1998 · Arcade · Beat 'em up

SpikeOut

Spikeout: Digital Battle Online is a 3D beat 'em up video game developed by Sega-AM4 and published by Sega in 1998. An update, Spikeout: Final Edition, was released in 1999.

Released: 1 February 1998
Platforms: Arcade
Genres: Arcade Beat 'em up Fighting
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Series: SpikeOut
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action
Country: Japan
Languages: English, Japanese

About

Spikeout: Digital Battle Online is a 3D beat 'em up video game developed by Toshihiro Nagoshi, and released by Sega for their Model 3 Step 2.1 arcade system board in 1998. An update, Spikeout: Final Edition, was released in 1999.

A follow-up, Slashout, which was a slash 'em up set in a medieval fantasy setting, was developed and released in 2000, also for arcades. A spinoff, Spikers Battle, adding a versus fighting element, was developed and released in 2001, again for arcades. Another follow-up, Spikeout: Battle Street, was developed by Dimps and released exclusively for the Xbox in 2005. A new port of Spikeout: Final Edition is included in the 2024 release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and 2025's Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

›Story

In downtown Diesel Town in the USA, the city's young gangsters, harbouring unleashed anger, form small and large groups known as 'teams'.

Then, Team 'Inferno' suddenly appears and quickly takes over the town with its overwhelming power, numbers and elaborate strategy.

The leader of Inferno, called 'Big Boss', who felt a strong sense of discomfort and fighting spirit at the words 'the four strongest people in this city' uttered by the team, who never gave up their resistance to the end, planned to target Team 'Spike' for 'complete domination'.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

In a 2004 interview, Toshihiro Nagoshi said a Dreamcast version was not pursued because the hardware lacked sufficient performance. When Sega announced the Xbox version, GameSpot reported that the company viewed the platform as best suited to a faithful console port.