LED Storm (Arcade)

LED Storm is not about surviving a hail of laser fire. It's more of a Bump 'n' Jump-type racing game with bigger sprites and powerups.

And pits. Lots of pits.

Sub-Pages#

Prototype Info Version DifferencesEver wondered why all the home ports feel like a completely different game?

Dev Credit#

A small credit is in the audio CPU at 0x0000D:

Prog. Saka

Unused Graphics#

Used	Unused

The characters in the game's attract mode all have multiple frames of animation, but only Mohikan actually uses them. The rest are static images.

Used	Unused

Snake is Fred's rival. Oh, Fred is the protagonist (unless you're playing the Japanese version where he's called... Mad Gear), by the way, not that you get to see him outside of this cast roll.

Used	Unused

Hougan has a case of the road rage. Maybe it's the striped shirt.

Used	Unused

"Arnold", who is clearly not based on any actor living or dead, has the most animation frames of anyone besides Fred. The shades are actually a separate sprite. Note that the third unused frame uses an incorrect gray color for the border.

Used	Unused

Vebroag's unused frame uses a very different character design! Some of the graphics were overwritten, but you get the gist of it.

Just a little unused subtitle that says "Mad Gear".

An unused graphic that says "Ultra-Magnetic Swift Attack". Doesn't really apply to anything in the game, but it sounds rad as hell.

An unused dollar sign graphic is in the game's CHR ROM bank. There's technically a cash prize at the end of the game, but it's really just a point bonus.

It's a frosty mug of beer! Don't drink and drive, kids.

Unused graphics for the bonus point balloons, which always give 10,000 points in the finished game.

A simple yellow road barrier. These appeared in the location test version LED Storm Rally 2011 with a more cartoonish design, and it looks like they were going to keep them in the game but ultimately replaced them with the flashing "JUMP" mark.

An unused falling animation for the cars found in the two desert levels. Even if you force those cars over a pit, they'll just keep on driving as if they're on solid ground.

The yellow race cars have animations for jumping and driving on a slant which were probably meant to be used in the Thunder Road stage. They're always upright in the final version.

"Secret" Bad Ending#

Watch on YouTube

There is an ending that can only be seen by letting Snake reach the goal first in the final race, but it is incredibly difficult to obtain without cheating, as it requires you to play poorly, resulting in a high energy loss:

1. Drive (for the most part) slowly, letting Snake catch up to you.
2. Always try to keep Snake on-screen. This is your main task, as it is the key to being able to access the bad ending.
3. Whenever Snake makes a mistake (e.g. falling off the track), do the same. This gives you more opportunities to keep him on-screen.
4. In the final segment (immediately after the difficult jumping section), drive as slowly as possible and let Snake pass you.

If you did it correctly, you will see an ending announcing that you lost the race and Snake won, followed by the road strip sequence saying "YOU LOST A GAME.", "TRY AGAIN.", and "LET'S GO!". You will then proceed to the second loop anyway. Note that this bad ending can only be obtained in the first loop. If you try to follow all the steps above in the second loop, no matter whether you or Snake reaches the goal first, you will always be considered the winner of the race and receive the good ending. It is unclear why Capcom decided to make obtaining the bad ending so hideous.

Yes, this bad ending is also present in Rally 2011 LED Storm.

Alternate Credits#

To see these, the player has to complete the second loop of the game and have the last digit of their score be 0. This is harder than it seems, as every time the car explodes the player is awarded 1 point. So either get through the entire game without exploding (good luck) or make sure your number of explosions is divisible by 10. Simple, right?

An additional set of special thanks is only in the alternate credits sequence:

Version Differences#

The game came up in Japan first under the title of Mad Gear, this title became a reference for the name of a certain gang for a popular beat-em 'up that was released ten months later from the same company, the International release retained the Mad Gear title, while in the US Capcom decided to title the game LED Storm to coincide with its location test version and the game's artwork such as arcade marquee, LED is an acronym of Laser Enhanced Destruction.

Title Screen#

US	Japan	International

Aside Mad Gear's title logo received a fancy new backdrop and Japanese subtitle to go along with it, if you look closely, you'll notice that LED Storm's title screen is surrounded by a weird off-black color. This was partially fixed in Mad Gear. The copyright year was rather conspicuously dated 1988 in the US version as well, LED Storm using the game's unique font as opposed to regular one in Mad Gear. For obvious reasons, Capcom USA's copyright is absent in the Japanese version.

Player Selection#

International	Japan	Translation
		F-1 Top Speed: 395 km/h A very fast machine. However, it has poor acceleration. Porsche 959 Top Speed: 316 km/h A well-balanced, all-around sports-type monster machine. Convoy Top Speed: 237 km/h A machine with slow speed and poor maneuverability, but it has strong offensive power and excellent acceleration.

In the US versions the cars are described by their engine, fuel tank and measured performance, while in the Japanese version they're described by their strengths and weaknesses.

References#