Dynamite Duke

n/a

Mega Drive Master System
Dynamite Duke
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Hertz Sega
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Developer(s) of original games: Seibu Kaihatsu
Sound driver: SMPS Z80
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1990-10-27 ¥6,0006,000 G-4038 US 1990-12 EU 1991-04 UK 1991-04 £34.9934.99 AU 199x BR 1991-10 EU 1991-04 7067 AU 199x BR 199x
Non-Sega versions Arcade X68000

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Dynamite Duke (ダイナマイトデューク) is a 1989 arcade action game by Seibu Kaihatsu. Sega acquired a license to port it to the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Master System, releasing them in 1990 and 1991, respectively. Game follows mercenary Duke "Dynamite" Fredericks (renamed Colonel Duke Rippem in the Mega Drive manual)as he attempts to bring down Dr. Neil Ashe, a mad scientist who is trying to take over the world by using robots. Duke's right arm is cybernetic and apparently (according to the manual anyway) ten times more powerful than a normal human.

The Japanese cover of the Mega Drive version features a character who resembles the actor Dolph Lundgren, who played Ivan Drago in the film Rocky IV.

During development the game was known as The Dynamite Duke, before the "The" was dropped.

Gameplay

The game plays like a lightgun game — you are Duke, positioned immediately in front of the screen, and your goal is to go around killing everything in sight. The D-pad moves your target crosshair (moving Duke in the process) and / shoots (there is no rapidfire). You can also melee nearby enemies — / punches and (no Master System equivalent) kicks. Should a power-up appear, simply shoot at it to take it. Duke also has a special weapon called "Dynamite Punch" which is used by holding down the punch button and releasing it after Duke starts to glow. This causes massive damage to all enemies but can be used a few times in each level.

Each level has a boss fight in which the player must defeat a boss character in close combat.

The Master System version has less levels than its Arcade and Mega Drive counterparts by combining several levels into one. It also has less enemy types and bosses have less attack patterns, making the game much easier.

"Entrance" and "Incubator", (levels 5 and 7 respectively) two levels from the original game are absent from either port.

"Robot Ninja" enemy is also removed from both ports.

There is a secret "Super Options" screen in the Mega Drive version, which can be activated by pressing ten times, then  START , at the screen where "Start" and "Options" are seen. Various things can be changed from this screen, the starting level (mission) inclusive.

In the Master System version, same Options screen can be activated by plugging a second controller and pressing any button.

Items

	Bullets
	Increases the number of bullets Duke has. Master System version has only one variant of this power-up, while Mega Drive version has 50 and 100 variants.
	Full Auto
	Fully automatic machinegun fires continuously without using any bullets from Duke's ammo pool. It lasts about a minute.
	Bullet Proof Vest
	Duke is unaffected by attacks. It lasts 16 shots. (Timed in the Master System version)
	Magnum
	Powerful pistol causes much more damage than Duke's gun. (Absent from the Master System version)
	Rocket Launcher
	Each shot causes massive damage. 10 bullets. (15 in the Mega Drive version)
	Extra Dynamite Punch
	Increases Dynamite Punches by one.
	First Aid Kit
	Recovers Duke's lifebar by three bars.
	Life Up
	Increases Duke's maximum life. (Absent from the Master System version)
	Gold-filled Briefcase
	100000 points. (Absent from the Master System version)

