The Punisher (Arcade)

The Punisher
Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Platform: Arcade (CP System Dash) Released in JP: May 1993 Released in US: July 1993 This game has unused areas. This game has unused objects. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused music. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has anti-piracy features.

The Punisher is a beat-em-up starring the titular anti-hero vigilante from the comics by Marvel. This was Capcom's first game with licensed characters from Marvel, and the only one to not be a fighting game, unlike the rest of the Marvel-based arcade titles that would come after this one.

To do: Various other stuff: Jul (unused enemy, final boss' death). This page. More debug (remove from unused text sub-page). Regional differences. In addition to the stuff on that page, the Japanese version has a completely different ending for Nick Fury (alone) instead of using the Punisher/2-Player ending with the name switched. Document changes introduced in Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics - there's a change that removes some images in the Japanese endings. What triggers the faked CPS board warning?

Sub-Page

Unused Text

Anti-Piracy Features

De-interleaved between the pse_24.9e and pse_28.9f ROMs at 0x38C37.

IS THIS A FAKED CPS BOARD ?

Unused Objects

To do: screenshots and sprite rips

Bruno Costa, a gangster that The Punisher and Nick Fury are after, was originally going to be fightable. In the final game, however, all he does is send Scully after you in Stage 1 and get killed by a Guardroid in Stage 2.

Unused Bonus Stage

Use the following MAME cheat to start a cut second bonus stage that takes place inside of a plane, an area that's otherwise entirely unused.

  <cheat desc="Start in Unused Bonus Stage">
    <script state="run">
      <action condition="(maincpu.pb@FF5BB9==00)">maincpu.pb@FF5BB9=0x06</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

In the Biaofeng Zhanjing bootleg, the stage can also be accessed by enabling 2 coins to start/1 to continue and setting coinage to 3 coins/1 credit.

The stage begins with a sequence where the cockpit explodes and the plane's pilots are engulfed in fire, with two gun-wielding enemies getting in and walking past some distressed passengers, several bound-and-gagged stewardesses, and Punisher and/or Nick Fury.

Soon after those enemies walk off-screen and the sequence ends, the stage is already "completed". If the players are quick enough, they can optionally free the tied-up women for food drops (it's not possible to take damage here). As seen in the following Stage Clear screen, the game thinks Stage 7 has been beaten (there are only 6 stages in this game, excluding the used bonus level) and as a result, the game proceeds to play the special one-credit clear variation of the staff roll.

In what part of the game this bonus stage was intended to be and what its actual objective was is unknown.

In the version of the game featured in Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, there is an option to change the starting stage of the game, and for whatever reason the cut bonus stage is selectable as "????????". It is still just as unfinished and the sequence plays out the exact same

Error Handler

Under certain circumstances, should the game crash, a crash handler/memory viewer may appear. The following are, according to de-interleaving of pse_26.11e+pse_30.11f at 0x4D8, the possible errors:

   BUS ERROR    
 ADDRESS ERROR  
 ILLEGAL INST.  
  ZERO DIVIDE   
CHK INSTRUCTION 
  TRAPV INST.   
PRIV. VIOLATION 
     TRACE      
 1010 EXCEPTION 
 1111 EXCEPTION 

The following controls are available once the game has crashed:

• 1P Button 1 or Service Credit: Displays a list of memory addresses on the left of the screen.
• 2P Button 1: Hides the left-hand memory address list.
• 1P Button 2, 1P Up/Down, or Service Mode: Displays a memory viewer; use 1P Up/Down to scroll. Once the left-hand memory list is open, opening/hiding the memory viewer jumps to the second-last listed address on that list.
• 2P Button 2: Hides the memory viewer.

Note that the screenshot was taken from Biaofeng Zhanjing, the game's backport bootleg, as it is possible to get the crash handler easily, such as starting the game as the second player under certain circumstances.

Unused Graphics

What looks like a debug tileset for the game.

An icon for an odd face-thing is located amongst the HUD portraits for the game's characters, it has an unknown symbol on the top left.

Located in the ROM amongst Nick Fury's characters sprites are "in-game" graphics for the afore-mentioned face that has a character icon seen above, it has rotating frames.

As seen in a screenshot on one of the game's flyers, these kids were originally in the background seats of the hijacked school bus where the boss fight of Stage 1 takes place, but they got removed and only the bus driver stayed.

Stage Clear animations for the unused school bus kids.

Alongside the "Help me!" speech bubble used for the jailed women in Stage 2, there are these "Argh!" and "Oops!" speech bubbles. Their purpose is unknown.

