Cabal (video game)

TAD Corporation

Industry	Video games
Headquarters	Japan
Products	Cabal (1988 arcade shooter)

is a 1988 arcade shooter created by TAD Corporation and distributed by Taito in Japan, Fabtek across North America, and Capcom within Europe. Players assume the role of a commando seen from a third-person rear perspective, with the objective of demolishing enemy military installations. Although it achieved moderate arcade popularity, Cabal garnered attention through its various home system adaptations.

Gameplay

Cabal supports both solo play and cooperative two-player simultaneous action. Each participant controls an unnamed commando navigating through five stages, each containing four distinct screens. Players begin with three lives and have access to unlimited bullets alongside a finite number of grenades to defeat adversaries and obliterate enemy bases. The character operates behind a breakable protective barrier and must evade hostile fire by shifting sideways, taking cover, or performing evasive dodge-roll maneuvers. An enemy progress meter decreases as foes and structures are destroyed; once depleted, the player advances to the subsequent stage. Losing all health results in losing a life and respawning unless no lives remain. Boss encounters restart if the final player is defeated.

Occasional power-ups appear, enhancing weaponry—such as enabling rapid-fire machine guns or automatic shotguns—or providing additional grenades and bonus points.

The arcade cabinet features an upright configuration employing trackball controls for character movement and targeting; later models introduced joystick compatibility with optional trackball sub-PCBs. Executing a dodge-roll involves spinning the trackball at maximum velocity.

Pioneering for its era, Cabal utilizes a 3D over-the-shoulder viewpoint akin to contemporary third-person shooters. While players cannot move their character while shooting, they independently control an aiming reticle, demanding a tactical balance between offense and defense. Skilled gameplay requires managing destructible cover while avoiding escalating enemy fire, setting it apart from reflex-driven run-and-gun titles.

Ports and related releases

Cabal was adapted for numerous home computer platforms prevalent at the time, including DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Amiga. Additionally, Rare developed a version for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A port intended for the Atari Lynx was previewed with plans for an April 1992 release but ultimately was not published by Fabtek.

For the NES adaptation, Rare acquired an arcade Cabal cabinet but lacked access to the original source code, leading them to reconstruct graphics based on memory. Programmer Anthony Ball employed sprite-swapping methods to work within console constraints, which caused some flickering but retained the game's content integrity. In a 2016 interview, Ball expressed pride in the quality of their conversion.

The game was succeeded by Blood Bros. in 1990, which transitioned from Cabal’s Vietnam War backdrop to a Western-themed setting.

Reception and legacy

In Japan, Game Machine ranked Cabal as the eighth most successful table arcade game in November 1988.

The arcade edition received favorable critiques; Clare Edgeley from Computer and Video Games highlighted it positively in comparison to titles like Operation Wolf and Combat School. Nick Kelly of Commodore User awarded it seven out of ten points, drawing favorable parallels with Gryzor and Devastators. The ZX Spectrum port earned Crash readers' accolade for best advertisement of the year.

The title’s influence led to numerous imitators, including NAM-1975 (1990) and Wild Guns (1994).

See also

• Shootout, a title created by Data East, a company affiliated with TAD Corporation, released three years prior to Cabal.

External links

• Official Rareware page archived
• Detailed entry on Arcade History
• Analysis comparing Cabal with its 2002 spiritual successor, Gamshara