NAM-1975 (ナム-1975) is an action shooting arcade game, released in 1990 by SNK for the Neo Geo. It was the very first game released for the system.
Story[]
NAM-1969
On the battlefield that turned into hell, Silver and Brown ran through the burning flames and headed for their helicopter.
Indiscriminate bombing carried by out by friendly forces - Death comes fairly to both enemies and allies. Only those who can avoid that will see tomorrow's sunrise. The morning sun dyed in the color of blood.
The two leave hell with the sound of an helicopter. And as if to curse them, the Apache projects a picture of hell on the ground.
NAM-1975
In the camouflaged boat, the two were silently preparing for battle. The faint smell of grass makes them forget the fierceness of the battle about to occur. However, the sound of the enemy's shooting echoes as if to drown out that thought. The hearts of the two who rushed to the deck felt a certain premonition, as the nightmare began again.
Overview[]
The game is set in a fictional account of the final months of the Vietnam War. The story begins with two soldiers entering to war to rescue Dr. R. Muckly, an ex-scientist of the American Army, who has been kidnapped by Northside Terrorists. Nancy Muckly, Dr. Muckly's daughter has also been kidnapped and is presumed imprisoned in the NAM interior. However, as the game progresses, the armies learn that Dr. Muckly is a madman who is building a gigantic laser cannon to take over the world himself.
Gameplay[]
NAM-1975 is a target shooting game which plays similarly to previous arcade games such as Cabal, Dynamyte Duke and Spinal Breakers. Players control a soldier which moves horizontally along the bottom of the screen, as well as a targeting reticule which is used to aim at enemies. The camera moves horizontally at a regular pace, with enemies constantly coming into view as the player advances on the level. The A button is used to shoot the currently equipped gun; holding the button down will make the soldier stand in place while shooting, which is useful to aim more accurately but leaves the player vulnerable. The B button is used to throw limited use of grenades and the C button (while holding down the shoot button) is used for evasive maneuvers to dodge incoming attacks. Defeating enemies as well as destroying buildings and other parts of the scenery will reveal items which the player can collect, including special weapons and ammunition as well as score bonuses. In addition to those, the player can also rescue female hostages which will accompany the player and shoot down enemies.
Weapons[]
Shooting weapons:
- Standard Machine Gun
- Balcan: a more powerful machine gun.
- Missile: a missile launcher that explodes, clearing enemies within its range.
- Fire: a flamethrower that scorches enemies within its path.
Throwing weapons:
- Grenade: defeats enemies with a concussive blast.
- Spark Bomb: a more powerful grenade that triggers other explosions.
- Napalm Bomb: a grenade that clears all enemies from the area.
Trivia[]
- NAM-1975 was one of the first games to be released for the Neo Geo. Also one of the first console games to feature full length voice overs. As the first game for the Neo Geo NAM clearly showed the power behind the console with excellent frame rate and audio quality.
- The game draws from a variety of Vietnam war movies, such as Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now.