Crime City

Last updated: January 20, 2026

Overview

Crime City is a side-scrolling platform shoot-em-up released by Taito Corporation in September 1989 for arcades.¹ The game features two undercover police officers, Tony Gibson and Raymond Brody, who must take down the gangs of criminals that have overrun their city.² As a spin-off from Taito’s popular Chase H.Q. racing series, Crime City transplanted the beloved buddy-cop duo from vehicular pursuit to on-foot combat.³

The gameplay draws heavy inspiration from both Namco’s Rolling Thunder and Sega’s Shinobi, combining platforming elements with intense run-and-gun action.⁴ Players navigate six platform-strewn stages, each focusing on a specific crime scenario including prison breaks, bank robberies, and kidnappings.⁵ The game supports simultaneous two-player cooperative play, allowing both protagonists to battle criminals together.⁶

Crime City remained arcade-exclusive for over three decades before finally receiving modern ports through Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives series in 2024, bringing this 1980s classic to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.⁷

Game Info

Developer: Taito Corporation¹ Designer: Unknown Publisher: Taito Corporation¹ Engine: Taito B System⁸ Platforms: Arcade, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4⁷ Release Year: 1989 Series: Chase H.Q. Protagonist: Tony Gibson and Raymond Brody Sierra Lineage: Non-Sierra

Story Summary

Crime City is rampant with evil organizations and criminal activity, becoming a nightmare for its more than five million residents.⁹ Crimes such as robberies, burglaries, smuggling, kidnappings, and drug dealing have become commonplace throughout the metropolis.⁵ The local police force can no longer control the escalating chaos, prompting the deployment of two elite undercover officers to restore law and order.⁵

Tony Gibson and Raymond Brody, the same duo who previously pursued criminals in high-speed car chases, are called in to tackle the crime wave on foot.³ The game’s promotional flyer dramatically sets the scene: “CRIME CITY, rampant with organized crime and corruption, is fast becoming hell on earth to it’s more than 5 million residents. Burglary, kidnapping, murder and drug trafficking have all cast their dark shadow upon the once lively and honest city.”⁹

The narrative unfolds across six distinct criminal scenarios, with news reports appearing in the fictional “Daily Taito” newspaper at the conclusion of each stage.⁹ The climactic revelation comes only in the end credits, which identify each character sprite and expose the final boss as the mayor’s identical twin brother—a twist hidden from players throughout the main game.¹⁰

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Players must use two 8-way joysticks to take control of the undercover policemen, with two buttons assigned to shooting and jumping.³ The control scheme closely mirrors Namco’s Rolling Thunder, where pressing the jump button in conjunction with pushing the joystick up or down allows characters to leap to platforms above or below their current position.³ This vertical mobility is essential for navigating the multi-level stage designs and avoiding enemy fire.

Structure and Progression

The game comprises six rounds, each focusing on a specific crime that Tony and Raymond must thwart:¹¹

• Round 1: Prison Breaking – The introductory stage begins with the iconic dialogue: “WHAT?! PRISON BREAKERS? ON MY DAY-OFF?”¹²
• Round 2: Bank Robbery – Players combat criminals attempting to rob financial institutions
• Round 3-4: Kidnapping – Two stages dedicated to rescue operations
• Round 5-6: Criminal Hideouts – Final confrontations with crime bosses

Each stage is segmented into different scenes and littered with objects that players can hide behind when dealing with criminals.⁵ At the conclusion of stages, players face boss encounters requiring pattern recognition and precise shooting.¹³

Puzzles and Mechanics

Both protagonists start each stage with only pistols but can pick up more powerful weapons by shooting special door panels.⁴ However, all weapons have limited ammunition, and unlike Rolling Thunder, running out of special weapon ammo leaves players without a pistol backup—forcing them to punch or somersault into enemies when out of bullets.¹⁰ Players can also grab and throw background items such as barrels as improvised weapons.⁴

