Actually, I really like that most of the monsters here turn out to be regular animals instead of actual monsters. It shows how human can interpretate things the wrong way, like a sailor in the old times seeing a beluga and thinking it was a mermaid.
I think the idea of regular animals being elevated to monster status through sheer size, aggression, and unnatural intelligence is really cool. It's like how folklore and mythology forms when people at sea witness some batshit ocean creatures and give them names and stories. Like even though Hydra and Kerberos were "just" three animals working in unison, in the perspective of a human diver it would be fucking terrifying to be attacked by three giant, normally solitary & kinda dumb, sharks/eels at the same time, and they'd definitely be described to other people as a multi-headed monster or in a way reminiscent of one. Also the ending cutscene feels to me like Rahab is conceding defeat to our anime protagonist(s) and giving them the further satisfaction of knowing that they undid all of his work, letting humanity have the oceans for now, but making a promise to return one day. Even though he despises humanity for encroaching on the seas and despoiling them, Rahab himself is upsetting the natural balance of the seas as well (hello, giant, whale-slaughtering crab and oarfish craving blood). It's almost like a divine being stooping down to the level of animals and claiming all water of the world as his territory, which he never had to do in the past, when nothing rivaled him.
It's also implied that all the sea creatures that were attacking the player over the course of the game were only doing so because rahabs influence was making them into bloodthirsty monsters and once rahab was defeated his power over the creatures of the sea was broken and they returned to their normal natures and likely stopped attacking people and their ships for the most part
So random fact to add to this: Moray eels are actually much smarter than their appearance lets on, and are known to engage in cooperative interspecies hunting behavior with grouper fish, and while normally solitary, on rare occasions they can congregate. So while it'd be pretty out there, it's not as far outside the realm of possibility as it may at first seem.
@@WoobooRidesAgain There's also footage of them following divers hunting lionfish. Also barracuda and sharks and the same groupers, either picking up on the lionfish hunts or being actively trained by the divers.
@@InternetHydra I've heard it argued that the fish trained the divers, since aside from the moray eels they won't hunt non-native lionfish on their own, & sharks at least will actively recruit spearfishing divers to hunt lionfish (to elaborate, they'll sometimes approach spearfishing divers & lead them to lionfish hideouts)
Can we all agree that 27:20 is a bad***, who survived 10 days with almost no air to breath, water to drink and weapon to defend himself against parasites. 😸😄
The actual hero of the story. He was only there for unclaimed treasure, trapped against his own volition, only harm sea life in self defense, and leave as soon as rescue arrive. Unlike our playable characters, who were there for bloodshed and killed the sea creatures who were supposedly there to protect the ocean.
I actually love the idea of these hyper aggressive sea creatures being named after myths. If this game got a remake the bosses cpuld be fully realized. Like hydra eels replacing their bodies if you dont defeat the fry fast enough.
You are seriously a very underrated channel. All your reviews are well edited, well informed about the topic at hand and have a lot of work put into them. Not to mention they’re also genuinely funny. Keep up the good work
The final slapboxing with Rahab is actually really rewarding to me. I loved how it was so...Terrifying. It made sense, when I was younger. And that ending epilogue? WHOO!
This game holds a special place in my heart, it was one of the big main attractions of the (at the time) newly opened big and shiny arcade here called Timezone in the Philippines. Was in awe of it as a kid, the machine looked huge and the whole mounted harpoon gun thing was eyecatching. Also gave both a longtime fear and fascination of the deep ocean and the creatures that thrive in it. I liked how the ending too detailed the origins of the final boss. I always wished this turned into a series as well, really liked the whole steampunk-like world and overall concept. They could have gotten creative with potentially more interesting and fantastical creatures too in another game. Great review! Loved the tidbits of trivia, history and such.
I LOVE when you explain the mythology behind every boss, I'm a sucker for history and prehistory, and I literally just discovered this game a week ago. When I saw the ending I thought: "Wait we are the baddies?" 😅 Also, is funny that almost every boss recycle the Predator/Yautja roar
This arcade game has lodged itself in my head as a core memory playing this with my friend at a FunLand birthday party. It's also got...weirdly GOOD worldbuilding for a light gun game.
This game brings back so many memories! The steam punk aesthetic is colorful. The music is bombastic. Even the narrator is stylized by pacing when he says locations and monsters. It is a perfect game
The uplifting and inspiring feeling one gets from watching or playing this game is sorely missed in this day and age. Just pure unfiltered unpretentious and non-deconstructive adventure. Go forth, battle monsters, claim riches, be a hero!
