Monster Maulers, known in Japan as Kyukyoku Sentai Dadandarn (究極戦隊ダダンダーン, lit. "Ultimate Squad Dadandarn"), is a tongue-in-cheek boss-rush style fighting game developed and published by Konami for arcade platforms in 1993.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay revolves around fighting a series of CPU-controlled monsters, using one of three selectable characters. It works much like a regular fighting game, with three attack buttons and special moves done with motion inputs. The plot centers on the Ultimate Task Force, a group of heroes who must fight the monsters created by the Happy Droppers, before taking the fight into the Happy Droppers's skull-shaped flying fortress. Quite a few of the enemy monsters are based on staple Gradius enemies and bosses.
Characters[]
- Kotetsu: A martial artist from Japan, and the game's balanced-type character.
- Anne: A fighter from England, and the fastest character.
- Eagle: A hotshot wrestler from the USA, and the strongest character.
Bosses[]
- Dragon: An elemental-changing wyrm-type dragon based on the Intruder from Salamander. His stage is a cave in Norway. He changes color from red, to white, to blue. You can break off his horns.
- Fungus/Slime: A shape-shifting slime monster. His stage is a grotto on the Bermuda Triangle.
- Centaur: A red centaur with golden armor. His stage in a temple on Iraq. You can smash off his armored mask, which infuriates him.
- Diablo / Furaiki: A raijin / storm demon. His stage is a pagoda on China. Upon his defeat, crows will descend on his corpse and eat it.
- Spider Wort: A giant carnivorous plant. The first of the two combatants you must face in Brazil.
- Moai: The second combatant you must face in Brazil. A large Easter Island statue based on the Moai from Gradius. His stage is a underground temple. You can smash the nose off his face.
- Brainy / Golem: A giant floating brain with arms and a single eye, based on the Golem from Salamander. His stage is an organic cave on Kenya.
- Ducker: A Steampunkish bipedal robot piloted by Mr. Chin, based on the Duckers from Gradius. You face him on the deck of the Happy Droppers flagship.
- Robo-Ape / Mecha Gorilla: A gorilla-shaped robot piloted by Garuga. You face him in the engine room of the Happy Dropper flagship.
- Cosmic Tank / Happy Buster Ace: The oujo / hime leader of the Happy Droppers. Happy commands a robotic floating chair with a claw and drill. It drops mobile bombs that seek you out. You face her on the flagship's bridge. On the viewscreens on the bridge, occasional glimpses of Garuga and Mr. Chin can be seen reeling from the injuries visited upon them in their battles with the player.
Gallery[]
Brainy
Dragon
Moai
Ducker
Trivia[]
- The theme from the Brainy fight is a remix of "Poison of Snake", while the theme from the Moai fight is a remix of "The Old Stone Age".
- On the final stage, the lyrical song "Fight! Dadandarn" plays in the background. This song is sung by Masato Shimon, who is also known for singing the openings to multiple anime, such as Gatchaman and Machine Robo, and several Super Sentai themes.
- While this version has a single vocal part followed by an instrumental portion, a full-lyrical version was released on the 10th Anniversary Konami Label Theme Song Collection, along with many other Konami game songs.
- Furthermore, the ending theme also had a lyrical incarnation. "We Are Dadandarn!" is performed by Hironobu Kageyama, who is most famous for singing Dragon Ball Z's two openings: "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" and "We Gotta Power", as well as themes for various Dragon Ball Z games and media, and the "Mystical Ninja Opening Theme".
External links[]
- Monster Maulers at the Konami Wiki