Ludography
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Dynamite Düx cover

1989 · Sega AM2 · Arcade · Beat 'em up

Dynamite Düx

Sega console exclusive

Side-scrolling beat 'em ups in which you must rescue a trapped female friend are nothing unusual. Where this one stands out, however, is the setting of your character as a duck called Bin, and with motion having a clear waddling appearance. The enemies to fight are all from the animal kingdom, but somewhat warped - crocodiles with boxing moves and cows armed with rocket packs for example. Bin has six levels to clear before he can rescue Lucy from Archaca's clutches.

Released
1989
Platforms
AmigaAmstrad CPCArcadeAtari STAtari ST/STECommodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAXMaster SystemSega Master System/Mark IIIZX Spectrum
Genres
ArcadeBeat 'em upFighting
Developers
Sega AM2
Publishers
—
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
ActionComedy
Country
Japan
Composers
Hiroshi Kawaguchi

About

Dynamite Düx is a 1988 beat 'em up video game developed and published by Sega for arcades. Produced by Yu Suzuki and with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, the game uses the Sega System 16 arcade board, the same board used for Golden Axe and Altered Beast. The game follows ducks Bin and Pin in their quest to rescue a girl named Lucy from the evil sorcerer Achacha. The game was ported to the Master System, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum; a Mega Drive version was planned but never released.

The game received positive reviews from critics, with Sinclair User magazine awarding it the Most Original Game of the Year for 1988.

Media

Dynamite Düx screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls one of two bow tie-wearing cartoon ducks named Bin (blue) and Pin (red). They are Lucy's pets, and must travel through six stages set in real locations, though everything else in the game is very cartoonish, reminiscent of Tex Avery. Two players can play at once: Bin is by default player one's character, Pin player two's. Each level ends with a boss battle. After stages 2 and 4 there is a bonus round where the two ducks box until time runs out; the player with the most health will win and receive 50,000 points.

Dynamite Düx uses only two buttons: the jump button (which is self-explanatory) and the attack button. The attack button allows the player(s) to use the Punch Glove or throw enemies in a manner like a cartoon. The attack button can also let him/her pick up and use numerous weapons including rocks, bazookas and the game's signature weapon, bombs. Unlike some of its contemporary side-scrollers, Dynamite Düx allows players to attack in all directions, including diagonally.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Dynamite Düx as the third most successful table arcade unit of February 1989.

The arcade game received positive reviews from critics. Upon release, Clare Edgeley gave it a positive review in Computer and Video Games magazine. She called it "the most amusing game I've seen in a long while" with praise for the "delightful" graphics, "fantastic scenario" and the "variety of baddies" providing "an endless source of inspiration for anyone wanting to get into cartoon graphics." She found it refreshingly different from the violent action games popular in arcades at the time, and concluded it "might not be macho, but it's a laugh."

Legacy

The character Bean the Dynamite introduced in Sonic the Fighters (1996), a Sonic the Hedgehog fighting game by Sega AM2, is based on the characters Bin and Pin from Dynamite Düx. Bean also appears in AM2's Sega Saturn fighting game Fighters Megamix, and as a minor character in the Sonic comic series published by Archie Comics and the succeeding series by IDW.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
ZX Spectrum31 December 1989Europe
Arcade31 December 1989Japan
Sega Master System/Mark III31 December 1989Europe
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1989Europe
Atari ST/STE31 December 1989Europe
Amstrad CPC31 December 1989Europe
Amiga31 December 1989Europe

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Collections8 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.