Dead Connection

Dead Connection
Japanese arcade flyer
DeveloperTaito
PublisherTaito
DirectorsMasaki Ogata
Ichiro Fujisue
Hidehiro Fujiwara
DesignersKenji Kaido
Jiro Tonegawa
ProgrammersOkazu Taiyaki
Yuichi Kohyama
Junichiro Noguchi
ArtistsHisakazu Kato
Masami Kikuchi
Masahiro Kato
ComposerYoshiro Horie
PlatformArcade
Release
  • JP: August 1992
GenreMultidirectional shooter
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemTaito F2

Dead Connection is a 1992 multidirectional shooter video game developed and published by Taito for arcades. It was only released in Japan in August 1988. The game takes place on September 5, 1953 "in a big city somewhere". It features a group of detectives who set out to fight a crime family. The game has a strong film noir vibe, shown through the appearance of the detectives and the featuring of a female protagonist. Each stage is preceded by a short cinematic interlude that explains the transition between the game's different locales. Hamster Corporation released the game outside Japan for the first time as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in February 2025.

Gameplay

When the player moves their character to within arm's length of an enemy, the shoot button triggers a melee attack. The player can also lie prone to evade gunfire, and perform a diving somersault in order to quickly take cover behind tables, plants, pillars, statues, and other fixtures. Instead of using scrolling each stage takes place against a non-moving but richly detailed backdrop—beginning with the lavish interior of a posh hotel. Most of the environment is destructible and the scenery becomes visibly degraded by bullet holes throughout the prolonged firefights.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Dead Connection on their October 1, 1992 issue as being the seventeenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: デッドコネクション, Hepburn: Deddo Konekushon

References

  1. ↑ Yamashita, Nobuyuki (October 1992). "Super Soft Hot Information - Video Game: デッドコネクション". Micom BASIC Magazine (in Japanese). No. 124. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation. p. 243.
  2. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 44. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  3. ↑ S.E.A. (December 1992). "Arcade Machine: Dead Connection - Un imperio de gangsters". Micromanía (in Spanish). Vol. 2, no. 55. HobbyPress. p. 105.
  4. ↑ Yarwood, Jack (February 26, 2025). "Taito's Action Shooter 'Dead Connection' Is This Week's Arcade Archives Release". Time Extension. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  5. ↑ Bobinator (July 31, 2017). "Dead Connection". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
  6. ↑ Boone, Tim (October 1992). "Arcade Action - Dead Connection" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. 131. EMAP. pp. 78–79.
  7. ↑ Harrod, Gary (October 1992). "Coin Ops - Dead Connection - Taito". Sinclair User. No. 128. EMAP. p. 42.
  8. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 435. Amusement Press, Inc. October 1, 1992. p. 33.