Denjin Makai

Lore & Background

Denjinmakai was released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1994, developed by Winkysoft and published by Banpresto. The game supports up to two players simultaneously, with health gauges for both player and enemy characters and energy bars for special moves. Controls consist of an eight-way joystick and two buttons for attacking and jumping. Players can perform combos by pressing the attack button repeatedly, and the final blow can be turned into a throw by moving the joystick in the opposite direction. Enemies can be grabbed by walking into them, allowing grab attacks or throws; thrown enemies can hit others for extra damage. Items such as weapons, health recovery, and point bonuses can be picked up by standing over them and pressing the attack button. Weapons have limited uses and disappear if the player is disarmed too much or moves to a new area.

Reader's Guide

Denjinmakai holds significance as a mid-1990s arcade beat 'em up that introduced a combo system and team-based special moves for two players. Its Super Famicom port, Ghost Chaser Densei, was released only in Japan on September 23, 1994, and reduced the playable roster from six to three characters, turning the other three into bosses and removing one stage. Reception was mixed: French magazine Joypad gave the home version a score of 72%, while Kurt Kalata of Hardcore Gaming 101 called it 'playable' but a weak port. The game received a sequel, Guardians (also known as Denjinmakai II), in 1995. In 2017, a fan translation made the Super Famicom version accessible to English-speaking audiences. Its legacy lies in its arcade origins and the limited home release that preserved the core gameplay despite cut content.

Did You Know?

• The Super Famicom port, Ghost Chaser Densei, was released only in Japan.
• Only three of the six arcade characters are playable in the home version; the other three became bosses.
• A fan translation of the Super Famicom version was released in 2017.
• The sequel, Guardians, was released in 1995.