Express Raider, Arcade

In Data East‘s 1986 Wild West-themed scrolling action game – Express Raider (aka “Western Express” in Japan) – you’re not trying to be the good guy; you’re actually the bad guy, trying to hold up a series of trains and steal as much gold and money as possible.

The game is controlled with two buttons and a joystick, and your character can punch, kick, duck and shoot (although the latter is only possible on actual shooting stages). The aim is to fight your way through a succession of opponents, some armed with guns and shovels, and some throwing bottles and other stuff at you. You have a health bar at the top of the screen, and if this reaches zero, you’ll lose a life. It does, however, replenish slowly when you’re not taking hits.

You begin your raid on the ground, next to the train. After beating up the first opponent, you can then “hit coyote for points” (which is bizarre), and then you jump onto the train as it begins to move. As you make your way across each coach, a guard will come at you, and you need to knock them off to progress to the next. Although there isn’t an on-screen clock, you do have a limited amount of time to move on, indicated by the fused bombs that are placed on the couplings (if they explode, the next coach will pull away, making it impossible for you to move forward). You also have to duck (or jump-kick) to avoid overhead gantries, and you’re given a second or two to anticipate them when an exclamation mark is shown in the middle of the screen. When you finally reach the engine, you then get a bonus for completing the train.

The second stage is different because you’re on horseback, riding alongside the train, shooting at people who’re trying to shoot you, or throw dynamite at you. You have an aiming crosshair that shows where you’re shooting at, and you can move the horse around to avoid projectiles and other hazards. Pressing the jump button while on horseback will allow you to make an evasive move. You must avoid shooting women (who drop money bags for you), and if you do accidentally shoot an innocent, you’ll immediately lose a life. You can shoot or catch bags of money for extra points, and when you reach the engine, this time you have to shoot hidden targets for bonus points.

These two types of stages repeat at a higher difficulty level, with new hazards being introduced as you progress. There are low bridges; Native Indians who fire arrows at you; and guards who push piles of boxes toward you, to try to knock you off the train.

Although the graphics in Express Raider do lack colour, they are well drawn and animated – especially the galloping horse. The numbers at the bottom of the screen, though, are very difficult to see, because of the weird colour choices.

The gameplay in Express Raider is difficult, but not frustratingly so, and you can at least put in more credits to carry on where you left off.

Express Raider, I think, has stood the test of time reasonably well, and it’s still worth playing today. The game was converted to the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum in 1987. It was also included in the 2010 compilation for the Wii, “Data East Arcade Classics“, and was once available on Steam (no longer, though – at the time of writing). Express Raider is currently legally available on the online retro gaming service, Antstream.