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Die Hard Arcade - the “best” licensed game ever? A Christmas game?

VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
Yes I know...the Arkham games exist! It’s more of a joke. Not that Die Hard Arcade isn’t amazing :)

Die Hard Arcade defies explanation; I’ve watched the movie every year at Christmas because when I was a kid my dad insisted it was a Christmas movie (thanks dad) so it’s become a tradition. After I watch the movie I have to play Die Hard Arcade...because it’s like the bizarro world version of the movie.

If you’ve ever seen the film here are some things you will see in the game that you won’t remember from the movie; quadruped robot spiders that shoot lasers at you, firefighters trying to murder you with axes, sumo wrestlers that try to body you in the bathroom, a white mulleted villain, the President’s daughter being kidnapped and dominatrix women trying to beat you in office hallways...to name a few!

I miss the days of these old licensed games when developers basically slapped a title on a game and then made something that had little to no resemblance to the licensed property itself. Friday the 13th on NES was an awesome example of this.

But Die Hard Arcade is hands down my favorite licensed game of all time.

anyone have any recommendations that are similar? Not actual licensed games that follow the cannon (like the Rocksteady developed Batman games) but the absurd licensed games.

but you def should play this at Christmas! And watch the movie. It’s not the holiday season till John McClean kills Hans Gruber!
 
Warnen

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
Recently played the Japanese version on my Saturn, good stuff. Wish they would bring some of these older games back to the switch or something. Granted the 3D doesn’t hold up as well as the old 2d stuff from the Saturn but there are some great games lost to history.
 
M

MrA

Member
die hard arcade is a great game, shame sega just doesn't put dynamite deka out as a digital download somewhere, was the sega ages release one of the good m2 ones, or the earlier crappy ones?
 
SpiceRacz

SpiceRacz

Member
Played the shit out of this at the arcade and eventually got a Saturn along with a used copy of the game. I remember there being a secret submarine game that you could access with a code or something.
 
Nankatsu

Nankatsu

Gold Member
The demo that I played most in my entire life as a gamer, without a doubt.

Never played the full game thought.
 
VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
SpiceRacz said:
Played the shit out of this at the arcade and eventually got a Saturn along with a used copy of the game. I remember there being a secret submarine game that you could access with a code or something.
Click to expand...

In the Japanese version you can earn additional continues in Die Hard Arcade by setting new high scores in the sub game.. It was Sega's 1979 game "Deep Scan"
 
D

Dane

Member
I've played a lot of Die Hard Arcade on Saturn and Trilogy on PS1, both are among the best licensed games.
 
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RNG

RNG

Member
Yeah Die Hard arcade was a fun ass game that I had the pleasure of playing both the original arcade and on MAME, but man most of the scenarios in the game had nothing to do with the actual movie lmao.
 
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VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
RNG said:
Yeah Die Hard arcade was a fun ass game that I had the pleasure of playing both the original arcade and on MAME, but man most of the scenarios in the game had nothing to do with the actual movie lmao.
Click to expand...

can we petition someone to make a new Die Hard with Bruce Willis that follows the story of Die Hard Arcade? Now there’s a movie I’d like to see!
 
CormacMcNulty

CormacMcNulty

Banned
My favorite licensed game is The Warriors by Rockstar.
images

It even meaningfully expands the movie by adding backstories to the characters. It's a great companion piece for a great movie.
 
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VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
CormacMcNulty said:
My favorite licensed game is The Warriors by Rockstar.
images

It even meaningfully expands the movie by adding backstories to the characters. It's a great companion piece for a great movie.
Click to expand...

I enjoyed playing this one but I didn’t have the same connection you did I assume since while I like the movie it’s not one of those “watch once a year” types of movies
 
VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
Omeggos said:
That's not how you spell spiderman 2

*creates the culmination of sonic’s history with a badass special edition of sonic generations*
*special edition is exclusive to japan and europe*

well fuck me for being an American I guess.
Click to expand...

I don’t get it. America made Sega and Sonic. The Genesis did better here than anywhere else...and they keep kicking our shins when we ask for anything cool!
 
aclar00

aclar00

Member
VGEsoterica said:


If you’ve never seen the robots and the sumo dudes and the dominatrix’es? How do you even pluralize the word dominatrix?
Click to expand...


wasnt there a diehard game that had multuple game types all in one? I vaguely remember playing something on PS1 that included a 3rd person brawler like above, a first person shoot and something else...i think it changed on a per level basis...

edit: NVM, it was die hard trilogy
 
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Isa

Isa

Member
Talk about a blast from the past! I too absolutely love this game, though I haven't played it in years. My family is small but pretty interesting and cool, for example my grandma worked for a rather ... obscure advanced arms manufacturer and she is quite smart. She too was a gamer and would get paid extra to hack into her company's website back in the day for extra cash. Anyway, my grandparents would take my sister and I out to eat and this one restaurant, like many good mom and pop shops, had an arcade with this in it. Between Area 51, Time Crisis and this I was in heaven. Ever since River City Ransom and Golden Axe I've loved a good beat 'em up but DHA is something special.

I'd play it and other games with my sister, but I'll never forget the night my grandma played with me. We each had only a couple of bucks but she lasted up to the last boss on those starter quarters. She gave me her change to keep playing with her but man, she mopped the floor with those guys. The funniest part too is she hadn't played a 3D game until that one. Sorry to ramble but I always wished I could have owned it for a console, I was just a teen back then. I had a launch Dreamcast but I had my first job part time going between PS1, DC and PC. If only I'd known there were other similar games available, but some like Dynamite Cop I remember getting reviewed poorly. Hopefully one day Sega gets off their asses and gives us fans a good collection of OTHER games they've made, I still need to play Shining Force III. I swear to god if I could get a proper Golden Axe with Dora and a Shining Force bearing the original art style, I could die happy. I fully expect to die cold and miserable.
 
genesisblock

genesisblock

Member
It was called Dynamite Deka for the Saturn over here. The momenet I popped up that baby, me and my best friend were having the time of our lives!

