Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy is an action game made by Neo Geo / SNK for the arcade, and one of their most cartoonish releases in the peak of their popularity.
Roddy and Cathy (P1 and P2, by default) are a pair of elite Bounty Hunters - hence the names, "Top Hunter" - on the trail of the Klaptons, a group of intergalactic Space Pirates who just invaded earth and is now the run. Heading towards the "Quartet Stars" where the Klaptons' leader, Captain Klapton is sighted, a massive bounty is imposed on the Klaptons' leaders - Corporal Sly, Lieutenant Misty, Mr. Bigman, Dr. Burn and Captain Klapton.
Like every arcade game of its type, players will face off against hordes and hordes of incompetent, easily-killed mooks, war machines, and all kinds of traps and obstacles throughout the game.
A notable feature in Top Hunter is that unlike other side-scrollers of its type, rather than having firearms as default weapons Roddy and Cathy uses their own ranged attacks, respectively Extendable Arms for punching and a Killer Yo-Yo, to lash out at targets, which they can swiftly execute due to their attacks being more efficient than projectiles used by Klapton mooks. Firearms can be collected, either from pickups or defeated enemies, though in limited quantities, while roughly once per stage Roddy and Cathy can employ a Chicken Walker mech by hopping into its hatch and using it to kick ass (a trait used later recycled for Metal Slug). Both can also execute a variety of special attacks through fighting game-style motion inputs.
Players are given the choice of four levels in the Quartet Stars to begin with, in any order, each having an environment based on a different theme - Forest, Ice, Wind, and Fire, before a final showdown against Captain Klapton aboard his mothership. It's also notable that the levels runs on more than one elevation at a time, between the background and foreground, which Roddy and Cathy can jump around back and forth to avoid enemies or obstacles, though certain planes may hit a roadblock or pitfall, and there may be hazards in between elevations that could cost a life mid-jump.
The game was re-released in 2008 as part of SNK Arcade Classics Vol 1, and again as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives brand in 2018.
Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy contains examples of:
- Balloonacy:
- Sometimes red balloons carrying crates will float into the screen, which can be shot at. Oddly enough the crates are destroyable (revealing power-ups and bonuses to collect) but the balloons themselves aren't, where they simply float away afterwards.
- The Wind Planet stage (set above the skies) have enemy mooks floating on balloons to attack Roddy and Cathy.
- Boss Rush: Prior to facing Captain Klapton, Roddy and Cathy needs to re-fight the previous bosses Sly, Misty, Big Man, and Burn, one at a time.
- Cartoon Bomb: Owing to the game's comical nature, sometimes mooks will throw these obstacles (a round black bomb with a lit fuse) at Roddy and Cathy.
- Chicken Walker: During gameplay, sometimes Roddy and Cathy can retrieve walking mechs and use them to kick ass.
- Cybernetic Mythical Beast: Captain Klapton pilots a robot dragon during his boss battle.
- Fantastic Flora: The first few stages set in a prehistoric planet have the background filled with gigantic plants filled with leaves larger than humans.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon:
- Mooks armed with flamethrowers are an enemy showing up halfway into the game, appropriately enough starting from Fire Planet. The Buff Pirate Mini-Boss in the same stage have one mounted on his wrist which shoots streams of flames covering more than half the screen.
- Burn, the Fire Planet's boss (what a Meaningful Name) loves using his dual flamethrowers in the rematch. As does his fireball launchers and flying incendiary bombs.
- Floating Continent: The fourth stage, Wind Planet, is set in the clouds, with various floating islets in the background (several which have Waterfall into the Abyss flowing from them). Most of the stage have Roddy and Cathy walking from area to area connected via chain bridges leading from one floating chunk of rock to another. Even the mini-game have Roddy and Cathy racing each other on chains with nothing but the skies as a background.
- Knight's Armor Hideout: The Medieval Castle stages have suits of armour randomly lying about. And some of them contains mooks, who will suddenly jump out from within to attack.
- Lethal Lava Land: Fire Planet is set inside an active volcano with pits of lava and fiery waterfalls everywhere, which Roddy and Cathy needs to cross by jumping on platforms. Falling in results to A Molten Date with Death, though sometimes mooks can suffer this fate as well.
- Losing Your Head: This can happen during the boss fight against Burns, piloting a giant robot trying to squash Roddy and Cathy via hydraulic presses. The player can throw projectiles at it's head and a successfully hit will knock the whole thing off, but then it will simply fly via an underside booster and return to the neck. And after the fight, Burns will fly off using the head while the rest of the robot sinks into lava.
- Maniac Monkeys: Fire Planet have a fierce, gigantic Black Faced Macaque Mini-Boss (oddly enough, with sharp claws and More Teeth than the Osmond Family, but then again it's an alien animal). Roddy and Cathy encounters it trapped in a cage, but the fence doors opens automatically as soon as Roddy and Cathy passes by.
- Obstructive Foreground: Occasionally the game will have the foreground getting in the way just as Roddy and Cathy are busy kicking ass, from plants in the prehistoric planet to suddenly-materializing pillars of ice on the snow world, and occasional hazards like pillars and walls.