The first time I saw this cabinet, I saw the enclosed version in a wal-mart mini arcade. Yeah, it scared me. Just the thought of giant sea creatures with razor sharp teeth sent fear down my spine. Years later, I worked up the courage to play it. I think I was ten when the longest I got was the second stage of the Leviathan. I have long thought this game was lost in modern day arcades. But after I became an adult, I found a late-night classic arcade in my city, and they had it. Best of all, it was free to play. That's when I finally beat it. Because of my love for the ocean, and mythology, I have to say this game is the greatest arcade game ever made.
I love your videos. I love all the creatures and environments in this game. As a Mexican, I really enjoyed Lake Texcoco making an appearance in this game
Love the mythological references in the game. Thanks for facts on the references to real life and myth in your video. I love when writers and games developers reference multiple cultures. Great stuff.
One of my favorite arcade games from back in the day. Sadly, I never managed to complete it. As a kid, I never managed to kill Kraken but the lore of the game is some of the best I have seen.
Im so glad I found this channel. It's very rare to see people talking about 90s/2000s arcade games, never the less in this much depth. Your videos are well editing and your voice is really easy to listen to, I can't wait to see your channel grow!!
Ah, this game takes me back. My favorite one to play at Six Flags: Darien Lake when I was a kid. We'd ride the coasters, then when it'd storm take shelter in the arcade. As the thunderous downpour raged outside, I made my battle against the horrors of the deep. When I'd try to find gameplay footage, or reviews, I came up empty or with camcorder footage. Until you came along. Thak you for such an impassioned review on a gem of a pastime game!
Funnily enough after first discovering your review of the JP Arcade games, it immediately made me want more reviews of a similar style to other arcade games, with Ocean Hunter being the first one to come to mind.
I absolutely love on rail shooter so I'm really surprised that i haven't found your channel before. Your step-by-step explaination of the game and your knowledge of both mythology and sea animal facts is really great!
I happened across this channel scrolling UA-cam all night on a whim, I am surprised at the wonderful editing, knowledge, and easy-on-the-ears voice giving the review! I'll be coming back often.
My god, what a fun channel this is. Who the hell gets up one day and says "I'm going to do a whole channel of detailed walkthrough reviews of thirty-year-old arcade rail shooters"? Amazing fun to watch and the easiest sub I've had in ages. All hail the algorithm. Congratulations on some great content.
This is actually my favorite arcade game of all time. I once was late for a flight because I found one at a restaurant and couldn’t leave until beating it.
Watched my uncles play this game at an Arcade near the beach, and in my dumb kid mind it freaked me out knowing there was even the possibility of facing things in the game even if they were just regular animals. Still, the kid in my head always gives the ocean the double finger salute whenever I get in the water. Honestly always really liked the style of the game along with the cabinet itself.
You're right, that banded sea krait was incredibly cute. Excellent review of this game! I never played it myself, but I was always curious about it when I saw it IRL in an arcade. Surprisingly stylish game!
Thank you SO MUCH for this vid. I've been endlessly fascinated by this game ever since I saw a gameplay video of it years ago. There's just something about it: the at-times jarring animations, the music, the real-life creatures treated as sea monsters, the lore behind Rahab revealed during the credits, my own deep thalassophobia...I dunno, this game just fascinates me, and draws me in every time. Absolutely love that you took your time with it, explaining the lore and the experience of playing it, you definitely have a deep love of this game and some fond memories of it, and it shows. Loved your vid on the Jurassic Park railshooters as well, used to play those so often in a local arcade back in the day. Great stuff, keep it up, and thank you again!
Tbh Medusa being a Jellyfish feels also like a play of words, besides the Medusa stage there's also the point that in Spanish Jellyfishes are called "Medusas de Mar" (Sea Medusas) So in a way it's completely accurate
I love the 2D character art and the glimpses at the setting. This sort of detail that draws you in and feeds your imagination is a wonderful inclusion. It elevates the arcade game excuse plot from a matter of necessity for the arcades, into something that feels more organic - like this is just a small glimpse into a larger world.
This just unlocked major member berries! I still pronounce Kraken like the narrator voice from this game, rolling my R and putting a space in the middle of the name Krah-Ken.
I only ever played this once as a child and it was impactful enough to give me a life long irrational fear of giant sea creatures and deep dark oceans.
I'm really surprised you've only started uploading a few months ago. Your reviews are really well done! This game and Lost World were two games I had to play at any arcade that had them when I was growing up. Thank you for the nostalgia trip
I actually saw this game in the wild. 1:35 When this scene came up, just watching two people play it from a distance scared me more than the movie Jaws or Deep Blue Sea.
Oh to see my favorite arcade game of all time AND looking very clean is a dream! Finding this cabinet in the wild is beyond rare but always makes my heart soar, I love being scared consistently by all the sea wildlife and how much of a "boss rush" it is
This is hands down my all time favorite light gun shooter. Never made it past Leviathan back in the day as I was just a kid and I've been searching for a cabinet ever since. Thank you so much for this massive wave of nostalgia.
