# Heavy Barrel

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***Heavy Barrel*** (ヘビー・バレル, **Hebī Bareru**) is an overhead [run and gun video game](/source/Run_and_gun_video_game) released for [arcades](/source/Arcade_video_game) in 1987 by [Data East](/source/Data_East).

## Gameplay

Terrorists have seized the underground control complex of a [nuclear missile](/source/Nuclear_missile) site, and it is up to the player to infiltrate the base and kill the enemy leader. Players begin armed with a gun with unlimited ammunition and a limited supply of grenades. Improved weapons and grenade powerups are made available within the game, either in plain sight or within crates that must be unlocked using keys. Additionally, crates may contain orbs or one of the six pieces of the Heavy Barrel superweapon. Like [SNK](/source/SNK)'s *[Ikari Warriors](/source/Ikari_Warriors)*, the original arcade version featured 8-way [rotary](/source/Rotary_switch) joysticks.

The name of the game is from an in-game weapon. The *Heavy Barrel* is found in six pieces and is an energy cannon capable of destroying any enemy in the game with a single shot (except the final enemy, and possibly one other boss that may have required two shots). The weapon has a wide [arc of fire](/source/Arc_of_fire) and can be fired as fast as the player's trigger finger permits, but after thirty seconds its use is exhausted, at which point the bearer reverts to his previous weaponry. The *Heavy Barrel* is best used to get past tough bosses, and the game only contains enough pieces to allow the weapon to be built three times in a single game.[2] In a two-player game, whoever collects the sixth piece is equipped with the Heavy Barrel.

## Ports

*Heavy Barrel* ports by [Quicksilver Software](/source/Quicksilver_Software) for the [Apple II](/source/Apple_II) and [MS-DOS](/source/MS-DOS) were released in 1989.[3][4] The [NES](/source/Nintendo_Entertainment_System) port was developed by Data East and released in North America and Japan in 1990. All versions of *Heavy Barrel* were published by Data East.

In 1989, *Heavy Barrel* was contracted to be ported to the [Commodore 64](/source/Commodore_64) by F.A.C.S. (Financial Accounting and Computing Software), a [West Bloomfield Township](/source/West_Bloomfield_Township,_Michigan), [Michigan](/source/Michigan) company. The graphics engine and much of the gameplay was in place, but the development company folded before the project could be finished.

In February 2010, [Majesco Entertainment](/source/Majesco_Entertainment) published *Heavy Barrel* for the [Wii](/source/Wii), as part of *[Data East Arcade Classics](/source/Data_East_Arcade_Classics)*, and for the [Zeebo](/source/Zeebo).[5]

## Reception

In Japan, *Game Machine* listed *Heavy Barrel* on their January 15, 1988 issue as being the sixth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[6] Both *[Computer and Video Games](/source/Computer_and_Video_Games)**s Clare Edgeley and*****[ACE](/source/ACE_(magazine))**s Andy Smith gave an overall positive outlook to the arcade original.[7][8]

## References

1. Closing credits of *Heavy Barrel* (arcade version)

1. ["Heavy Barrel, Arcade Video game by Data East (1987)"](http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=heavy-barrel&page=detail&id=1108)

1. ["Heavy Barrel (1987)"](http://www.mobygames.com/game/heavy-barrel)

1. ["Heavy Barrel for DOS (1989) - MobyGames"](http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/heavy-barrel)

1. Majesco [press release](http://www.majescoentertainment.com/news/display_news.php?id=437) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120313031554/http://www.majescoentertainment.com/news/display_news.php?id=437) 2012-03-13 at the Wayback Machine, 16 February 2010

1. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)" (in Japanese). *[Game Machine](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3)*. No. 324. [Amusement Press, Inc.](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9F%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E9%80%9A%E4%BF%A1%E7%A4%BE). 15 January 1988. p. 21.

1. Edgeley, Clare (April 1988). ["Arcade Action - Heavy Barrel"](https://archive.org/stream/computer-video-games-magazine-078#page/n118/mode/2up). *[Computer and Video Games](/source/Computer_and_Video_Games)*. No. 78. [EMAP](/source/EMAP). pp. 118–119.

1. Smith, Andy (November 1988). ["Arcades - Extended Play: Heavy Barrel (Data East 30p)"](https://archive.org/stream/ACE_Issue_14_1988-11_Future_Publishing_GB#page/n84/mode/1up). *[ACE](/source/ACE_(magazine))*. No. 14. [Future Publishing](/source/Future_Publishing). p. 85.

## External links

- [*Heavy Barrel*](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/arcade/583891-heavy-barrel) at [GameFAQs](/source/GameFAQs)
- [*Heavy Barrel*](https://www.giantbomb.com/heavy-barrel/3030-9292/) at [Giant Bomb](/source/Giant_Bomb)
- [*Heavy Barrel*](https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8094) at [Killer List of Videogames](/source/Killer_List_of_Videogames)
- [*Heavy Barrel*](https://www.mobygames.com/game/heavy-barrel) at [MobyGames](/source/MobyGames)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Heavy Barrel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Barrel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Barrel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.