Virtually Overlooked: Trojan

Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.

It's nice to get a little break from the insane howling taking place on all sides. Let's think of today's VO as an oasis from E3; a little sanctuary where we aren't beset by new game announcements and screaming judgments of Nintendo's doom or domination.

After all, what could be so diametrically opposed from E3 than talking about a very old game that's already out, and that we already know we don't have to be excited about?

You won't find any hype here or anywhere else for Capcom's Trojan. That is a promise.





Why we think it should be on the Virtual Console:
Capcom's Trojan is like two games in one: both fairly well-made, but not really fun. The first part-- the main game-- is a side-scrolling brawler in which you, as the eponymous Trojan, walk around a post-apocalyptic city in some severe red boots, slashin' at some random dudes with a sword. You have a shield that allows you to block bullets and stabby attacks, so the regular enemies aren't much of a problem. Then you get to the end of the level, and face a boss who, in classic 8-bit tradition, follows a predictable pattern. Unfortunately the pattern is "it hits you a bunch of times, and then you die." Most likely you'll play through a couple of rounds and give up forever.
About halfway into each level, there's a manhole to drop into and fight an optional boss. Your reward is a temporary jump power-up. These battles feel almost like an early fighting game! The level bosses do too, but they're often in pairs and thus lose the one-on-one aspect. We wonder what all these tough fighters are doing in the sewer? Is the sewer a desirable place to hang out?

In fact, it pretty much is an early fighting game. This is made more explicit by the two-player vs. mode, in which two identical Trojan-guys face off using the normal game's battle engine. Both players have a sword and shield, and hack away at each other until one's life bar is empty. The matches are best-of-three.
And this is where most Trojan game time is spent; stabbing and blocking. It's always fascinating to see a pre-Street Fighter II fighting game, and this one is significantly more fun to play than Karate Champ or the horrible Urban Champion. Or, for that matter, the original Street Fighter.