When you had mentioned the cut plesiosaur boss in the lost world arcade I thought of the Ahuizotl in this game and was hoping for a review of ocean hunter. Great review!
Let's goooooo. This was my go to when my arcades lost world machine was down or full up. Glad you covered this, it certainly gave me a fear of the ocean
I would play this game nearly EVERY time I went to one of my local arcades, or to a movie theater that had an arcade section. This will forever be an all-time favorite of mine, and one of the biggest reasons why is that iconic boss fight theme for the first six main enemies.
Man, I remember this game from years ago. I never played it, but the intro scene of the monsters attacking ships always stuck with me. Seeing the full game, now, I don't think I'd ever have played this more than once; the entire game has a very uncanny feel to it that makes the monsters and environments even more unsettling
This was a classic game for me growing up, never had many chances to play it but I was obsessed with it. I was always given $5 to have fun and I’d spend all of it here while everyone else got tickets. I found an arcade that has ocean hunter and every so often, I’ll go to beat it to remember good times
I fell in love with this arcade game thanks to your video, so much so that I've somehow begun plotting a TTRPG game with the themes of it around it. So thank ya so much for this! Been a long time since I've been this inspired to work on a game at all.
I'm very grateful that you covered this game, as well as the JP arcade games, these have been small parts of my childhood, yet left a big mark in my memories, and it was so nice to see each of them covered in such details and lore, great editing too!
I was just nodding along with the commentary at 22:45 talking about how strange it is that the "medusa" boss is a jellyfish and not a snake and why it made sense before realising that I'm Italian and our word for jellyfish is just medusa
You deserve this subscription, I adore light gun games and to get funny, in depth, well edited long form content is a blessing. Definitely will be binging reviews from you today.
Honestly, this is one arcade rail shooter I'd seriously like to try out. It fascinates me, how it uses many mythical monsters as bosses, many of the minibosses being regular animals also mirroring how humans see strange new animals and interpret them as even scarier creatures. Plus, I've been growing a newfound appreciation for underwater settings in video games, as well as sunken temples, myths and stories about Atlantis and sea monsters and whatnot - heck, LEGO Atlantis was the one LEGO set collection I'd love to own the most - and settings that are more Lovecraftian in nature are also cool. Most of the underwater games and levels I really love tend to put a lot of emphasis in the serenity and beauty of the ocean, or the possible horror of its deep mysteries, so it's nice to see games put emphasis on its more upfront and natural dangers... even if it comes from brainwashed wild life that's usually not that dangerous 😅 I'm surprised they didn't include lionfish here as well... Other things regarding the game, let's see... oh, if you don't shoot any skeletons, I think a living skeleton will appear either in the penultimate level inside Midgardsorm, or at the high score screen alongside the other rescued people. Panthalassa is the name given to the primordial ocean from the time of Pangea, the origin point of life. Kerberos may be quite a bit lamer than what they'd have any right to be, but it does parallel the "being the guardian to the underworld" part pretty well. One thing I find fascinating about Dagon is that, for his first two stages, he kinda mirrors human evolution, but as a giant triton - first walking on all fours, then up straight on two legs. Given what he becomes in his third stage, I imagine this could imply that our own next stage of evolution... could be a somewhat unflattering one 😅 and I see everyone else explained their two cents about him, so there's no need for me to do so!
Really glad to see this review show up on my recommended. I played this game a long long time ago on vacation and it inspired me to write a book about brothers that fought sea monsters to save the world. I was in the six grade, but yea happy memories.
I remember first playing this as a kid in a small shopping mall close to my house! There was a little arcade next to the cinema that had this game, House of the Dead and a few other titles. I loved this one because of it's atmosphere and soundtrack. I can still remember going there, playing this until I ran out of quarters, hearing the other people in the arcade cheering for me and eating a warm waffle after I was done. Sadly the arcade is dead now and so is most of the shopping mall, but I will forever remember those rainy afternoons and the sweet smell of candies and popcorn that was always there when I played this. There was even one time where I was joined by a random guy who asked to play with me, but even with company I never made it past Karkinos. Would love to play this again in a real arcade. ❤
Can definitely say, despite having never played the game myself (I could've at one point, but the arcade machine was broken and clearly wasn't getting fixed anytime soon), I love the ending it shows. In comparison with the rest of the game, its so calm, non-chaotic. Melancholic even.
We were so poor when i was a kid , i played at an arcade maybe twice before i was 15 ... both for like 15 minutes maybe. I always so desperately wanted to be able to just completely dump quarters until a rail shooter was finished.... you were a lucky kid , thanks for sharing.