Memories....
 
MiguelItUp

MiguelItUp

Member
Die Hard Arcade was SO good. I played Dynamite Cop SO much on my Dreamcast. I was all about it and hoped for a sequel on future consoles. But it never came. :(
 
VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
Isa said:
Talk about a blast from the past! I too absolutely love this game, though I haven't played it in years. My family is small but pretty interesting and cool, for example my grandma worked for a rather ... obscure advanced arms manufacturer and she is quite smart. She too was a gamer and would get paid extra to hack into her company's website back in the day for extra cash. Anyway, my grandparents would take my sister and I out to eat and this one restaurant, like many good mom and pop shops, had an arcade with this in it. Between Area 51, Time Crisis and this I was in heaven. Ever since River City Ransom and Golden Axe I've loved a good beat 'em up but DHA is something special.

I'd play it and other games with my sister, but I'll never forget the night my grandma played with me. We each had only a couple of bucks but she lasted up to the last boss on those starter quarters. She gave me her change to keep playing with her but man, she mopped the floor with those guys. The funniest part too is she hadn't played a 3D game until that one. Sorry to ramble but I always wished I could have owned it for a console, I was just a teen back then. I had a launch Dreamcast but I had my first job part time going between PS1, DC and PC. If only I'd known there were other similar games available, but some like Dynamite Cop I remember getting reviewed poorly. Hopefully one day Sega gets off their asses and gives us fans a good collection of OTHER games they've made, I still need to play Shining Force III. I swear to god if I could get a proper Golden Axe with Dora and a Shining Force bearing the original art style, I could die happy. I fully expect to die cold and miserable.
Click to expand...

arcade gaming memories are some of the best type! I remember watching my dad beat Dragons Lair on one credit because he memorized it when it came out. In the early 90’s he still remembered it and just destroyed the game.
 
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SkylineRKR

SkylineRKR

Member
Arcade is much better than Trilogy.

Trilogy is half baked shit. A half baked TPS, a rather slow and boring lightgun game (the best game on this disc, though) and a driving game thats funny for a few minutes but I found it way too frustrating.

Arcade is an actual well done 3D brawler. I had the JP version on Saturn and loved it. Even more than its sequel.
 
VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
SkylineRKR said:
Arcade is much better than Trilogy.

Trilogy is half baked shit. A half baked TPS, a rather slow and boring lightgun game (the best game on this disc, though) and a driving game thats funny for a few minutes but I found it way too frustrating.

Arcade is an actual well done 3D brawler. I had the JP version on Saturn and loved it. Even more than its sequel.
Click to expand...

as a kid I remember the driving section being near impossible to beat. I always got stuck there and I wasn’t having enough fun to try to fight through it
 
drganon

drganon

Member
I've never played it myself, but it looks pretty sweet. I remember watching a let's play of it and was impressed. If they ever ported it to the ps4 or something, I'd definitely get it.
 
Walter Matthau

Walter Matthau

Member
I remember there was a non-gaming related store at the mall that randomly had this and Cruis'n USA cabinets. I don't recall if the units were for sale or if they were just there to extract quarters from bored kids shopping with their parents.

The Saturn port was pretty good. Like most things Saturn, I wish I held on to my copy a little longer since those ebay prices continue to climb.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
Goldeneye is unique in that nobody cared about the movie (it's just a random Bond movie, not even the most classic one) but the game itself is a classic. Most people played the game first and decided to watch the movie it's based on later on.
 
VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
nkarafo said:
Goldeneye is unique in that nobody cared about the movie (it's just a random Bond movie, not even the most classic one) but the game itself is a classic. Most people played the game first and decided to watch the movie it's based on later on.
Click to expand...

Exactly. When someone says "Goldeneye" I feel like the large majority of people under 40 will assume you are talking about the game and NOT the movie. That's how transcendent that game became
 
Kokoloko85

Kokoloko85

Member
I loved Die Hard Arcade.
And the sequel on the dreamcast, Dynamite Cop 2. Or Dynamite dekka 2 in Japan.
It was the real life sequels to streets of rage, gameplay wise lol
 
MarkMe2525

MarkMe2525

Member
I had the die Hard trilogy on PS1 and man did I love to get the grenade launcher and run through the offices blowing everything to hell. It was one of the first games I came across with cool looking glass breaking effects. The driving section was really fun as well.
 
VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
Kokoloko85 said:
I loved Die Hard Arcade.
And the sequel on the dreamcast, Dynamite Cop 2. Or Dynamite dekka 2 in Japan.
It was the real life sequels to streets of rage, gameplay wise lol
Click to expand...

If you enjoy those play "Dynamite Deka EX: Asian Dynamite". You'll need a NAOMI emulator (I use Demul) but its a Chinese specific reskin / remake of Dynamite Deka 2
 
TGO

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
VGEsoterica said:
Die Hard Arcade defies explanation; I’ve watched the movie every year at Christmas because when I was a kid my dad insisted it was a Christmas movie (thanks dad)
Click to expand...
screenrant.com

10 Reasons Why Die Hard Is The Perfect Christmas Movie

While there's plenty of debate on the topic, Die Hard is definitely the perfect Christmas movie, and we've got ten solid reasons why.
screenrant.com screenrant.com
www.forbes.com

'Die Hard,' The Greatest Christmas Movie Of All Time, Returns To Theaters

Made for $28 million, 'Die Hard' went on to gross over $140 million worldwide, unadjusted for inflation and became a festive staple.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
Your dad was right
 
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