Trojan (video game)

Trojan

Arcade - USA - Cabinet.

Developer Capcom Publisher Capcom Published 1986-04-?? Platforms Arcade, DOS, NES, VS. System, ZX Spectrum Genres Beat 'em up, Fighting Themes Action, Post-Apocalyptic Multiplayer Alternating versus, Simultaneous versus Distribution Commercial

Trojan is a hack-and-slash developed and published by Capcom in April 1986, initially for the arcade, then ported later that same year to the NES and MS-DOS. Unlike most of the early Capcom games, Trojan was not ported to a multitude of platforms, although a ZX Spectrum port was made but never officially released.

The game takes place in the future after a nuclear war has devastated the world and awoken the spirits of long dead warlords. With little technology left to use, the warlords are right at home and using primitive weapons to establish violent tribes in order to conquer the survivors and rule them with an iron fist. You, are one of the few who can resist the spirits and must use your sword and shield to defeat the warlords and their minions.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	No.

My bother borrowed the NES port of this game from a friend in the late 1980s, and I remember thinking it looked cool, but, when I tried playing it, I realized how hard it was due to bad controls. I even tried playing it again later as an adult, and was still never able to reach the third stage. This is one of those games that I always thought could have been a great game, but just had too many problems to be memorable.

Review

3	2	4	4	3

Best Version: NES

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The post-apocalyptic setting was a good choice.
• The graphics are great for the time, and the scenery looks really good with broken buildings and old signs, and I like the title logo.
• The sword and shield mechanic looks good, the ability to lose them is also interesting.
• Falling into the sewers in the NES port is a creative idea.
• The NES port added a decent amount of additional content including new power-ups, hidden rooms, and a versus fighting mode.

Bad

• Typical of Capcom early games, the bosses move too quickly and erratically. The best strategy for most of them is to rush up and mash the attack button before they can get off an attack. It would be better if their design encouraged learning an attack pattern and finding an optimal defense.
• The timbre of Ayako Mori's music is fitting, but it's a bit uninspired and forgettable. I don't find any of the tracks memorable.
• The flashing "Jump" markers and "Open" signs don't fit the theme and hurt immersion. However, the NES port replaces these with a shoe power-up and a key which are more appropriate.
• The engrish is pretty bad.
• The dynamite thrown by enemies should also hurt other enemies.
• Having to replay the entire game in hard mode just to see a slightly different ending message is obnoxious.
• While the Japanese Famicom manual describes the game's story and is well made, the US manual is more poorly made and cuts out almost all the plot.

Ugly

• Too much of the game is the same. The same enemies are used throughout the game, the same bosses are reused several times, areas 3 and 5 are nearly identical, etc.
• The game is far too hard, mostly due to poor player controls which do not feel comfortable or responsive to your input.
• The MS-DOS and ZX Spectrum ports are especially bad. They eliminate scrolling, have even worse controls, and use vastly inferior graphics and sound.

Media

Box Art

• 

  US arcade cabinet.

• 

  US arcade marquee. Just awful.

• 

  The Famicom box uses a fairly simple cartoon painting of the player's character fighting one of the bosses with other enemies crowding in the distance. The style makes it look like the game is going to be more kiddish than it really is.

• 

  The North American box uses art from the arcade flyer. The anatomy is a bit, shall we say, jacked-up. The DOS port used the same art with essentially the same layout.

• 

  The European and South Korean boxes use the same art, but with a more basic layout.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - Arcade - USA.

• 

  Manua; - Famicom - Japan.

• 

  Manual - NES - USA.

• 

  Flyer - Arcade - Japan - Front.

• 

  Flyer - Arcade - Japan - Back.

• 

  Flyer - Arcade - USA - Front.

• 

  Flyer - Arcade - USA - Back.

• 

  Advertisement - USA.

• 

  Japanese hint book cover.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb.

Documentation

• 

  Arcade, stage 1.

• 

  Arcade, stage 2.

• 

  Arcade, stage 3.

• 

  Arcade, stage 4.

• 

  Arcade, stage 5.

• 

  Arcade, stage 6.

• 

  NES, stage 1-1.

• 

  NES, stage 1-2.

• 

  NES, stage 2-1.

• 

  NES, stage 2-2.

• 

  NES, stage 3-1.

• 

  NES, stage 3-2.

• 

  NES, stage 4-1.

• 

  NES, stage 4-2.

• 

  NES, stage 5-1.

• 

  NES, stage 6-1.

• 

  NES, stage 6-2.

• 

  NES, stage 6-3.

• 

  NES, vs stage.

Graphics

• 

  Trojan logo.

Videos

Review - NES Works.

Longplay - Arcade.

Longplay - NES.

Longplay - ZX Spectrum.

Game play - DOS.

Play Online

Arcade (Japan), Arcade (USA), Famicom, MS-DOS, NES (Europe), NES (USA)

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	There are no female characters.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are no female characters.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There are no people of color.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	Trojan
Japanese	闘いの挽歌	Tatakai no Banka	Requiem for Battle

Links