Play SideArms - Hyper Dyne Online

Summary

Sidearms (known in Japan as Hyper Dyne Side Arms) drops you into a fast‑paced, horizontally scrolling shooter where you pilot a mecha‑like Mobilsuit. The control scheme is surprisingly deep for a 1980s arcade: an eight‑way joystick moves the suit while two buttons fire left‑or‑right, and a third button cycles through the weapons you’ve collected.

Power‑ups are the heart of the game’s strategy. You can snag speed boosts, orbiting bits, shotgun spreads, three‑way guns, or a mega‑bazooka laser, each upgradable to multiple levels. Two “Auto” items let you hold a fire button for continuous shooting or fire in three directions at once. The rare α and β icons fuse your suit with an ally (or a second player) for a simultaneous eight‑direction attack, reverting back if the combined unit takes a hit.

The TurboGrafx‑16 (PC Engine) port arrived in 1989, handled by Capcom but published by NEC Avenue to sidestep Nintendo politics. It drops the arcade’s two‑player mode but adds a pause‑menu for weapon selection. Critics praised the conversion, with Computer and Video Games awarding it a 90% score, cementing Sidearms as a standout shooter on the console.

Storyline

In SideArms – Hyper Dyne, an aggressive alien empire called the Bozon launches a full‑scale invasion of Earth. Players assume the roles of either Lt. Henry or Sgt. Sanders, each piloting a massive combat robot known as a “Mobilsuit.” The mission is to battle through the Bozon forces and halt their planetary assault. The game supports two‑player simultaneous play, letting friends team up to take down the alien threat together.