Bonanza Bros. -- All In One.

SEGA released the arcade game Bonanza Bros. in 1990 on their System-24 board. I had played this game a few times in the arcades and I'm surprised I didn't remember it as well as I should have. There are a lot of ideas here used in the tactical stealth genre that's all the rage on the consoles these days. The game has you playing as one of two brothers who are burglars. You're after loot in various locations such as department stores, banks, mansions, and casinos. The game plays very much like Rolling Thunder with its two planes. The levels are designed with a foreground and background plane. You can go in and out of the background to hide from the view of the security guards and the like. You can jump, as you'll need to jump over obstacles in both the foreground backgrounds. You also have a gun that allows you to take out the security guards and dogs. At the start of the level you'll be told what you're there to steal. You have to get by the guards and collect the loot and then make it to the exit on time. It's the time aspect that makes the game a challenge. There are interesting precursors for the stealth genre here. You have to sneak by sleeping guards. There are items like tin cans on the ground that if you hit will make enough noise to wake up the sleeping dogs and guards. You can wait for a patrolling guard to get near a door and then slam it open knocking him out. You have to sneak along when a guard isn't looking at you. You're fine sneaking behind their backs. If they see you'll, they'll shoot in the air to alert the other guards around to come and help. The Playstation 2 version of the game was released in Japan under the title of SEGA Ages 2500 Series Volume 6 ~ Puzzle & Action Tant R and Bonanza Bros. The game is the arcade version exactly. The game uses a deformed cute art style that works. Musically nothing stands out, it's just sort of there. I find the game to be really fun. I'm going to give it an 8.

Next up is Tant R.