- Protagonist Title: The titular Top Hunters, Roddy and Cathy, are the game's playable heroes.
- Racing Minigame: The Bonus Stages that can be unlocked in-between levels have Roddy and Cathy (on single-player mode the other will be controlled via AI) racing each other via skateboards along a straight path, collecting bonuses along the way until one reaches the finishing line.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Roddy and Cathy can execute a flurry of punches (or kicks for Cathy) from up close when their power meter is at maximum (as long as they don't lose a life and have their meters reset), an attack that shreds entire chunks of health from bosses. On two-player mode, Roddy and Cathy can easily target bosses from the left and right and pummel them into nothing with punches and kicks.
- Recurring Boss: The "Buff Pirate" Mini-Boss shows up in practically every single stage, each time (except the first) piloting a mech holding a BFG (both the mech and his gun which can be used against him once Roddy and Cathy knocks him off) and is fought at least four times throughout the game. No word if it's the same guy every time or not though.
- Rocket Punch: A giant robot Mini-Boss in the last stage (one that looks like an enlarged, mechanical version of the game's lowest-ranking mooks) can launch it's fist as a ranged attack. Said fist can even home in on Roddy and Cathy before re-attaching itself to it's wrist.
- Sequential Boss: Captain Klapton, the game's Final Boss, starts by piloting a giant robot like his underlings (a robot dragon in this case), which can take plenty of damage compared to previous bosses. After blowing up his mech, Captain Klapton then fights you himself Dual Wielding his swords, with a new Life Meter.
- Shield-Bearing Mook: There are larger, stronger-than-average mooks armed with spiked shields capable of deflecting Roddy's and Cathy's attacks. These enemies can also fling projectile attacks from behind the shield,, at which point they're momentarily vulnerable and can be taken out from the front.
- Slide Attack: By pressing down and jump Roddy and Cathy can perform a sliding kick across the screen that helps them take down enemies.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: The Neaderthal enemies (oddly enough, in Fire Planet's active volcano) wears cattle skull helmets.
- Snowball Fight: A weaponized version in Misty's first boss battle, where her mecha can spam gigantic snowballs as projectiles. She does that again in the Boss Rush's rematch.
- Squashed Flat:
- This happens when Roddy or Cathy topples a wall on a mook or tramples them with a robot. Any unfortunate enemy will actually float away like a sheet of paper in the aftermath. Though the titular heroes could suffer this fate if they're hit by similar hazards.
- Burns, who fight Roddy and Cathy with a robot with hydraulic presses in place of arms, with each direct hit turning the player two-dimensional.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: Pretty much all the named bosses...
- Sly, the first boss, controls a mech which dispenses slow-moving, bouncing mines at Roddy and Cathy, which can be grabbed and flung back at him. It somehow never occurs to him to simply ram his mech forward and run over the players, relying entirely on this attack which makes him a lot easier to defeat. He makes the same mistake during the Boss Rush rematch.
- Big Guy attacks Roddy and Cathy with his hovering battleship, where he will fight by dropping bombs from his external carriage. Said carriage have three compartments behind which can be hit, resulting in a massive explosion that damages Big Guy.
- Burns, who pilots a giant robot, alternates between using the robot's hydraulic pump to flatten Roddy and Cathy, or pound the ground causing rocks to fall from above. Those rocks however stays onscreen and can be picked up and flung on Burns for damage.
- Misty, who averts this trope in her initial battle, somehow follows it when you fight her a second time in the above-mentioned Boss Rush. Instead of her original mech she now pilots a robot similar to Sly's, and some of her snowball projectiles contains mines which can be picked up and flung at her.
- The first phase of Captain Klapton, where his dragon mecha extends it's neck to breath fire on Roddy and Cathy. Said robot's exposed neck contains removable parts which can be yanked off and then thrown back on it to cause damage. What's even better is that the dragon will constantly regenerate new segments to be pulled off and flung.
- Throw the Mook at Them: Roddy and Cathy can grab enemies the same size as themselves and hurl them across the screen, either to take down groups of mooks or fling them into obstacles. What's even better is that they can pull this stunt while on foot (ergo, without piloting a giant robot).
- Timed Mission: Roddy and Cathy are given 90 seconds to clear each stage by default, though they can collect extra time which adds 20 seconds to the meter. The timer also resets after each mini-game.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: The bosses Sly, Misty, Big Man and Burns all pilot mechas and machines during battle, and upon defeat, flies off via an escape pod (or for Burns, using his robot's head). That's because Roddy and Cathy need to face them again for the final stage's Boss Rush.
- "Wanted!" Poster: Prior to each stage is a clip of a wanted poster depicting the allocated bounty on the boss at the end.
- White Flag: A few areas have Klapton ships filled with mooks attacking Roddy and Cathy, until they're destroyed. As the ship goes down all mooks on board then starts waving flags in defeat.
- Yeti: The "Snow Gorilla" enemies in the Ice Planet levels are all but yetis without referred by that name. There's even Giant Mook versions of these enemies larger than Roddy and Cathy and requires extra hits to take down.