Something about this delightful young woman talking about the origins of these enemies as well as how to defeat them makes me feel like I'm watching a nature documentary/survival guide.
I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS GAME FOR SO LONG! Always played this back in my old hometown along with this other zoids game, thank you so much for this, much love
Ocean Hunter was my favorite cabinet to play at our local mall. This video is the best review of Ocean Hunter I've seen yet! Can't wait to go watch your Lost World vids
I do have to say, I love video essay videos so much. And the fact the make videos of my favorite arcade games growing up brings me nostalgia and I love it. Keep up with the good work! ❤️❤️
Thank you for the overview. I appreciate the effort spent to connect the game enemies with their mythological counterparts. I remember being distinctly horrified as a child when I saw the section with the lamprey eels emerging from the dead baby whale. I thought the cabinet was the coolest thing, but I never got to play it in its entirety since it was never at the arcades I frequented.
Very nice review! I also played this game as a kid and I really enjoyed it. I played it on an actual arcade in an Italian restaurant, it's still there after all those years! Thank you for this review as it addresses why this game is amazing while also calling out the reused designs.
This game brought back a lot of memories. I love the story. I love the intro and I love voice when he say ocean Hunter. When he say the stage and the creatures name. Make me want to play it.. so much
This is such a fantastic video and commentary about obscure light gun/rail shooting arcade games. As a fan of Greek/Roman mythology, it's still a cool factor on naming bosses with mythical creatures despite the loose Japanese interpretation. A similar game that reminds me of this is Taito's Darius series, a space shooter with its main boss motif of various fish designs as massive aerial battleships.
The only times I got to play this arcade game was in the lobby of a movie theater while we waited for the movies to start. Only got as far as beating the first boss. I vividly remember the scene of the two divers sinking down the pole thing to fight the angler. I also remembered drawing of the crab killing the whale. Great video, finally got to see the ending of a game I never got to finish.
Actually, I really like that most of the monsters here turn out to be regular animals instead of actual monsters. It shows how human can interpretate things the wrong way, like a sailor in the old times seeing a beluga and thinking it was a mermaid.
Agreed
I mean they’re still monsters, just using larger than life animals with over exaggerated features
And then there is Rahab
Disagree
that sailor was down bad
I think the idea of regular animals being elevated to monster status through sheer size, aggression, and unnatural intelligence is really cool. It's like how folklore and mythology forms when people at sea witness some batshit ocean creatures and give them names and stories. Like even though Hydra and Kerberos were "just" three animals working in unison, in the perspective of a human diver it would be fucking terrifying to be attacked by three giant, normally solitary & kinda dumb, sharks/eels at the same time, and they'd definitely be described to other people as a multi-headed monster or in a way reminiscent of one.
Also the ending cutscene feels to me like Rahab is conceding defeat to our anime protagonist(s) and giving them the further satisfaction of knowing that they undid all of his work, letting humanity have the oceans for now, but making a promise to return one day. Even though he despises humanity for encroaching on the seas and despoiling them, Rahab himself is upsetting the natural balance of the seas as well (hello, giant, whale-slaughtering crab and oarfish craving blood). It's almost like a divine being stooping down to the level of animals and claiming all water of the world as his territory, which he never had to do in the past, when nothing rivaled him.
It's also implied that all the sea creatures that were attacking the player over the course of the game were only doing so because rahabs influence was making them into bloodthirsty monsters and once rahab was defeated his power over the creatures of the sea was broken and they returned to their normal natures and likely stopped attacking people and their ships for the most part
That is such an interesting interpretation...
So random fact to add to this: Moray eels are actually much smarter than their appearance lets on, and are known to engage in cooperative interspecies hunting behavior with grouper fish, and while normally solitary, on rare occasions they can congregate. So while it'd be pretty out there, it's not as far outside the realm of possibility as it may at first seem.
@@WoobooRidesAgain There's also footage of them following divers hunting lionfish. Also barracuda and sharks and the same groupers, either picking up on the lionfish hunts or being actively trained by the divers.
@@InternetHydra I've heard it argued that the fish trained the divers, since aside from the moray eels they won't hunt non-native lionfish on their own, & sharks at least will actively recruit spearfishing divers to hunt lionfish (to elaborate, they'll sometimes approach spearfishing divers & lead them to lionfish hideouts)
God, I love how the annoucer says the monster names.
"Kra-Ken"
"Nagaaaaaa"
"Skeela"
"Medyusaaaaa"
It adds so much flavor to the atmosphere.
some of them are actually closer to the original than the english pronunciations are but i get your point
Fr!
I’ll walk around my flat and just randomly say “Kra-ken”
Can we all agree that 27:20 is a bad***, who survived 10 days with almost no air to breath, water to drink and weapon to defend himself against parasites.