The game features a unique power-up system where players can collect better weaponry, additional bullets, and health-restoring drinks.⁶ Drug packets scattered throughout stages can be collected for bonus points, adding a thematic element to the crime-fighting narrative.⁴

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Crime City received mixed to moderate reception during its arcade release. The AntoPISA BestGame rating system scored the game between 50 to 60 points, classifying it as “Not Good Enough.”¹

Modern Assessment

Modern players have shown appreciation for the game’s retro charm and cooperative gameplay. The KLOV/IAM arcade museum database shows user scores averaging 3.50 out of 5, with specific category ratings including:⁶

• Fun Factor: 3.50/5
• Overall Like: 4.00/5
• Gameplay: 4.00/5
• Graphics: 4.00/5
• Originality: 3.00/5
• Sound/Music: 3.00/5

The PlayStation Store version of the Arcade Archives release has earned strong user ratings of 4.55 out of 5 stars.⁷

Aggregate Scores:

• IMDB: 6.2/10 (24 ratings)¹⁴
• Giant Bomb: 4.0/5 stars¹⁵
• MobyGames: Critics 65% (3 ratings), Players 2.9/5 (6 ratings)⁵
• KLOV/IAM: 3.50/5⁶

Development

Origins

Crime City emerged as an official spin-off of the Chase H.Q. series, featuring the same protagonists who had previously pursued criminals in vehicular chases.¹ The developers at Taito sought to explore what happened when Gibson and Brody were forced to apprehend criminals on foot, leading to the humorous premise referenced by The Cutting Room Floor: “The two dudes from Chase H.Q. got their licenses suspended for some reason, so now they have to apprehend criminals on foot.”⁸

The character designs drew inspiration from Hollywood buddy-cop films, particularly the Lethal Weapon franchise. Tony Gibson’s name and appearance are clearly modeled after Mel Gibson, while the duo’s dynamic mirrors the Riggs and Murtaugh partnership from those films.¹ The partnership between Gibson and Raymond Brody (also known as “Mr. Driver” in Chase H.Q.) brought familiar faces to the new action-platformer format.³

Production

Taito developed Crime City using their B System hardware, the same platform that powered numerous arcade titles during this era.⁸ The game was released as a conversion kit only, meaning arcade operators could upgrade existing cabinets rather than purchasing entirely new machines.⁶ This distribution method resulted in 488 machines entering the arcade database under the Taito trade name.⁶

The English localization notably features numerous typos and text that appears to have been written by non-native speakers, with memorable lines like “Let’s go for a kill time” becoming unintentionally humorous elements of the game’s charm.¹⁰

Development Credits:⁸

• Developer: Taito Corporation
• Sound Team: Zuntata (Taito’s in-house band)
• Hardware Platform: Taito B System

Technical Achievements

Crime City runs on the Taito B System hardware, featuring a Motorola MC68000 processor running at 12 MHz paired with a Zilog Z80 at 4 MHz for sound processing.¹ The display outputs at 320x224 resolution with a 60 Hz refresh rate on standard resolution CRT monitors in horizontal orientation.¹ The game supports mono audio through a YM2610 OPNB sound chip operating at 8 MHz.¹

Technical Specifications

Arcade Hardware:¹

• Resolution: 320x224
• Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
• Display: CRT 15k Hz, Horizontal orientation
• Palette Colors: 4096¹⁵
• CPU: Motorola MC68000 (@ 12 MHz), Zilog Z80 (@ 4 MHz)
• Sound: Mono, YM2610 OPNB (@ 8 MHz)
• Board Number: K1100470A
• PROM Stickers: B99

Nintendo Switch Version:¹⁶

• File Size: 113 MB
• Play Modes: TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode

Cut Content

The Cutting Room Floor documentation reveals several pieces of unused content within the game’s code:⁸

