Eurogamer.net. 2002-04-11. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  3. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (July 26, 2000). "Cannon Spike". IGN. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Cannon Spike for Dreamcast Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  5. ^ Thompson, Jon. "Cannon Spike (DC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  6. ^ Edge staff (January 2001). "Cannon Spike (DC)" (PDF). Edge. No. 93. Future Publishing. p. 112. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b Johnston, Chris; Mielke, James "Milkman"; Smith, Shawn (October 2000). "Cannon Spike" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 135. Ziff Davis. p. 174. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  8. ^ a b "ドリームキャスト - ガンスパイク". Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 915. Enterbrain. 30 June 2006. p. 52.
  9. ^ a b "Cannon Spike". Game Informer. No. 89. FuncoLand. September 2000.
  10. ^ "REVIEW for Cannon Spike". GameFan. Shinno Media. 15 November 2000.
  11. ^ Uncle Dust (27 November 2000). "Cannon Spike Review for Dreamcast on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  12. ^ Nash, Joe (November 2000). "Cannon Spike Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  13. ^ Shoemaker, Brad (13 November 2000). "Cannon Spike Review [date mislabeled as "17 May 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  14. ^ Chau, Anthony (16 November 2000). "Cannon Spike". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  15. ^ a b Orlando, Greg (November 2000). "Cannon Spike (DC)". NextGen. No. 71. Imagine Media. p. 124. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 622. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 November 2000. p. 17.
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