What happens when you merge titles like Operation Wolf, Punch-Out!! (plus kicks) and microtransactions? You get DYNAMITE DUKE!
Dynamite Duke aka The Double Dynamites is the story of one or two totally rad military guys decimating an entire army with nothing but their own stength and determination and a couple of powerups they pick up along the way. It doesn't get any more classic than that.
It's also the last Seibu's standalone game before taking the step of creating one of the greatest shoot-'em-up of all time.
Unused Graphics#
It seems Seibu was thinking of having Taito publish the game at some point, judging by this shaded version of the classic Taito logo located next to Seibu's own. There is no known palette.
Version Differences#
Japan 25JUL89 |
Europe 25JUL89 |
US 25JUL89 |
Japan 03SEP89 |
Europe 03SEP89 |
Japan 13NOV89 (The Double Dynamites) |
US 13NOV89 (The Double Dynamites) |
|
FBI Screen |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Tutorial |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Microtransactions |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Game Mode |
Single Player Only |
Single Player Only |
Single Player Only |
Single Player Only |
Single Player Only |
Single Player or Simultaneous Multiplayer |
Single Player or Simultaneous Multiplayer |
Lifebar |
Normal |
Normal |
Normal |
Normal |
Normal |
Squares |
Squares |
FBI Screen#
The US sets display the FBI's "Winners Don't Use Drugs" screen common of the era upon startup. Other sets go directly to the title screen.
Title Screen#
Japanese and European sets |
US set |
Japanese set |
US set |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
The game's logo was changed with something more dull for The Double Dynamites. At the same time text reading "SIMULTANEOUS TWO PLAYERS GAME" was added, and the background's palettes altered.
While US publisher Fabtek took the effort to rework the copyright section and change Seibu's logo with their own, JP publisher Tecmo chose to skimp on reworking the copyright section.
Tutorial#
Japanese 25JUL89 and 03SEP89 sets |
European and US 25JUL89 sets |
European 03SEP89 set |
Japanese and US 13NOV89 sets |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
The US and European July sets, after inserting a credit, show a tutorial on how to use the dynamite punch. Other sets remove this feature and show a typical press start screen (even the earlier Japanese July set).
Additionally, the "PUSH A START", present in both Japanese sets (July and September), was changed to the much more grammatically correct "PRESS START" in the European September set, and "PRESS 1P/2P START" in The Double Dynamites.
Aside from being redundant, The Double Dynamites also shows the coinage setting.
Microtransactions#
|
European 25JUL89 set |
US 25JUL89 set |
|---|---|
|
|
|
The US and European July sets experiment the use of microtransactions. The screen above appears every odd level cleared (1, 3, 5 and 7), and to trigger it, you have to beat these levels with four dynamite punches or less.
If the condition above is met, you'll be taken to a screen where Dynamite Duke offers you four extra dynamite punches and one extra life at the price of one credit. This feature was removed in the other sets (including the earlier Japanese July set).
The European set uses Dynamite Duke's sprite from the ending, while the US set uses a modified version of the same sprite with exposed eyes and open mouth, probably to fit the situation's context better. The instruction balloon was additionally redrawn to resemble an actual speech balloon, complete with tail, to make it clear that Dynamite Duke is speaking to the player.