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SNK's internal development team Saurus will not be remembered for the consistent level of quality of their small library of games.
Their fighter Shin Oh Ken for example is terrible, while their STG
Chotetsu Brikin'ger is on par with the finest shooters published by SNK. Their range in genres is
similarly diverse: shooting, horse racing, run and gun, a quiz game, football, and electrified maze games (of
which one has the excellently-translated title Irritating Stick). Fortunately, however, Saurus made
one game that is truly excellent and allows us to forget this wild unevenness: Shock Troopers.
Fashioned in the tradition of Senjou no Ookami and Ikari, Shock Troopers
features several welcome additions to the conventional top-down run and gun mechanics. Multiple level paths,
risk vs. reward scoring, in-game character switching, and complex controls all combine to make this game
both unique and worthy of consideration as the pinnacle of the sub-genre.
The excellence begins with the controls. All four buttons are used: shot, grenade, roll and character switch.
While the first two are standard-issue, the roll maneuvre adds an interesting wrinkle. Your character is
invincible during the roll, and it can be incorporated in both offensive and defensive techniques. At first glance it
appears too useful, in that it can be used to avoid almost any immediate danger. However,
it soon becomes clear
that the slow enemy bullets and the scoring system insist the player use the roll aggressively, leading
to exciting battles for position. Since the shot button will initiate a powerful knife slash at close range
(as in Metal Slug), and many more points are gained by kills of
this kind, utilizing the timing and distance of the roll correctly is a necessary strategy that is also very
satisfying to perform.
Tapping the shot button (when not next to an enemy) will yield a short stream of bullets in the
direction you are facing. Holding the shot button allows you to fire continuously in a single direction
while you move about the screen. This is a perfect balance between the difficulty of only being able to shoot
in the direction you are running (as in Senjou no Ookami) and the freedom of independent
movement and fire (as in Robotron: 2084). It is admirable that Saurus managed to design the
stages and enemy placement in a way that complements the controls so well. Any other control scheme for this
game would have broken the equilibrium between what you can do and what you need to do. Indeed, I
find myself wishing that the rolling and strafing system was available in more games of this type.
There are eight playable characters, all with slightly different speed, firepower and grenades. You have
the option of playing the game entirely with one character (given three life bars) or choosing three of
the eight (each with one life bar). Unlike team play of the Batrider variety, there is a character
switch button here which allows quick substitutions when the need arises. This adds an interesting layer of
strategy and variety as you divide the bosses and health items among your crew. The overall difficulty
of the game is diminished using the team battle option (having access to three different grenades is
reason enough) but it is much more interesting than the "Lonly Wolf" choice.
Shoot to kill. Kill to score. These basic tenets are improved upon with a couple of extra rules. Most weak
enemies will die with one or two bursts from your weapon, but you can continue shooting them before
they fall down for extra points. It is devilishly fun to riddle your opponents with unnecessary fire,
all the while piling up the points. In addition, the knife attack will not only yield more points, but also
health and point items from nearly every enemy. Since this close range attack is much more difficult to
safely execute than in other games (such as, say, Metal Slug or Shadow Dancer), there
is substantial risk in attempting to approach all your enemies. Consciously placing yourself in constant
danger and surviving is one of the greatest and most addictive traits in games
(see for instance Ketsui, if you want a superlative example),
and Shock Troopers delivers with every credit.
Although the difficulty of achieving a massive score is relatively high, merely progressing through the game
is not. Experts at Out Zone, for example,
might find the difficulty of clearing Shock Troopers to be too low, whilst for average players
this game provides
just enough challenge while keeping a 1CC well within reach. However, the balance and excitement of
the scoring system will bring any player back for another attempt. Two more things should be mentioned
with regard to difficulty: the game does not get much harder from beginning to end, and there does not exist
a moment at which most players will die without a fair amount of practice (as, say, at the turret wall
segment in stage 6 of Battle Garegga). I enjoy this relative stability; instead of a single
frustrating point or sudden difficulty increase, Shock Troopers is evenly balanced throughout.
This aspect of stability or consistency can be found in other areas of the game. The stage designs are all
excellent, with a constant pace exhibited in the enemy placements and type. The character sprites (both
enemy and ally ones) are all colourful and uniform in their high level of detail (though not as smooth in
animation as Metal Slug's, they are thankfully not as ridiculously stupid-looking). All the elements
of Shock Troopers work well together and display quality throughout the game. And yet, this high level of
consistency reveals what might otherwise be a problem: there are no features or moments of absolute
brilliance. No boss, no stage, no weapon, no background, no set-piece provides a really memorable
experience. Most great games have a point (or points) that you continually recall as being truly awesome,
and it's part of what makes those games special.
I will, nevertheless, argue here that Shock Troopers does something more important than having a
unique, blow-your-mind moment. It does nothing wrong. While many excellent games are somewhat
undermined by an annoyance, I can find no faults here. For example, Batsugun has the bothersome tank
scoring trick on the fourth boss (not to mention the absurd Street Fighter-esque motions to make some score
pigs appear). Death Smiles has the incredibly infuriating counter recharge. The third boss of Raiden IV
causes a sudden spike in difficulty. Some enemies in Smash TV's second stage
break the game. The handicap speed boost in any Burnout game is beyond ludicrous. The required ten-minute
milking of a single spot in Mamonoro for score is inexcusable. I generally find something that
annoys me, even in the best games. But not in Shock Troopers. Its consistency makes it a remarkably
enjoyable game, even after long periods of continual play.
If I have not yet sold you on Shock Troopers,
I will offer one final argument in its favour: there are three stage routes to choose from,
and they are all equally fun. Each one has different backgrounds and scenery, different enemies and
bosses, different kinds of setup (motorcycles, boats, trains, climbing rock faces, wading through
sewers, and so on); all three paths are almost totally unique. You can even switch paths halfway
through the game, which adds an extra stage as you travel from one route to another. This kind of
variety in a game is rare as it is, but what is even rarer is for all courses to be of equally high quality -- as
they are here. A truly admirable accomplishment.
Shock Troopers was released shortly after the original Metal Slug, and they
competed for position in arcades as SNK's foremost non-fighting game. Given my distaste for Metal
Slug, you might guess that I am unhappy with it going on to become a major franchise, while
Shock Troopers only received a single inferior sequel. Fortunately, the original is as
perfect as a game can get, a fact which somewhat diminishes the disappoinment from the lack of a proper
follow-up.
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