Crows: The Battle Action

Crows: The Battle Action
Crows: The Battle Action cover art
Release	1997
Developer(s)	Athena Co
Publisher(s)	Athena Co
Platform(s)	Sega Saturn
Genre(s)	Beat'em Up
Mode(s)	Single-player Local Multi-player

Crows: The Battle Action is a 2D beat-'em-up game for the Sega Saturn, based on the Crows manga series, featuring characters with super-deformed heads. It was published by the obscure developer Athena Co. and is heavily inspired by Technos' Kunio/Nekketsu beat-'em-ups, particularly River City Ransom, with its fighting style and visual design. The game's structure is linear, dividing it into numerous short levels where players fight various types of enemies, including hoodlums, cops, and drunken salary men. Some areas feature non-player characters who will react if attacked, potentially attracting more enemies. The game includes two initial characters, Bouya and Rindaman, with two additional characters becoming available after defeating them in battle. The levels and bosses are based on five story arcs from the manga, culminating in a final battle against Zetton on the school's rooftop.

A yellow forklift controlled by an NPC appears as the player is progressing through the game.

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  Crows: The Battle Action forklift