• Unused Zuntata Logo – The only form of developer credit in the game; Zuntata is Taito’s in-house music band
• Incomplete Cuffing Animation – A three-frame handcuffing animation exists, but the middle frame is never displayed
• Hidden Knife Graphic – A knife image is obscured by the mayor’s chair in the final confrontation
• Unused Newspaper Headline – A subtitle for the final Daily Taito issue reading “市長救出成功” (Mayor Successfully Rescued) goes unused
• Temporary Title Placeholder – Development assets include placeholder title graphics

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
World	September 1989	Arcade	Main international release1
US	September 1989	Arcade	Features “Winners Don’t Use Drugs” screen1
Arcade Archives	September 19, 2024	Nintendo Switch	HAMSTER Corporation port16
Arcade Archives	September 19, 2024	PlayStation 4	HAMSTER Corporation port7

Technical Issues

The speedrunning community has documented the game’s behavior regarding progression. The second round’s layout is determined by the player’s remaining lives and energy, creating variable difficulty based on performance.¹²

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• Level Select Debug Code: Boot the machine with the service switch pressed, then when “Service Switch Error” message appears, press 1P Start three times, service switch, then 1P Start again. A message reading “Select by down SW” allows level selection via joystick.¹
• Chase H.Q. Connection: The black Porsche from Chase H.Q. appears in the game, confirming the shared universe between titles.¹
• High Score Entry: Players can shoot bullet holes into a wall to spell out their name or message for the high score table, rather than selecting letters traditionally. A dip switch option exists to revert to standard three-letter initial entry.¹⁰
• Hidden Debug Features: The game contains extensive debugging tools including a palette editor and object placement editor, accessible through specific ROM addresses.⁸
• Spelling Error: The game misspells “kidnapping” as “KIDNAPING” in stage headers.¹²

Voice Cast

The arcade original features limited voice samples integrated into gameplay, primarily consisting of digitized speech for the protagonist introductions and key dialogue moments. The iconic opening exchange includes Tony’s “YAH. IT’S ME. TONY” and Raymond’s “YAH. THIS IS RAYMOND.”¹²

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

Crime City achieved moderate success in arcades, with the Arcade Museum database tracking 488 machines under the Taito trade name.⁶ The game’s conversion kit format made it accessible to arcade operators looking to refresh their existing cabinet lineups without major investment.

Collections

Crime City remained unavailable outside of arcade emulation for over three decades until Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives initiative brought the game to modern platforms in 2024.¹⁶ The Arcade Archives version faithfully reproduces the original arcade experience while adding modern conveniences such as adjustable difficulty settings and display options that reproduce the atmosphere of original arcade monitors.¹⁶

Fan Projects

The speedrunning community has embraced Crime City, with Speedrun.com tracking 9 total runs across 13 players.¹⁷ The current world record for 1P Any% stands at 9 minutes 23 seconds, held by player radrgon.¹⁷ The game is categorized under the Chase H.Q. series for speedrunning purposes, acknowledging its spin-off status.¹⁷

Soundtrack

The game’s music was composed by Taito’s legendary in-house band Zuntata.¹⁰ The complete soundtrack spans 11 tracks with a total runtime of approximately 13 minutes:¹³

Track	Title	Duration
01	Coin	0:02
02	Intro	0:40
03	Prison Breaking	2:59
04	Round 2 Start	0:20
05	Bank Robbery	2:11
06	Kidnapping 1	1:19
07	Kidnapping 2	2:28
08	Boss	0:55
09	Round Clear	0:12
10	Ending	1:13
11	Name Entry	0:46

One commentator noted the soundtrack’s quality: “I like that video game music soundtrack. It reminds me of the 2D beat’em up arcade video game music soundtrack of Konami’s Crime Fighters 2.”¹³

Critical Perspective

Crime City represents an interesting evolutionary branch in Taito’s arcade output, taking established characters from a successful racing franchise and reimagining them in a completely different genre. The game’s design philosophy clearly drew from the action-platformer innovations of Namco’s Rolling Thunder and Sega’s Shinobi, yet struggled to surpass those influential titles in critical estimation.⁴