Levels

	Airfield
	Mid-Boss: Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Boss: Fatman. No ranged attacks. When he extends his arm, time your movements carefully and try to duck when his arm is above his head.
	Occupied City
	Mid-Boss: Attack Helicopter Boss: Fire-Man. Has ranged attacks. Can occasionally fly backwards and fire his flamethrowers towards you. Be careful about his special attack. Just like Fatman's special move, it can be dodged if timed right.
	Woods
	Mid-Boss: Multiple Launch Rocket System. (Mega Drive), Tunnel Defense Platform (Master System) Boss: Bridge Defence Platform (Mega Drive) A stationary enemy with rapid fire cannons on both sides. Various tanks and helicopters will also attack Duke during this fight. Rapidly evading by ducking and moving around and taking shots when the oppurtunity presents itself will be the only way to finish this boss. General (Master System) A nasty opponent. Extremely fast, his attacks are very hard to dodge. His most dangerous attack is a "ballerina kick" which sucks Duke towards him. If Duke gets caught, General will rapidly drain his health bar with this nasty rolling kick attack. In Master System version Mission 3 and 4 combined into one. General boss has been removed from the Mega Drive version. In Mega Drive version, MLRS also fires regular bullets towards the player in addition to rockets. He only fires rockets in Master System version.
	Tunnel
	Mid-Boss: Infantry Fighting Vehicle (Mega Drive) Boss: Fatman. Not much different from his previous appearance, except he has also brought a arm mounted laser sword with him. In Mega Drive version, Tunnel Defence Platform was removed and replaced with same IFV from the first level.
	Factory
	Mid-Boss: Multiple Launch Rocket System. (Master System) Boss: Fireman. In Master System version, Factory and Laboratory levels are combined into one. In both versions, a mid-boss, a creature with tentacle arms has been removed.
	Laboratory
	Boss: Puppet Master. A stationary cyborg protected by a shield. He commands 4 androids (two on each side) to fire upon Duke with pistols. His shield can only be deactivated by firing to a small light under him. Androids will come back to life after destroyed. He doesn't have a shield in the Master System version. In arcade version, players also had to face Fireman after disposing Puppet Master. He is removed from Mega Drive version.
	Atomic Reactor
	Boss(es): Dr. Ashe's Human Form: Rapidly moves around and fires his pistol. Not much of a threat. Dr. Ashe's Second Form: Mutates into a muscular, cyborg-mutant hybrid. Close combat focused. He can elongate his arms to attack from afar. Dr. Ashe's Final Form: Mutates into a giant, jellyfish like creature. Fires fireballs and uses his tentacle arms to attack if player moves either edge of the screen. Also regenerates health slowly. Keep firing to prevent him from regenerating. In Master System version, first part of the level is a boss rush. Players must defeat Fatman, Fireman and General one by one. After defeating all three, players will face Ashe's final form.

Production credits

Mega Drive version

• Program: Y.Koba
• Graphic Design: Kuronyan, B.T.S, Mahchan, Kennchan
• Sound: Katochan
• Special Thanks: Akkey, Gyofuku, Nino, Meiden, Yoshida

Master System version

• Produced by: Seibu Kaihatsu Inc.
• Chief Programmer: T.Hagiwara
• Music Composer: Wada
• Sound Effects: Wada
• Art Director: H.Akimoto
• The Original Story Written by: Takahide Mada
• Thanks to: Waka, Hana, Many & You

Magazine articles

Main article: Dynamite Duke/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

FI advert

Mega Drive print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #16: "November 1990" (1990-xx-xx)
also published in:

• GamePro (US) #16: "November 1990" (1990-xx-xx)
• Game Players Sega Guide! (US) #0101: "Vol. 1, No. 1: Fall 1990" (1990-10-xx)
• Sega Visions (US) #3: "Winter 1990/1991" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1990-11: "November 1990" (1990-10-XX)

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 40 Ação Games (BR) 75 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 65 Console XS (UK) PAL 77 Cool Gamer (RU) 30 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 53 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 40 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 73 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 55 Hobby Consolas (ES) 73 Joystick (FR) 77 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 42 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 65 Mega (UK) PAL 77 MegaTech (UK) 73 Mean Machines (UK) 79 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 73 Player One (FR) 56 Power Play (DE) 73 Raze (UK) NTSC 78 Sega Power (UK) PAL 72 Sega Power (UK) PAL 50 Sega Pro (UK) 79 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 73 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 67 Tilt (FR) 65 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 63 User (GR) PAL 71 Zero (UK) PAL 88

	66
Based on 29 reviews

Dynamite Duke

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart PCB

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games (UK) 78 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 71 Games-X (UK) 30 №16 Joystick (FR) 63 Mean Machines (UK) 79 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 60 №38 Player One (FR) 55 Sega Power (UK) 71 Sega Power (UK) 60

	63
Based on 9 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 42 Console XS (UK) PAL 72 Computer & Video Games (UK) 78 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 71 FX (UK) 58 Games-X (UK) 30 Joystick (FR) 63 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 60 Mean Machines (UK) 79 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 79 Player One (FR) 55 Power Play (DE) 53 Sega Power (UK) PAL 71 Sega Power (UK) PAL 50 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 72 Video Games (DE) 55

	62
Based on 16 reviews

Dynamite Duke

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart

Master System, AU
Cart

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart

Master System, BX†
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 246f0bda MD5 a940f0dd681f23e7859fdcf4d4a7917c SHA-1 965ec4e6a239a707160d0a67973bc6da8212b53d	512kB	1990-09	Cartridge	"Rev A" in No-Intro
✔	CRC32 39d01c8c MD5 f9fa610acdb525e08f73b160eb014557 SHA-1 1bd77ad31665f7bdda85d9dfb9f08c0338ec4da9	512kB	1990-09	Cartridge
?	CRC32 07306947 MD5 31a7be585288a8b77b7923a202752ab7 SHA-1 258901a74176fc78f9c669cd7d716da0c872ca67	256kB		Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1990-06-21					Page