Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Express Raider is a port of the 1986 arcade game Express Raider. It’s a classic arcade-action, side-scrolling game that is half beat ’em up and half shoot ’em up. But how well does it hold up against the test of time?

An Authentic Arcade Experience… Warts and All

Express Raider is a simple game, as you only really have one objective: get to the front of the train. Sometimes this will involve moving across the top of the train while fighting off enemies and navigating obstacles. This has an added challenge, as you must do so before the train carts separate! In another stage, you must ride on horseback toward the front of the train while avoiding your enemies’ bullets.

It sounds simple, but sometimes Express Raider‘s gameplay was overwhelming. At one point, I had to take down a particularly challenging enemy, jump over an arrow, duck under a sign, and also keep an eye on the bomb that, if detonated, would automatically make me lose. Needless to say, I died a lot here. The game’s difficulty reflects its quarter-munching arcade roots, but it definitely made it harder to enjoy. However, that’s not to say Express Raider is necessarily a bad game. I liked the horseback mode more than the fighting mode because it wasn’t as punishing. Don’t get me wrong, it was still challenging, but it didn’t feel like the game wanted me to fail here. On the whole, however, Express Raider didn’t feel like a rewarding game to play. Although the difficulty might be part of the original arcade experience, it was frustrating at times.

Retro With Some Modern Touches

The audio strongly reminds me of the classics, and everything about it felt authentically retro. For starters, the sound effects are just what you would expect from an 80’s arcade game. This will be a draw for the nostalgics, but it did get a bit repetitive after a while. The simple pixel graphics are also a throwback to the style of the original. Last but not least, you also have the option to choose from a variety of image filters. Some of these filters even gave the appearance of playing on an older television set, which you can see in the image below. I personally wasn’t a fan of the filters, but the option to use them was a nice addition to the game. Express Raider‘s retro feel might not appeal to everyone, but it can’t be said that the developers haven’t done justice to the era’s classic games.

So How Does The Port Stack Up?

There are a few questions I keep in mind when reviewing a port. How well does the game run? How true does it stay to the original? And, lastly, what changes does it make to improve upon the original? To start with, Express Raider runs well and I never noticed any lag. Secondly, as I discussed above, the game does stay quite true to the original. And, finally, in regard to the game’s improvements, what I liked about Express Raider was the option to save your progress. While you can start over completely once you’ve died, you can also save your game and continue from where you left off. It’s a change which made the experience more enjoyable than I think it might otherwise have been. Arcade games are known to be quarter-munchers, but having saves helped to reduce some of that frustration.

Authenticity At a Price

Express Raider is not going to appeal to everyone, but I think this comes down to the game’s genre and its faithfulness to the original, rather than there being something wrong with the port itself. At its heart, it is still an arcade game, which means gameplay centers around chasing high scores – and it never gets more involved than that. Those looking for an intensive, story-driven game with interesting gameplay are probably better off looking elsewhere. However, the developers have done a good job of staying true to the original. The modern additions, such as the image customization options, also allow for a little variety, without making the port feel inauthentic.