The game’s long absence from home platforms until 2024 relegated it to relative obscurity compared to its contemporaries. Where titles like Shinobi received numerous ports and sequels, Crime City existed primarily as an arcade curiosity and emulation discovery. The PlayStation Store description’s assertion to “please enjoy the masterpiece that built a generation for video games” may overstate the game’s historical impact, but the Arcade Archives release has introduced this forgotten title to new audiences.⁷

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

• Nintendo eShop – Arcade Archives Crime City
• PlayStation Store – Arcade Archives Crime City

Download / Preservation

• VGMRips – Crime City Soundtrack
• Internet Archive – Arcade Manual

Series Continuity

Crime City serves as an action-platformer spin-off from Taito’s Chase H.Q. racing series, sharing protagonists Tony Gibson and Raymond Brody with the original 1988 title. While Chase H.Q. focused on vehicular pursuit gameplay, Crime City transplanted the beloved characters into on-foot combat scenarios. The game exists alongside other Chase H.Q. spin-offs including S.C.I. – Special Criminal Investigation and Quiz H.Q.¹¹

The connection between games is explicitly referenced through in-game elements, including the appearance of the black Porsche from Chase H.Q.¹ StrategyWiki notes that “Having driven their custom black Porsche to catch various criminals in 1988’s Chase H.Q. (in that game Broady was also known as Mr. Driver), they must now fight against them on foot.”³

• Previous: 1988 - Chase H.Q.
• Next: 1989 - S.C.I. – Special Criminal Investigation

Note on Other “Crime City” Games

This article covers the 1989 Taito arcade game. Several unrelated games share the “Crime City” name:¹⁸

• Crime City (1992) – A point-and-click adventure game developed by Interactive Fantastic Fiction and published by Impressions Games for DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST¹⁹
• Crime City (2011) – A mobile RPG by Funzio/Deca Games for iOS and Android²⁰
• Gangstar: Crime City (2006) – A mobile action-adventure game by Gameloft²¹
• MicroMacro: Crime City (2020) – A cooperative detective board game by Johannes Sich²²

References

Footnotes

1. Arcade Italia Database – Crime City – technical specifications, release date, trivia, easter eggs ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

2. Arcade History – game description via Games Database ↩

3. StrategyWiki – Crime City Gameplay – controls, Chase H.Q. connection, character information ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

4. Games Database – Crime City Arcade – gameplay mechanics, Rolling Thunder/Shinobi influence ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. MobyGames – Crime City (Arcade) – game description, ratings, stage structure ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. Arcade Museum – Crime City – user ratings, technical specs, production numbers ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

7. PlayStation Store – Arcade Archives Crime City – 2024 release, user ratings, official description ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

8. The Cutting Room Floor – Crime City – cut content, debug features, Zuntata credit ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

9. TV Tropes – Crime City – promotional flyer text, story elements ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. Hardcore Gaming 101 – Crime City – high score entry, credits reveal, gameplay analysis ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

11. StrategyWiki – Crime City – series info, round structure, hardware ↩ ↩²

12. StrategyWiki – Crime City Walkthrough – dialogue, spelling errors, progression mechanics ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

13. KHInsider – Crime City Arcade Soundtrack – track listing, user comments ↩ ↩² ↩³

14. IMDB – Crime City – user ratings, release information ↩

15. Giant Bomb – Crime City – technical specs, user rating ↩ ↩²

16. Nintendo Store – Arcade Archives Crime City – Switch release, file size, play modes ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

17. Speedrun.com – Crime City – speedrun records, community statistics ↩ ↩² ↩³

18. Wikipedia – Crime City (disambiguation) – disambiguation information ↩

19. MobyGames – Crime City (1992) – adventure game information ↩

20. AppsMenus – Crime City Mobile – mobile game information ↩

21. KHInsider – Gangstar Crime City Soundtrack – Gameloft game ↩

22. Meeple Mountain – MicroMacro Crime City Review – board game information ↩