😸😄
He earned that crown.
He did have a sword. Honestly that probably makes him more badass
I like the way he pokes his head round the corner at 27:46
The actual hero of the story. He was only there for unclaimed treasure, trapped against his own volition, only harm sea life in self defense, and leave as soon as rescue arrive. Unlike our playable characters, who were there for bloodshed and killed the sea creatures who were supposedly there to protect the ocean.
I always thought Karkinos’s introduction was amusing.
Hunter: I wonder where Karkinos is.
Karkinos: HEY KIDS WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY?!?
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! 😱
@@zacharyjoy8724STOP SCREAMING
@@alexconn7473 (Cue whimpering like scared little dogs!)
@@alexconn7473WHY ARE WE YELLING!?!?!
I don't get it...Please elaborate. His intro was just him emerging from the sea bed, no?
The sea and mythological monsters in a rail shooter. This game would be right up my alley!
It's very atmospheric in the booth, the turrets vibrate and shoot loud
@@geedee1264yeah bro I remember being a kid and playing this, the atmosphere was creepy but really cool
I actually love the idea of these hyper aggressive sea creatures being named after myths. If this game got a remake the bosses cpuld be fully realized.
Like hydra eels replacing their bodies if you dont defeat the fry fast enough.
Lmao a clown car of eels in those holes.
You are seriously a very underrated channel. All your reviews are well edited, well informed about the topic at hand and have a lot of work put into them. Not to mention they’re also genuinely funny. Keep up the good work
The final slapboxing with Rahab is actually really rewarding to me. I loved how it was so...Terrifying. It made sense, when I was younger. And that ending epilogue? WHOO!
This game holds a special place in my heart, it was one of the big main attractions of the (at the time) newly opened big and shiny arcade here called Timezone in the Philippines. Was in awe of it as a kid, the machine looked huge and the whole mounted harpoon gun thing was eyecatching. Also gave both a longtime fear and fascination of the deep ocean and the creatures that thrive in it. I liked how the ending too detailed the origins of the final boss. I always wished this turned into a series as well, really liked the whole steampunk-like world and overall concept. They could have gotten creative with potentially more interesting and fantastical creatures too in another game. Great review! Loved the tidbits of trivia, history and such.
you should try out death in the water 2, its pretty similar to this game, and they're still updating it...
@@Gatofato69 Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out!
My memories of this arcade is in Quantum. Played the shit out of it with my older cousin. At 5 pesos per token, it was worth it!
@@gabrielvalencia7647 Hello fellow Pinoy! Agreed, Quantum was great! I missed the cheaper per token pricing we had too.
I love how you put in the history behind the creatures we're fighting, that was a great touch!
I LOVE when you explain the mythology behind every boss, I'm a sucker for history and prehistory, and I literally just discovered this game a week ago. When I saw the ending I thought: "Wait we are the baddies?" 😅 Also, is funny that almost every boss recycle the Predator/Yautja roar
This is going to be another Bexx classic I can tell.
Maybe we will see more in soNic 3 movie
This game could be in time zone 😭
There's nothing better then mid to late 90s tropical/beach/oceans in 3D video games. It's such a specific style but I love them. Great video!
This arcade game has lodged itself in my head as a core memory playing this with my friend at a FunLand birthday party. It's also got...weirdly GOOD worldbuilding for a light gun game.
That ending is like the embodiment of that, "Are we the baddies?" meme
This game brings back so many memories!
The steam punk aesthetic is colorful.
The music is bombastic.
Even the narrator is stylized by pacing when he says locations and monsters.
It is a perfect game
I would like to point out that while Rahab is indeed a wholly original monster the game still classifies it as a Gigantopethicus species, lol.
As an avid fisherman and a marine life buff, I had a field day naming all the sea creatures in the game!
The uplifting and inspiring feeling one gets from watching or playing this game is sorely missed in this day and age. Just pure unfiltered unpretentious and non-deconstructive adventure. Go forth, battle monsters, claim riches, be a hero!
The first time I saw this cabinet, I saw the enclosed version in a wal-mart mini arcade. Yeah, it scared me. Just the thought of giant sea creatures with razor sharp teeth sent fear down my spine. Years later, I worked up the courage to play it. I think I was ten when the longest I got was the second stage of the Leviathan. I have long thought this game was lost in modern day arcades. But after I became an adult, I found a late-night classic arcade in my city, and they had it. Best of all, it was free to play. That's when I finally beat it. Because of my love for the ocean, and mythology, I have to say this game is the greatest arcade game ever made.
I love your videos. I love all the creatures and environments in this game. As a Mexican, I really enjoyed Lake Texcoco making an appearance in this game
I hope I didn't butcher the Aztec names too much.
