This over-the-top action game was developed and published by Data East in 1990 and in it you play as Edward Randy, an Indiana Jones-style adventurer who is fighting against an army of evil soldiers, led by “Dark Ogre“, and who’ve kidnapped his friend’s daughter Charlotte, who he is trying to rescue.

Edward also has an unnamed partner who can be played simultaneously by a second player. Both player characters have a health bar and these are tied to how they perform when scoring points in the game.

Edward‘s default weapon is a bullwhip that he can use in eight directions, by pushing the joystick in the appropriate direction and pressing the first button. When he’s too close to an enemy to use the whip he’ll resort to using his fists. The second button makes him jump and he can use this to climb platforms, jump from vehicle to vehicle, and do other crazy stunts. Edward can also slide into enemies to knock them out; can hang from platforms and still whip in all eight directions, and can also use his whip to swing and kick enemies to their doom.

The game begins with Edward standing on a fast-moving speedboat with enemies attacking him from other boats, and from the air. Soldiers drop from hang gliders and Edward can jump up and grab the gliders while they’re still in the air. If he falls into the water he’ll jump back up onto the speedboat and continue as if nothing happened (although he does lose some health in the process). Enemies go flying amid large explosions and some are even tossed out of the screen.

The levels are mostly side-scrolling, but every now and then the scene will transition ninety degrees to a view directly into the screen, and the action continues seamlessly. And – if you thought the first level was insane – wait until you begin the car chase in stage two where you drive out of the screen, towards the player. That is absolutely nuts! And the various boss battles are all bonkers too. This has to be one of the most action-packed games ever made…

The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy is a tour de force of 2D graphical art that was ahead of its time when it was first released, although it does look a bit dated by today’s standards. The graphical contrast is a bit low, and the title screen is shoddy for such a spectacular game. But the actual hand-drawn in-game graphics are excellent.

Overall, this is a fun one or two-player game that is very forgiving – as long as you keep putting credits into it. You could easily zoom through it in less than an hour if you keep stuffing credits into it in MAME, and the two-player cooperative mode makes it a great party game.

If you’ve never heard of Edward Randy before then it’s probably worth tracking this game down and giving it a go. The action and situations are ridiculous and funny, and they make the most over-the-top scenes in Indiana Jones films look tame by comparison.

More: The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy on Wikipedia