Developer: Jaleco Publisher: Jaleco Release: 03/94 Genre: Beat em up
I like the Rushing Beat series. Jaleco’s signature beat em up series did not break new ground in the genre but the games were at least enjoyable despite their flaws. Brawl Brothers especially was a game on the verge of greatness but was let down by repetition and spotty hit detection. The Peace Keepers fixes many of that game’s flaws but once again is not as good as it could have been. This time the localization choices and missing features bring it down a notch.
The Peace Keepers takes place in the year 2015, after the economic wars of 2011. This war brought the world to the brink of destruction but it was the DM Corporation that helped society get back on its feet. Indeed, the DM Corporation is so influential in all aspects of society that they practically rule the world. Absolute power corrupts and it turns out DM is not as benevolent as they seem and secretly conduct genetic experiments on the populace. It is these tests that have ruined the lives of four individuals who come together to take down the DM Corporation for their own reasons.
The story plays a larger role in the Peace Keepers in a number of ways. Aside from each character having their own motivation your choice of character in each stage will also give different dialogue and events as well. There are also unique routes for certain characters meaning it is possible to see everything in one go. The story is a bit goofy but that is due to the fact the American team made their own plot rather than localizing the Japanese game. This also means some of the connective tissue from the prior games is lost, not that there was much to begin with.
Initially you can play as four characters. Flynn is the protagonist and the well rounder. Echo is your fast but weak femme fatale. Prokop is the requisite strong man but moves inhumanly slow. Al is a nice balance between power and technique. He is not as strong as Prokop but is more agile. The fighting engine is expansive which alleviates the repetition inherit in the genre. There are dash attacks, numerous throws, basic combos, and a block button. Oddly enough there is a taunt button but this leads in to the special attack unique to each character. They also have certain skills to differentiate them. Echo can double jump, Prokop can use his bazooka to attack from long range, and Prokop can carry and choke enemies six times before slamming them. Flynn has a secret but it ties in to the story and I won’t spoil it.
Possibly the greatest triumph of the game’s design is its branching paths. Nearly every level has one or two paths that lead to different bosses and events. Until the end of the game these are not simple palette swaps but unique encounters. With around eleven or twelve stages in a single run it gives the game a huge amount of replay value but there is more. There are multiple endings per character and you have to meet certain criteria to get each heroes good ending. Echo has the hardest path to this for those looking for a challenge. You can also unlock two more characters although their path through the game is nowhere near as developed as the others.
The Peace Keepers gives you twelve credits to finish the game. However you only have a single life for each one. Despite that this is a very easy game. Your heroes can take mountains of punishment before death, even against bosses. This is a far cry from most brawlers that are arcade based and cheap as a result. Health restoring items are plentiful and I cannot see most having any trouble finishing this one in a few credits. You would have to go out of your way to fail, like try to play through the game as Prokop or something. Bleuch.
Previous games in the series had minor changes during localization. Unfortunately the Peace Keepers was heavily altered before releasing in the West and not for the better. All of the character’s termination attacks were changed and most were made worse. The localization crew try to be cute with the story but most of the dialogue is dumb. The main villain Iago speaks with hammy Shakespearean dialogue that is woefully out of place. The number of credits is significantly loweras well, from thirty to twelve. Admittedly that was overkill but still unnecessary.
The worst change is the music, or lack thereof. The game’s soundtrack consists of ambient noise in most stages and it is dreadful. The silence is stifling and robs the game of any energy it may have had. There is an option to set the game to BGM mode but more than half of the game’s soundtrack was removed. I am baffled why they cheaped out so much as it only makes the game worse.
In Closing
The Peace Keepers is a good game that had the potential to be great. Had they left it alone it would be one of the better brawlers on the SNES. Instead it is a solid yet flawed experience. This is still worth playing but you can’t help wondering what if.
