'Chase H.Q., we have an emergency here! The criminal is getting away. Chase and apprehend the vehicle. Let's go Mr Driver!!'
Chase H.Q. is a police-themed Arcade Game by Taito. It was released in 1988 (and a follow-up to Taito's earlier police-themed action game, Crime City), with three sequels:- S.C.I.: Special Criminal Investigation (1989) (Which adds the ability to use firearms)
- Super Chase: Criminal Termination (1992) (Which underwent a perspective shift into first-person while taking away the ability to use firearms). Got a SNES-based Reformulated Game called Super Chase H.Q..
- The arcade-exclusive Chase H.Q. 2 (2007) (Which turned into a full polygonal 3D game contemporary to the era.)
The player assumes the role of a police officer, à la Miami Vice, driving a custom Porsche with a two-speed gear shift and a turbo button on the side. In each of the five levels, the player has sixty seconds to catch up to the criminal, then another sixty seconds to ram his car until it is too badly damaged to drive.
Tropes in this game:
- Artistic License – Cars: In the first game, while the Porsche 928 you drive is no slouch performance wise, especially with the top engine, it should have problems keeping up with the fourth car, a Ferrari 288 GTO and the third car, a Porsche 959 (the fastest production car ever when it was first sold), should leave it for dust. Can be HandWaved as your car having a "police" package giving it enhanced baseline performance as well as nitro boost capabilities.
- Badass Driver: One logical explanation as to how you can keep up (without using the nitro boosts) with three of the cars in the first game as one is equal to and two are superior to your car in acceleration and top speed is that your driving skills are superior to the criminals and they are unable to take full advantage of their cars superior power whereas you can drive at the limit of yours.
- Big Bad: Ben Jordan, in the PC Engine version.
- But Thou Must!: if your 60 seconds are up, you have no choice but to hit the brakes and let the bad guy escape... no matter how close you were to catching him.
- Car Fu: Your only way of offense against the criminal, except for SCI.
- Continuing is Painful: When you continue, the end-stage bonus will decrease giving to you less points. Exaggerated in the PC Engine version, where when you continue, not only the end-stage bonus will decrease, but the points earned when you Car Fu against the criminal will be reduced (Example, Car Fu against the first criminal gives you 10000 points. But if you continue, it'll gives you just 1000 points).
- Cowboy Cop: In Real Life, police officers are only authorized to use deadly force in a police chase as a last resort if the suspect is determined to be too dangerous to be apprehended in a non-lethal manner; the 1989 sequel takes this to a ludicrous extreme by giving the player military-grade weapons to stop fleeing felons and two of the vehicles have a hostage on board!
- Damsel in Distress: This happens to Nancy in the spin-off Quiz H.Q. You must rescue her.
- Downer Ending: In the PC Engine version, if you beat the fifth level with a score lower than 5000000 points, you won't be able to face the syndicate boss, Ben Jordan on the sixth and final mission. Instead, the game gives you a mock-up ending (which is exactly the true ending but with a different dialogue), where the commissioner says that you have done well and you have still to fight to keep the peace of citizen. After that, you will sent back on the first level.
- Every Car Is a Pinto: Apparently all of the suspect cars in the games have a fuel tank with the durability of a Ford Pinto.
- Fauxrrari: None of the cars in the series are called by the brand, although the cars are easily recognizable thanks to the iconic models.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: You either rear-end or open fire at the suspect's vehicle until the perp's car bursts in flames, yet the ending cutscenes for each mission show the suspect(s) and their vehicle as intact without even a single scratch. Exaggerated with Special Criminal Investigation where you're supposed to rescue abducted girls stashed in a car or a van, yet you're given a rocket launcher to put the suspect vehicle with victims on board to a burning halt.
- It's a Wonderful Failure: In the Arcade and PC Engine versions, if you decide not to continue (or you used all your continues in the PCE version), you'll be sent to the Game Over screen where it shows a short sequence where the criminal manages to escape from the law 'n justice. Yeah, Mission Failed dude!
- Mirror Match: The final level of the first game has you facing off against an "Eastern Bloc Spy" in another Porsche 928 like the one you’re driving.
- Mission Control: Nancy in the first game, Super Chase, Super Chase H.Q., and Chase H.Q. 2. Special Criminal Investigation has Karen.
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Nintendo Hard: While you're practically unstoppable, time limits are tight. - Nitro Boost: A variable number of these are available depending on the game, massively boosting your speed and acceleration for several seconds.
- Out of Continues: Be Careful! While in the Arcade version you have the ability to credit-feed, in the PC Engine version you are limited to continue three times only. Fail for the fourth time, and it will an instant Game Over for you!
- Ramming Always Works: Keep rear-ending the criminal's car to stop him from fleeing.
- Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: A barely disguised version of Harrison Ford as Han Solo to boot.
- Songs in the Key of Panic: When 10 seconds remain, the main song will be changed with a dramatic and fast-paced one. Exaggerated in the PC Engine version, where it plays when 15 seconds remain with a slower-pace. This trope is present even in the sequels.
- Timed Mission: Catch up to the criminal and destroy his car within 60 seconds. You can get one time extension per stage upon reaching the criminal.
