You could almost be forgiven for mistaking almost any given screenshot of In the Hunt for one of the submarine sections in the much more popular Metal Slug series. They're extremely similar visually, for a very good reason – Irem's cult favourite sub-'em-up was developed by the same team who went on to form Nazca and make the most acclaimed entries in SNK's beloved shooter franchise. Knowing this, it's no surprise that In the Hunt is a frenetic, hugely challenging blaster, with an underwater twist that's far more than just cosmetic.
The story is some bobbins about an evil organisation known as D.A.S (“Dark Anarchy Society”, which is a bit on the nose) who enacted an evil plan to melt the polar ice caps in order to flood the world and take command of it. Admittedly this is not entirely outside the realms of possibility, but by and large, the story of the game is inconsequential. All you need to know is that you're a submarine sent in to take out the bad guys. In the Hunt is all about the action – and lots of it, to boot (or should that be Das Boot?).
Unlike many other shooting games, the multi-directional scrolling isn't automatic – you progress at your own speed, meaning that you have plenty of reaction time to deal with on-screen hazards like enemy craft, turrets, giant missiles and debris. This makes the experience feel slower and more deliberate than an average “shmup”, but this isn't to its detriment. As a result of this decision, it feels as though In the Hunt – while often shockingly difficult – is never unfair. You have the capacity to analyse a situation, a set of obstacles, and approach it at your own pace. Yes, there is a time limit, but it's more than generous enough to get you through without having to really pay attention to it. It could be argued that this slower take on the genre is intrinsically less thrilling than the traditional hi-octane space blaster. Your submarine is definitely sluggish in its movement compared to its peers, but it is, after all, a submarine. It's hardly the Vic Viper.
Outside of the scrolling, the gameplay is broadly familiar, though we prefer to say “time-honoured”. You move your submersible from left to right (generally), collecting power-ups and shooting down everything you see. You'll face hostile subs, floating mines and all manner of ocean-bound danger from the mechanical to the supernatural, both beneath and above the ocean. And it's the latter – the surface-dwelling scumbags – who provide In the Hunt's most interesting twist. Enemies above the water can't be hit with your sub's torpedoes or depth charges, so you've got to pilot it to the surface in order to use your guns – which, of course, makes you vulnerable.
The use of different water depths is a great touch that allows for strategic and thoughtful level design above and beyond the open-plan freedom of movement that most shooters tend to offer. Because being bound to the ocean is utterly in keeping with the craft you're controlling, the situations you encounter feel both organic and cleverly contrived at the same time. It's such a simple difference, but it adds an enormous amount of intelligence to both the level design. There's a lot to consider when not every corner of the screen is a potential hiding place.
For a 1993 game, it looks downright spectacular. The graphics are consistently gritty and detailed throughout, with an impressive scale of destruction. As suits a post-apocalyptic narrative, the stages are littered with debris and chaos, the screen often entirely filled with carnage. It would be overwhelming without the aforementioned ability to move forward at what is generally your own pace. The graphics are as frenetic as the action and, while they're certainly busy, we had no problem parsing the difference between the benign and the deadly. If anything, we found it's the audio where In the Hunt falls down a little, with sound effects sounding a little washed out and the music largely unmemorable – even if it is punctuated with suitably pumping beats.
Hamster's treatment of In the Hunt falls in line with its other Arcade Archives titles; alongside the original Japanese and Western versions of the game there's a five-minute “Caravan” time trial mode and a “Hi Score” mode where you compete for a place on the online leaderboard. Besides that, you get access to the dip switches for difficulty options, as well as some visual filters. No concept art or similar extras, but that's not really the remit of the series. You get the game, presented as accurately as possible, at a reasonable price.
Conclusion
In the Hunt is an excellent shoot-'em-up and a great fit for the Switch. It offers something comfortingly familiar in the genre but shockingly, joyously different in execution. Here's hoping we see even more high-quality deep cuts fill out the already outstanding Arcade Archives line. How about R-Type?
Comments 41
We don't need Arcade Archives: R-Type, we already have R-Type Dimensions.
Looks cool.
I'm a metal slug fan but never played this.
Been hoping for this for a while, its been either buy an expensive copy on ebay or use an emulator for mame, I guess Irem is now owned by Konami,, hope we see more stuff like this and also games from Hudson soft.
No scrolling is welcome for sure.
I've had this on my wishlist along with Metal Slug 5 since launch on Eshop. Just patiently waiting for a discount.
This game is something I want more and more thanks to the things I keep reading about it.