Love the mythological references in the game. Thanks for facts on the references to real life and myth in your video. I love when writers and games developers reference multiple cultures. Great stuff.
Oh boy, an arcade shooter, chock-full of vaguely recognisable animals, some of them being based on prehistoric life!
The mythology lessons are a nice touch too.
One of my favorite arcade games from back in the day. Sadly, I never managed to complete it. As a kid, I never managed to kill Kraken but the lore of the game is some of the best I have seen.
I really like your presentation style and the fact that you cover games that I don’t really know/will prolly never play.
This was one of my favorite rail shooters growing up
Im so glad I found this channel. It's very rare to see people talking about 90s/2000s arcade games, never the less in this much depth. Your videos are well editing and your voice is really easy to listen to, I can't wait to see your channel grow!!
Love this game, played it whenever I went to Wunderland when I was younger. Good to see that this gem is getting recognition.
Ah, this game takes me back. My favorite one to play at Six Flags: Darien Lake when I was a kid. We'd ride the coasters, then when it'd storm take shelter in the arcade. As the thunderous downpour raged outside, I made my battle against the horrors of the deep.
When I'd try to find gameplay footage, or reviews, I came up empty or with camcorder footage.
Until you came along. Thak you for such an impassioned review on a gem of a pastime game!
Love the reimaginings of the sea beasts.
Funnily enough after first discovering your review of the JP Arcade games, it immediately made me want more reviews of a similar style to other arcade games, with Ocean Hunter being the first one to come to mind.
I absolutely love on rail shooter so I'm really surprised that i haven't found your channel before. Your step-by-step explaination of the game and your knowledge of both mythology and sea animal facts is really great!
Ngl, that shot of Charybdis eating the two divers gave me nightmares as a kid.
I happened across this channel scrolling UA-cam all night on a whim, I am surprised at the wonderful editing, knowledge, and easy-on-the-ears voice giving the review! I'll be coming back often.
My god, what a fun channel this is. Who the hell gets up one day and says "I'm going to do a whole channel of detailed walkthrough reviews of thirty-year-old arcade rail shooters"? Amazing fun to watch and the easiest sub I've had in ages. All hail the algorithm.
Congratulations on some great content.
This is actually my favorite arcade game of all time. I once was late for a flight because I found one at a restaurant and couldn’t leave until beating it.
Watched my uncles play this game at an Arcade near the beach, and in my dumb kid mind it freaked me out knowing there was even the possibility of facing things in the game even if they were just regular animals. Still, the kid in my head always gives the ocean the double finger salute whenever I get in the water. Honestly always really liked the style of the game along with the cabinet itself.
You're right, that banded sea krait was incredibly cute.
Excellent review of this game! I never played it myself, but I was always curious about it when I saw it IRL in an arcade. Surprisingly stylish game!
Thank you SO MUCH for this vid. I've been endlessly fascinated by this game ever since I saw a gameplay video of it years ago. There's just something about it: the at-times jarring animations, the music, the real-life creatures treated as sea monsters, the lore behind Rahab revealed during the credits, my own deep thalassophobia...I dunno, this game just fascinates me, and draws me in every time. Absolutely love that you took your time with it, explaining the lore and the experience of playing it, you definitely have a deep love of this game and some fond memories of it, and it shows. Loved your vid on the Jurassic Park railshooters as well, used to play those so often in a local arcade back in the day. Great stuff, keep it up, and thank you again!
best youtube chanel, make me remind of childhood of how fun it was. talking about game that is good but some how forgotten and easily missed by people
Tbh Medusa being a Jellyfish feels also like a play of words, besides the Medusa stage there's also the point that in Spanish Jellyfishes are called "Medusas de Mar" (Sea Medusas)
So in a way it's completely accurate
I love the 2D character art and the glimpses at the setting. This sort of detail that draws you in and feeds your imagination is a wonderful inclusion. It elevates the arcade game excuse plot from a matter of necessity for the arcades, into something that feels more organic - like this is just a small glimpse into a larger world.
Love this video, can't believe I can find good analysis about a light gun game that I never got to play as a kid
This just unlocked major member berries! I still pronounce Kraken like the narrator voice from this game, rolling my R and putting a space in the middle of the name Krah-Ken.
I only ever played this once as a child and it was impactful enough to give me a life long irrational fear of giant sea creatures and deep dark oceans.
*Music of Ocean Hunter was absolutely fire*
I'm really surprised you've only started uploading a few months ago. Your reviews are really well done! This game and Lost World were two games I had to play at any arcade that had them when I was growing up. Thank you for the nostalgia trip
The Jurrasic Park Arcade games were a treat. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this one too.
