Empire City: 1931

Empire City: 1931[lower-alpha 1] (known as Street Fight in Germany and the Benelux Union) is a shooter game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu that was originally released into arcades in 1986, by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Romstar in North America. The game has players taking on the mafia in 1931 New York City by gunning down mobsters one by one.

Empire City: 1931
Empire City 1931 sideart.
Arcade cabinet side art
Developer(s)Seibu Kaihatsu[1]
Publisher(s)Arcade
Family Computer/MSX
Toshiba EMI[1]
Producer(s)Hitoshi Hamada
Platform(s)Arcade
Family Computer
MSX
ReleaseArcade
Family Computer
MSX
Genre(s)Shooter
Mode(s)Single-player
Two-player[7]

Versions of the game were released for the Family Computer (1987) and MSX (1988) as Magnum Kiki Ippatsu: Empire City: 1931.[lower-alpha 2][8] Acclaim advertised a release for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Western regions, but the console version remained exclusive to Japan.[9]

Seibu Kaihatsu eventually released a follow-up game, Dead Angle.

Gameplay
Players control the onscreen crosshair and must shoot enemies before the counter on the bottom right of the screen turns to zero.

The game is set in 1931 New York City where the player controls a young FBI agent who is out to avenge his family members, who were killed in a gang shootout. Over a period of several months, he targets mobsters, culminating with the mafia boss.

Players use a joystick to move a crosshair around the screen to aim and shoot at mobsters one at a time. They lurk around various areas, including on the street and in windows. An arrow appears that helps direct players to the location of the next mobster onscreen. Players have a set amount of time to find and shoot each enemy; if time is running out, a speech bubble appears counting down the last few seconds on the timer. When the timer reaches zero, the player is shot and the screen pans to the location of the enemy. A defend button is available as a last resort to avoid being shot.[5] Players can replenish their ammo by shooting hidden ammunition boxes and get bonus points by shooting at gold bars.

Levels are cleared after a set number of mobsters are eliminated. In the game's final level, the player has only one opportunity to assassinate the mob boss as he walks in front of windows in a building. After the final level is completed, the game loops back to the beginning.

The Famicom version is largely the same.[10] The player's progress can be restored any time in the Famicom version by using a password system of four numbers and/or letters.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Empire City: 1931 on their August 1, 1986 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[11]

A review by Clare Edgeley in Computer and Video Games said the game was "fast moving, with lots of action" and called it an "unusual and addictive game" that was "bound to be a winner".[5]

Notes
  1. Japanese: エンパイア シティ:1931, Hepburn: Enpaia Shiti: 1931
  2. Japanese: マグナム危機一髪 エンパイアシティー1931, Hepburn: Magunamu Kiki Ippatsu Enpaia Shitī 1931

References
  1. Magnum Kiki Ippatsu: Empire City 1931 at MobyGames
  2. "Video Game Flyers: Empire City". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 136–7. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  4. "Empire City: 1931 (Registration Number PA0000296001)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  5. Edgeley, Clare (15 June 1986). "Arcade Action: Empire City". Computer + Video Games. No. 57 (July 1986). p. 94.
  6. Magnum Kiki Ippatsu: Empire City 1931 at GameFAQs
  7. # of players information at Arcade Museum
  8. Japanese title information at SuperFamicom.org
  9. Cifaldi, Frank (Nov 10, 2009). "The Paper Trail: VideoGames & Computer Entertainment #1". Retronauts. 1up.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  10. Magnum Kiki Ippatsu: Empire City 1931 Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine at Manna Revolver Knight
  11. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 289. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 August 1986. p. 25.
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