Time Soldiers

A player fights enemy soldiers in the World War era. The "D-Scanner" at the top of the screen shows the location of the comrade who must be rescued.

Time Soldiers can be played by either a single player, or by two players simultaneously. Players move their characters with an eight-way rotary joystick, shooting enemies along a scrolling backdrop. The rotary joystick allows players to walk in one direction while shooting in another (like in the SNK-developed Ikari Warriors series).[2]

The plot involves the protagonists traveling through time to rescue their comrades from the villainous Gylend. Each of the five levels is set in a different time period: The Primitive Age, The Age of Rome, The World Wars, The Age of War and Future World.[2] Players travel between the periods with the aid of a device called the "D-Scanner." Before each level, the player is shown the name of one of their comrades and the period in which that comrade is held captive. The player is then placed into one of the time periods. If that period is not the one in which the captive soldier is located, the player must defeat a midboss of the level and re-enter the time portal, repeating the process until the correct time period is reached. When the player reaches the correct time period, the player must then fight through the end of the level and defeat the level boss to rescue the captured soldier.[3] Unlimited continues are available on all levels except the last one.[2] In the Sega Master System port however, continues are limited to three continues per player.

In Japan, Game Machine listed Time Soldiers on their November 15, 1987 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the year.[4] The Games Machine magazine praised Time Soldiers for its rich graphics and difficulty curve, comparing it favorably to Ikari Warriors.[2]

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