Legit didn’t even know I wanted this content but now I can’t get enough
This game Also has my favorite SEGA Jingle. It feels so 90’s, it hurts my nostalgia bone…. 😢
I actually saw this game in the wild.
1:35
When this scene came up, just watching two people play it from a distance scared me more than the movie Jaws or Deep Blue Sea.
Oh yea! I had the weirdest obsession with this game.
Oh to see my favorite arcade game of all time AND looking very clean is a dream! Finding this cabinet in the wild is beyond rare but always makes my heart soar, I love being scared consistently by all the sea wildlife and how much of a "boss rush" it is
This is hands down my all time favorite light gun shooter. Never made it past Leviathan back in the day as I was just a kid and I've been searching for a cabinet ever since. Thank you so much for this massive wave of nostalgia.
When you had mentioned the cut plesiosaur boss in the lost world arcade I thought of the Ahuizotl in this game and was hoping for a review of ocean hunter. Great review!
Wonder if they didn't just shuffle that idea into this one. The thing's head looks rather JP-dino
Let's goooooo. This was my go to when my arcades lost world machine was down or full up. Glad you covered this, it certainly gave me a fear of the ocean
My brother and I were obsessed with this game! Havent seen the arcade machine since we played it on holiday in fueteventura almost 20 years ago
I would play this game nearly EVERY time I went to one of my local arcades, or to a movie theater that had an arcade section. This will forever be an all-time favorite of mine, and one of the biggest reasons why is that iconic boss fight theme for the first six main enemies.
Crazy that you uploaded this while I was watching your Jurassic Park video. Crazy.
Man, I remember this game from years ago. I never played it, but the intro scene of the monsters attacking ships always stuck with me. Seeing the full game, now, I don't think I'd ever have played this more than once; the entire game has a very uncanny feel to it that makes the monsters and environments even more unsettling
This game should get a lot more recognition for how much soul was put into it.
The "ASS" at the end lol love it, memories.
I was always so fascinated by the art of midgardsom as a kid, i just wanted to keep playing the game to see what that was
This was a classic game for me growing up, never had many chances to play it but I was obsessed with it. I was always given $5 to have fun and I’d spend all of it here while everyone else got tickets. I found an arcade that has ocean hunter and every so often, I’ll go to beat it to remember good times
I fell in love with this arcade game thanks to your video, so much so that I've somehow begun plotting a TTRPG game with the themes of it around it. So thank ya so much for this! Been a long time since I've been this inspired to work on a game at all.
Someone reviewing the reason I'm both enthralled and terrified of the ocean while making DRG references? Subscribed!
I'm very grateful that you covered this game, as well as the JP arcade games, these have been small parts of my childhood, yet left a big mark in my memories, and it was so nice to see each of them covered in such details and lore, great editing too!
Lmao i just noticed the tiny musical queue playing when the animals spun in midgardsorm's level. Funny stuff
Karkinos. A giant enemy crab. Shoot its weak point for massive damage.
(I wonder if anyone remembers that one...)
"Um, just how many quarters did you use on that game?"
"599 U.S. dollars."
i can't believe how few subscribers you have, this is amazingly high quality and super interesting, great job friend :)
LOVE THIS GAME, use to have my dad stand next to me as a kid cause I was so scared of the monsters but loved to play the game.
I was just nodding along with the commentary at 22:45 talking about how strange it is that the "medusa" boss is a jellyfish and not a snake and why it made sense before realising that I'm Italian and our word for jellyfish is just medusa
You deserve this subscription, I adore light gun games and to get funny, in depth, well edited long form content is a blessing.
Definitely will be binging reviews from you today.
This game, CarnEvil, and Jambo Safari were highlights of trips to the Circus Circus arcade. I hold them dear to my heart
I'm happy to know that I didn't hallucinate this game when i saw it in an arcade once back in 06.
Honestly, this is one arcade rail shooter I'd seriously like to try out. It fascinates me, how it uses many mythical monsters as bosses, many of the minibosses being regular animals also mirroring how humans see strange new animals and interpret them as even scarier creatures.
Plus, I've been growing a newfound appreciation for underwater settings in video games, as well as sunken temples, myths and stories about Atlantis and sea monsters and whatnot - heck, LEGO Atlantis was the one LEGO set collection I'd love to own the most - and settings that are more Lovecraftian in nature are also cool.
Most of the underwater games and levels I really love tend to put a lot of emphasis in the serenity and beauty of the ocean, or the possible horror of its deep mysteries, so it's nice to see games put emphasis on its more upfront and natural dangers... even if it comes from brainwashed wild life that's usually not that dangerous 😅 I'm surprised they didn't include lionfish here as well...
Other things regarding the game, let's see... oh, if you don't shoot any skeletons, I think a living skeleton will appear either in the penultimate level inside Midgardsorm, or at the high score screen alongside the other rescued people.
