Beast Busters

SNK

Industry	Video game development
Founded	1978
Headquarters	Japan
Products	Beast Busters

Beast Busters (ビースト バスターズ) is a rail shooter horror game developed by SNK and launched for arcade systems in 1989. It holds the distinction of being the pioneering three-player light gun shooter title. Subsequent versions were made available for the Amiga and Atari ST platforms in 1990.

Plot

Set in the 1990s, a metropolis is overwhelmed by an outbreak of reanimated corpses known as Beasts. The city’s mayor announces a substantial bounty to anyone capable of halting the epidemic. In response, three well-equipped bounty hunters—Johnny Justice, Paul Patriot, and Sammy Stately—venture into the infested urban area to uncover the cause and stop the menace.

Gameplay

Participants assume control of one of three mercenaries battling through a city teeming with undead Beasts. The arcade edition accommodates up to three players simultaneously, each using mounted light guns designed to mimic machine guns. Throughout gameplay, players can acquire various power-ups including rockets, grenades, armor enhancements, health restoratives, and ammunition to boost their combat capabilities.

The game consists of seven distinct levels interspersed with narrative cutscenes that explain the origins of the zombie outbreak. Each stage features a sub-boss as well as a main boss, both presenting two different forms. Memorable adversaries include a zombie punk who transforms into a dog and an animated jeep. One particular stage concludes with the mission to rescue a CIA operative during the final boss confrontation.

Reception

In January 1990, Game Machine listed Beast Busters as the leading upright arcade game in Japan. It ranked as the fifth highest-grossing dedicated arcade title in Japan for 1990 and placed ninth in 1991. Across North America, it was the second most profitable arcade game during early 1990, trailing only behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Critics drew parallels between this game and titles such as Operation Thunderbolt, Line of Fire, and SNK’s own Mechanized Attack. ACE magazine awarded it a 4 out of 5 rating, commending its horror atmosphere and storyline as an effective fusion reminiscent of Operation Wolf combined with elements from Splatterhouse.

Interestingly, Michael Jackson was known to have owned an arcade cabinet of Beast Busters, reportedly transporting it on tour via cargo aircraft.

Legacy

The franchise continued with a sequel entitled Beast Busters: Second Nightmare (ビーストバスターズ セカンドナイトメア), which debuted in 1999 on the Hyper Neo Geo 64 system.

That same year saw the release of a handheld spin-off called Dark Arms: Beast Buster for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, presented as an Action RPG.

In December 2014, SNK launched Beast Busters featuring KOF for iOS and Android devices as a free-to-play game. A premium version named Beast Busters featuring KOF Deluxe was released on June 8, 2015. The service for these titles was discontinued in August 2015.

See also

• Laser Ghost