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Holding out for a hero (or two)

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Well blow me down, its an old arcade game I’ve never actually played. The fine folk at Hamster continue to bolster their range of forgotten retro releases with the addition of Heroic Episode, available now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Originally released by Irem way back in 1986, Heroic Episode is a vertically-scrolling, run ‘n’ gun title in the vein of games such as Commando and Gun.Smoke. One or two players take control of lone soldiers, desperately fighting off waves of attackers in order to free the city of Mule from the clutches of the Gasp Empire.

Along the way, our heroes, who are apparently packing heat in these mythological times, can collect power-ups to increase their firepower and even sprout wings to take to the air, Icarus-style, to engage in shmup warfare. While the game doesn’t look too hot to me, I must admit I really dig that blending of on-foot and in-air arcade action.

Heroic Episode is listed as being available in Japan on PS4 and worldwide on Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

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