Unused Music

ID	Track	Notes
07		A very repetitive 2 seconds track that loops. Since it's very cheerful compared to the rest of the music, it may have been planned for something like the high score entry.
15		A tragic-sounding track that seems like an alternate ending theme.
17		A suspenseful track. Since this doesn't loop, it might have been for a cutscene.
19		The purpose of this track is unknown. Although it begins sounding like a stage track, it gets very repetitive when it begins looping.
1B		This is used on Stage 1 during the transitionary sequence where Punisher and/or Nick Fury chase Bruno into the school bus, but only a maximum of 13 seconds can be heard, there are other 21 seconds that go unheard in-game and it also doesn't get a chance to loop.
A3		This track's slot comes right after Punisher's "Continue" track. Since it sounds Game Over-ish, perhaps Punisher and Nick Fury were both supposed to have their own Game Over themes just as they do with their Continue tracks in the actual game.

Regional Differences

Moveset Changes

US	Japan

The player characters' special kick move (performed with ↓,↑+Attack) produces the same blood squirt effect as many other moves in the original US version. However, the JP version gives it an unique effect that causes the enemies hit by it to be engulfed in blue flames.

This same effect is also produced by a new aerial flame kick that has been added to the Japanese version of the game (performed with ↓+Attack after a rolling jump).

(Source: Rage Quitter 87)

Nick Fury (alone)'s Ending

To do: DeepL isn't being very kind to me, we need an actual translator for this

US	Japan	Japan (translated)
Nick: Goodnight fat boy! As the Kingpin faced his final dereat at the Furys' hands, the King building, it's support structure badly damaged, collapsed, it's dying echo reverberating through the city liked the anguished roar of an exorcised demon. With his defeat and the King building's clllapse, the Kingpins empire of sin began to disintegrate. Without his powerful guiding hand it soon tore itself apart. But for the Fury, while the battle has been won, the war goes on. For him there is no rest from the war until there is no evel left on the earth to fight. An impossible task? Perhaps. Is it his fate to fight a neverending war? A war he can never really win? It doesn't matter. For he is a man who has accepted his fate. A man unable to escape his cruel destiny. That night, the Fury vanished into the dark. Melting back into the shadows to stalk his prey. And the predators of New York shudder. Knowing that now they are being hunted. The next morning, the police searched thurough the rubble of the King Building. They found over ??? ex-criminals. But they could not find any body that could be identified as the Kingpin. Vengeance burns eternal. (*??? = number of enemies you have beaten)	ニック 「あばよ　おデブちゃん！　おやすみの 　キスでも　してやろうか？」 「さァて。ではいっぷく。」 うれしそうにニックはむねポケットに てをやった。 トタンにひょうじょうがくもる。 「あれ？　おとしちまッたのかなァ？」 ねんいりにポケットをさぐったあと、 ぜつぼうのひょうじょうをうかべた。 まるで　せかいのおわりとしゃっきんとり とが　いっぺんにきたかのようなかおだった。 このしゅんかん、ニックはかみへのしんこう をとりやめることにした。 「しごとのあとが　またかくべつなのによォ そりゃないぜ、まったく……アレ？」 　こしのポケットからまるまったカミきれと シワクチャのタバコがいっぽん。 「ヒュー！　ラッキー！！　きょうはツいてるぜ！」 もちろん、かみへのかんしゃはわすれない。 ひといきつくと　さっきのカミきれが　めに ついた。何とはなしにひろげてみる。 いっしゅん、とまどったようなかおをすると 「わかったよ。このいっぽんだけだ。」 とほほえんだ。 ニックがおもいきりアクセルをふみこむと、 くるまは　さらにスピードをあげた。 いちじんのかぜをのこし　大きなあおぞら の下、彼は　ちへいせんへときえていって しまった……。 ……くるまのはしりさったアトに いちまいのカミきれが　まいおちた。 「タバコは　ほどほどにネ。 　　Ｉ　ＬＯＶＥ　ＹＯＵ　ＮＩＣＫ． 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ＫＡＴＥ」 「ＮＩＣＫ！！　この　せいきゅうしょのやま を見ろ！！　ひがい一万けんいじょうに 死しゃ？？？人！！ ここまでしろとだれがいった！ こんかいのボーナスはなしだ！！！」 「そ……そりゃないっすヨ！ 　　　　　　　　　きょくちょォー！！」 (*??? = number of enemies you have beaten)	Nick: "Good-bye, fatty!　Shall I give you a goodnight kiss?” "Well then. Let's have a drink." Nick looked happily at his hip pocket. The tin was covered with a cloud of dust. "What is it?　Did I drop it?" [rest of translation goes here]

In the original US release, Nick Fury's solo ending was simply an edit of The Punisher's solo ending. However, in the Japanese version, he got an actually unique ending instead.

Game Over

In many versions of the game sans the US set, when the timer counts down to zero, the heart monitor flatlines while the paramedic gave him a distressed look on his face. In the US version, the heart monitor doesn't flatline but the paramedic is still trying to resuscitate either both The Punisher and Nick Fury while the scene turns grey.