Panthalassa is the name given to the primordial ocean from the time of Pangea, the origin point of life. Kerberos may be quite a bit lamer than what they'd have any right to be, but it does parallel the "being the guardian to the underworld" part pretty well.
One thing I find fascinating about Dagon is that, for his first two stages, he kinda mirrors human evolution, but as a giant triton - first walking on all fours, then up straight on two legs. Given what he becomes in his third stage, I imagine this could imply that our own next stage of evolution... could be a somewhat unflattering one 😅 and I see everyone else explained their two cents about him, so there's no need for me to do so!
Man i rember playing this game alot in the 2000s and also giving me a fear of the ocean and deep water, yes even pools
YOOOOOOO I FUCKIBG LOVE OCEAN HUNTER, so pumped
Edit: watched it now it’s SO good!
Really glad to see this review show up on my recommended. I played this game a long long time ago on vacation and it inspired me to write a book about brothers that fought sea monsters to save the world. I was in the six grade, but yea happy memories.
Came to see a review of one of my favorite arcade games, stayed for the mythology and history explanations
Yay! New video!
I remember first playing this as a kid in a small shopping mall close to my house! There was a little arcade next to the cinema that had this game, House of the Dead and a few other titles. I loved this one because of it's atmosphere and soundtrack. I can still remember going there, playing this until I ran out of quarters, hearing the other people in the arcade cheering for me and eating a warm waffle after I was done. Sadly the arcade is dead now and so is most of the shopping mall, but I will forever remember those rainy afternoons and the sweet smell of candies and popcorn that was always there when I played this. There was even one time where I was joined by a random guy who asked to play with me, but even with company I never made it past Karkinos. Would love to play this again in a real arcade. ❤
Just found this channel, great video
Totally my jam this was one of my favorite games growing up
Yo I loved this game! I remember a local laser tag place had this in their arcade. Glad you're covering this!
Can definitely say, despite having never played the game myself (I could've at one point, but the arcade machine was broken and clearly wasn't getting fixed anytime soon), I love the ending it shows. In comparison with the rest of the game, its so calm, non-chaotic. Melancholic even.
We were so poor when i was a kid , i played at an arcade maybe twice before i was 15 ... both for like 15 minutes maybe. I always so desperately wanted to be able to just completely dump quarters until a rail shooter was finished.... you were a lucky kid , thanks for sharing.
I have such fond memories of this game. My dad and I would play it all the time at our local arcade.
Thank you for an amazing review! I'd always hoped someone would go into deeper depths with this game and you did a fantastic job with it!
I remember playing this at the Shanghai Sega World arcade when I was a wee boy. This brought back some great memories, great vid!
Something about this delightful young woman talking about the origins of these enemies as well as how to defeat them makes me feel like I'm watching a nature documentary/survival guide.
I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS GAME FOR SO LONG! Always played this back in my old hometown along with this other zoids game, thank you so much for this, much love
Ocean Hunter was my favorite cabinet to play at our local mall. This video is the best review of Ocean Hunter I've seen yet! Can't wait to go watch your Lost World vids
I do have to say, I love video essay videos so much. And the fact the make videos of my favorite arcade games growing up brings me nostalgia and I love it. Keep up with the good work! ❤️❤️
Thank you for the overview. I appreciate the effort spent to connect the game enemies with their mythological counterparts. I remember being distinctly horrified as a child when I saw the section with the lamprey eels emerging from the dead baby whale. I thought the cabinet was the coolest thing, but I never got to play it in its entirety since it was never at the arcades I frequented.
God this was my favorite arcade game as a kid. I was obsessed with it, but it was so rare that I could only play it once a year on vacation.
Very nice review!
I also played this game as a kid and I really enjoyed it.
I played it on an actual arcade in an Italian restaurant, it's still there after all those years!
Thank you for this review as it addresses why this game is amazing while also calling out the reused designs.
This game brought back a lot of memories. I love the story. I love the intro and I love voice when he say ocean Hunter. When he say the stage and the creatures name. Make me want to play it.. so much
This is such a fantastic video and commentary about obscure light gun/rail shooting arcade games. As a fan of Greek/Roman mythology, it's still a cool factor on naming bosses with mythical creatures despite the loose Japanese interpretation. A similar game that reminds me of this is Taito's Darius series, a space shooter with its main boss motif of various fish designs as massive aerial battleships.
The only times I got to play this arcade game was in the lobby of a movie theater while we waited for the movies to start. Only got as far as beating the first boss. I vividly remember the scene of the two divers sinking down the pole thing to fight the angler. I also remembered drawing of the crab killing the whale.
Great video, finally got to see the ending of a game I never got to finish.