"The cult-classic!"

Trojan is a little known game by Capcom that really has a cult following in most of the older arcades. Featuring some pretty impressive side-scrolling action and adventure as well as a need to use strategy to defeat some opponents, you might find Trojan to be one of the best quarter crunching machines out there. With plenty of enemies to kill, and several long stages to roll through, Trojan should be one of the stops through a classic arcade that costs you a couple of bucks willingly.

-The Game Play-

The game play is your basic side scrolling action game that takes you across several different stages to a final battle against the game protagonist Achilles. What you’ll find through playing is that it doesn’t take much more than a little strategy and some work with the weapons that you have to get you through the massive and numerous stages! You’ll battle several different enemies, all of which need to be looked at and battled against with a small amount of strategy that requires you to know just when and where to attack without getting yourself killed in the process. The stage bosses are difficult and the amount of bonus stages that you can find throughout the game insures a little be of replay value.

Something that comes into effect at points during the game is that you can lose your weapons if they take on too much damage. If this happens, then you are reduced to hand-to-hand combat in which you will have to use a different style of strategy to get past the numerous enemies. Through different actions, you’ll be able to regain your weapons and be restored to full power, but you’ll have to battle through several enemies to get them, which only adds onto the game play and the difficulty!

The control found in Trojan takes a little getting used to, especially with the different combat modes that you run across. You’ll find that many of the battles that take place require you to be up close and personal, so you’ll have to learn the timing of your weapons and just how fast your character moves and reacts to attacks and defending! This again adds onto the game play and can be challenging when you have no weapons to work with. Side scrolling veterans should have no problem picking up the game control and working with it after a couple of minutes, while beginners may have a problem with the battles in general. Certain points of the game suffer from unresponsive control, in which you’ll need to jump at certain points, but nothing more than practice and patience will get you through this and used to it in the end.

-The Visuals-

Visually, Trojan has some of the best visuals in a side scrolling game that I’ve seen, with most of the emphasis placed on the background environments that you travel through! Giving you that dark and gritty feel as well as creating an environment that is fitting to the overall feel of the game, you’ll see that Trojan goes through several changes in the different stages, and all of the them are noticeable if you watch for the subtle differences throughout. The characters themselves are large and well detailed, although the character movements seem a little stiff and force. This is easily looked past once you’re in the battles and you really aren’t paying attention to how your character moves, but how he is attacking! Special effects are limited to collecting a new set of weapons and the differences between armed and unarmed combat, so be on the look out for those as well and the differences that they show.

-The Audio-

The audio in Trojan is a toss up between good and bad, all throughout the game. With several instances of adventure and action thrown in for some easy listening, you may hear the same tune repeated over and over until your ears bleed! This is a common occurrence with games of this age, and you’ll find that it isn’t all that bad, but can be annoying once you’re about eleven stages into the game. The sound effects themselves are your generic fair of thuds and crunches as well as the clang of swords on shields and the squish of your sword hitting flesh. Other than that, there isn’t anything here that is exceptionally memorable, but it does tend to blend together nicely!

-The Verdict-

Trojan is a little known game by Capcom that has something of a cult behind it depending on who you talk to. Most gamers, to my knowledge have no idea what the game is, or even what it offers, yet it is one of the best Capcom side scrolling games that I’ve played in the arcade in quite some time. With decent control, well-detailed characters and environments as well as two different styles of play, you’ll find that the game has plenty to offer with little to spare. Most gamers will probably find that the game only featuring a one time through type of game play isn’t enough to warrant a repeat visit, but if you’re a consumer, you really can’t miss out on a gem like this one.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/02, Updated 08/06/02