Growl (video game)
Growl, known in Japan as Runark, is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up originally released for arcades by Taito in 1990. Set in the early 20th century, the player controls a forest ranger who must protect the local wildlife from a group of evil poachers who are driving the animals to extinction. A home version was released for the Sega Genesis in November 1991. It was also included in the arcade game compilation Taito Legends 2 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows.
Gameplay
[image:Growl Arcade.png|thumb|left|The first stage in the arcade version]The player begins the game by choosing from one of four different forest rangers, each with a different amount of health, attack strength, and jumping height. There are four variations of the game :
- A common two-player setting.
- A four-player setting with individual coin slots for each player.
- A four-player setting which uses a pair of two player cabinets linked together with a special cable.
- A four-player setting which uses two coin slots for everyone.
The game is controlled with an eight-way joystick for moving the character and two action buttons. The player can perform a variety of different attacks depending on the position of an enemy. By pressing both buttons while surrounded by enemies, the player can perform a special attack that strikes every nearby enemy. By pressing both buttons while holding the joystick upwards, the player will perform a longer jump.
The player can procure weapons by destroying barrels and wooden crates or disarming certain enemies. There are a total of eight weapons which can be obtained: three melee weapons, two throwing weapons, and three firearms. The barrels and crates can be picked up and thrown at enemies as well. When the assault rifle or rocket launcher runs out of ammunition, they are still wielded by the player as melee weapons. The revolver, on the other hand, is thrown by the player after all of its bullets are used. The player can drop their current weapon by pressing down and attack while wielding it. If a weapon lies on the ground after a certain period, it will vanish completely.
There are seven regular stages and a bonus game, for a total of eight stages. The locations include a city, a moving train, a boat, a jungle, a cavern, and the hideout of the poachers. There are six types of enemy characters throughout the game, excluding the final boss. There are also animal helpers that will help out the player after they are rescued from a poacher, such as an eagle, a herd of deer, and an elephant.