And it's nice to see an Arcade Archives review in NL, like in the good old times.
Downloaded this on release day. Had never played it up until then. After hearing some of the Metal Slug team had worked on it, I knew I had to get it. Well worth it. Seriously, if you've been eyeing it up, you can't go wrong with this.
An AA review? Must be a good day
I had no idea this existed until just recently. That man boss thing looks insaaaane. I'd love to try it.
@NinChocolate it's a slow day after what was supposed to be a busy night.
Would be good to mention that if you play the "English Version", Stages 2 and 4 are swapped from where they are in the Japanese Version.
@HalfAWorldAway Irem also made one of my favorites, Moon Patrol (already an Arcade Archives title).
The spriteart in this game especially the explosions and water splashes look so insanely good you’d swear this was a modern retro shmup with art inspired by metal slug.
I've always wanted to play a game as a sailor on a sub. I'm not sure I can handle playing as an actual sub but some people will like this game though.
I love this game! Mine as soon as possible!
Not sub-par at all. In fact this one is pretty deep.
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Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week.
Beautiful game have this on various platforms including Sega Saturn version:)
@Shiryu You need to water-down that wit of yours, sir.
I’ll have to add it to my wish list. I like space shooters, but appreciate when there are different takes on the themes.
Totally unrelated, but now I want Retro Game Challenge 1 & 2 on Switch.
Yeah, definitely some stunning pixel art there for sure.
I wish more indie devs could grasp that this is what pixel art is supposed to look like, and not that weird style they do where it's drawn in pixels but everything lacks detail and looks more like they took too few pixels and zoomed in too much to get a kinda wrong effect. Most 8-bit and 16-bit games don't actually look like sooo many of the "retro" pixel art games out there today, unless the developer really does try to get the look spot on.
Even though I probably never finished the first level, I can definitely remember playing a few credits on the actual machine as a kid each time I went to long deceased pizza-arcade Circus Pizza.
I have this on Saturn. It's a hidden gem, no one ever talked about it but its awesome.
My only gripe about these Hamster games is the clunky save states. Unless I'm doing it wrong. Seems like I have to exit back to the menu to reload a save in the games I have.
This is one of my favourite arcade game back in the days, sunk quite a few quid into it, so glad to see it brought back.
I want Raiden.
@sixrings
It’s funny. We all ignored Raiden I&II when they were readily available on every platform. But the minute we only have Raiden V and not I&II on Switch....we cry, together, every day and every night.
@robr wait. What consoles was Raiden one and two available for. I still have a ps1 with a bundled Raiden game to play them.
@sixrings
TBH, I don’t remember, but it sure felt like Raiden was on everything in the mid to late 90’s. Jaguar?
@robr
I googled that ish. It really was on everything..in the early 90’s. SNES, PCEngine, Lynx, Genesis and PSX. :0
But II was only on the PS.
@robr yes but PS was a long time ago. The snes port sucked. Not many people owned a jaguar. Anyways I'm looking for a modern console to play my Raiden games.
@sixrings
My theory is that they don’t want our money. :0
DotEmu put out a collection called Raiden Legacy, but it’s mostly
the “Raiden Fighters” series and no Raiden II...and also only Steam and mobile devices,
The Raiden Project is in my top 10 list and I deeply regret not buying my neighborhood arcade unit when they closed their doors.
One of the few of the plethora of Sega Saturn shmups to actually get a western release. Most were left in Japan. Very underrated shooter in my book and worth the price of admission on Switch if you like them and haven't played it before.
I used to feed the In the Hunt machine at my local arcade relentlessly. And I usually had the machine to myself because everyone else was busy with SFII and Mortal Kombat.
@Tandy255 There's a Retro Game Challenge 2? The original is one of my favourite DS games!
I've been drooling over this ever since I saw the beautiful screenshots and gifs over at Super Adventures In Gaming:
http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2016/10/in-hunt-arcade.html
One of the very few shooters the Saturn struggled with. I think this will join my little Switch arcade collection. Looking forward to the upcoming Toaplan selection too.
Wow! I did not know this was released on Switch! I played this first on the Playstation. Thanks Nintendolife! Will definitely going to download this =)
@SolarJetman Apparently there is a Retro Game Challenge 2 & 3, but they only released in Japan.
As has been pointed out, the next thing we need from Irem is not R-Type 1 or 2, which are available on the eShop as R-Type Dimensions, but R-Type Leo.
@Tandy255 Curses! Thanks for the info
@Tandy255 Yes i love Moon Patrol, first ever Arcade game i played.
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