Growl

About Growl

Growl (1991), released in Japan as Runark, is Taito's arcade beat 'em up in which early 20th-century forest rangers fight poachers who are driving wildlife to extinction.

Growl in Depth

Set in the early 20th century, the game casts the player as one of four forest rangers protecting wildlife from a gang of evil poachers. The rangers differ in health, attack strength and jumping height. Using an eight-way joystick and attack and jump buttons, players punch, kick and finish off enemies depending on their position; pressing both buttons when surrounded unleashes a special attack on everyone nearby, and pressing both while holding up gives a longer jump. Barrels and crates can be smashed for weapons or thrown at enemies.

Eight weapons can be found: a pipe, a sword and a whip; throwing knives and hand grenades; and a revolver, an M-16 assault rifle and a four-barrelled rocket launcher. Empty rifles and launchers become clubs, while an empty revolver is thrown, and weapons left on the ground eventually vanish. Seven rounds and a bonus game take the rangers through a city, a moving train, a boat, a jungle, a cavern and the poachers' hideout, against six types of enemy and a two-form final boss, and rescued animals, such as an eagle, a herd of deer and an elephant, help out. Cabinets could be set up for two players or for four, the latter with each character fixed to a player slot.

Making Growl

Taito developed and published it for arcades in Japan and North America in February 1991, and Game Machine listed it as Japan's second most successful table arcade unit in its 15 March 1991 issue. A Genesis (Mega Drive) version followed in November 1991, and a censored version was included in Taito Legends 2 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows before Hamster's Switch and PlayStation 4 re-release.