Originally released in 1993 in Japan as Cadillacs Kyouryuu Shinseiki, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs was a fighting game released by Capcom, the popular publisher responsible for Street Fighter II. Following the trend at that point in time that spawned hundreds of variants all based on the same content, C&D was a typical side scrolling beat âem up that attempted to differentiate with the competition by adding a few extra unique features.
It was based on a popular comic book series of that time called Xenozoic Tales. Featuring the setting of a post - apocalyptic future, humans in the 20th century were forced to live in underground facilities for 500 years after the pollution and natural disasters rendered the surface uninhabitable. They finally emerged only to find that the world they left behind was reclaimed by animals they thought were extinct i.e. dinosaurs. There is limited technology left in this new reality and people who possess it are treated with the highest respect.
The game details the adventures of the comicâs characters (Jack, Hannah, Mustafa and Mess) as they attempt to fight their way through a large variety of enemies. Hordes of gangsters, killers, motorcycle gangs, dinosaurs, petty thieves, bigger dinosaurs, bodybuilders, even bigger dinosaurs, crazy scientists, even more massive dinosaurs and.........you guessed it...GIGANTIC dinosaurs stand in their way and fail miserably to stop them as our heroes use various techniques to counter enemy attacks. At the end of each stage a big boss awaits to stop you for good and needless to say most of them are pretty effective at doing just that. Extra care and avoiding solo play is the key to enjoyment! A total of 15 stages with an equal number of bosses await to test your skills, patience and cooperative play.
Each character has unique strengths and weaknesses e.g. Jack is a good all-rounder, Mustafa is more speed based, Hannah has deadly skills and Mess is more powerful. The key to success is using a variety of characters (up to 3 players can play at the same time) to balance out each otherâs weaknesses and cover each other as one may need to step back and get those power-ups to replenish their health as the others beat the poor mobs to a senseless state of mizery. The game also features a number of weapons ranging from sticks and stones to pistols and bazookas (extremely useful for the last boss) that can help our heroes maintain their health or just take out enemies faster.......only to find out there are more coming their way anyway....
Unfortunately the game is not available anymore through official channels. Hopefully Capcom will re-release it as part of a nice collection at some point in the future (yes? no? please? omg I beg you please just do it!). If you are lucky to have access to an original arcade.........well.........good for you =P
Similar games: Captain Commando (1991), The Punisher (1993), Warriors of Fate (1992), Knights of the Round (1991), The King of Dragons (1991)
Itâs non-stop action, balanced out characters that reward coop play and a great story to support the meaningless beating up of poor fellas and animals make this one of the best (if not the best) representative of the Capcom series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillacs_and_Dinosaurs_(video_game)#Gameplay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenozoic_Tales
http://capcom.wikia.com/wiki/Cadillacs_and_Dinosaurshttp://rq87.flyingomelette.com/RQ/CAD/main.html
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7255
