Top Hunter

Top Hunter is a weird game that isn't quite a platformer or brawler. As one of only a handful of side-scrolling action games on the Neo-Geo that isn't Metal Slug, Top Hunter is a short but unique experience that gives the console some much needed genre variety. Released in 1994, Top Hunter saw some commercial success in the arcade, but didn't sell all that well in the home space due to a low production run on AES in both Japan and the US. Critically, Top Hunter saw mixed reviews at the time with journalists praising the artwork and mechanics while doubling down on the super-short length and easy difficulty when compared to the $200+ price of the game when it came out. 

The premise here is simple - Rody and Cathy have to save the universe from a band of space pirates. When you boot up the game you get to choose from 4 planets to begin from that each have three acts. At the end of each act there is a mini-boss you have to beat to proceed before meeting the final world boss at the end of the third act. Most mini-bosses have the same attack patterns so there isn't a lot of variety once you get the pattern down. The main bosses are fine, and are actually the only real challenge in an otherwise breezy game. Once you get to the fifth and final stage you have to take on all 4 bosses in a boss-rush before confronting the final boss (that's a lot of boss). What's cool about this sequence is that each of the prior bosses now have new vehicles they command with entirely new attack patterns. 

An aside: If you play this game on MVS it will be even shorter as you only play two acts per world rather than three. If you have a Unibios installed on your MVS board, I recommend setting it to AES mode and turning on unlimited continues. 

The gameplay premise is unique because Top Hunter isn't really a platformer or a shooter - it's more like a really cute beat-em-up. Your two characters can punch, stretch out their arms in front or above them to grab and pull on things, and can carry stunned enemies on their head to use as weapons. Additionally, there is a two plane mechanic like in SNK's flagship fighting series Fatal Fury, so you can effectively switch between planes at any time on the stage to access a different path. Sometimes you will have to cross to the other plane to make it past an obstacle in the other, but there really isn't much of a point to this mechanic in the grand scheme of the game. Enemies are dizzied in one hit, and if you are close to an enemy when you attack them you will automatically throw them over your shoulder killing them. It would have been nice to have a bit more attack variety, but it would have also slowed down the game considerably. 

There are ride armors (think Mega Man X) to take control of, but there is only one type of armor to use. So, like many other features in this game, there is little variety. You can also pick up dropped guns to use from the enemies, but you only get 5 shots per weapon pick up so its usefulness is limited. I often end up just bypassing weapons as most enemies are downed in one hit anyway. There are plentiful food pickups to replenish health, jewels to boost your score, and time drops to increase the time you have to make it through an act. There's also a power up item that doubles your attack power - which again, you really don't ever need. When you're hit you'll lose the attack power up, but you can pick it back up so long as the screen doesn't scroll. Speaking of screen scrolling, you are locked moving to the right with no way to scroll back to the left. If you missed any items along the way, sorry for your luck.

Top Hunter's pixel art is a sight to behold and is the game's best feature. Each world is unique in its art design even if the level design is simplistic and lacking any real platforming challenge. Music is orchestral in nature, and fits the "grand pirate adventure" theme of the game nicely. There are few voices to speak of, which is uncommon for a Neo-Geo game as they are usually pretty chatty even when there is no need for it. That said, the lack of voices leaves a lot of room on the cartridge for the beautiful art on display.

I think the best way to sum up Top Hunter is - it's just fine. It's not a bad game, but it's shorter and easier than you'd expect from an arcade game. It doesn't satisfy the craving for a good platformer, it fails as a beat-em-up, and wont scratch that itch as a shooter as all those elements are not as fleshed out as you'd want them to be. Top Hunter is a jack-of-all trades kind of game that losses its focus trying to be too many things at once. It is a great time co-op, though. And, is one of the few Neo games that you can pull out when you have friends over who aren't into fighting games.

At $800-$1000 for the Japanese AES release and even more for the US release, Top Hunter is a hard pass for the casual collector. As usual, both the MVS and the Neo CD versions can be had for under $50. If you want the Neo-Geo version make sure to go the MVS or CD route. Actually, the game was never ported to any other console at the time, so you can only get it on an SNK console if you want a physical copy. Thankfully, Top Hunter is available in the modern Arcade Archives release for $8 on modern digital storefronts - this is how I recommend you play it. 

Top Hunter is worth a play through at least once for any SNK fan, and is a good time with a buddy to be sure. It's just too short for it's own good, kind of sloppy in its execution, and is 100% not worth the astronomical price the AES version commands in the modern market. It's a fun curio and that's about it.