Velvet Hunters

Velvet Hunters (ベルベットハンターズ Berubettohantāzu), sometimes abbreviated as VH, is an action-adventure beat-em up developed by Multisoft (formerly Gamesoft) and is one of the new generation of Arcade lineups, starting with Fatal Genocide and ending with Blue Remnant.

Story
Velvets are demons with only one purpose; to destroy humankind. The mythical Sacred Beasts (詩人 Shijin) of Earth have worked hard to rid the world of these demons, but to no avail. After their demise, the Sacred Beasts' souls scattered across the world, in search of worthy individuals...

300 years later, Solomon Drake, nicknamed Sol, was living his everyday life with his friend Lee Black. But the fate of the two changed when a mysterious woman named Kristi arrived. Upon her arrival, the Velvets returned to continue their reign. Kristi reveals to Sol and Lee that they are two of the descendants of the Sacred Beasts Suzaku and Byakko. She also states that she came across two other descendants; a futakuchi-onna named Faye, the descendant of Seiryuu, and a half-golem named Guy, the descendant of Genbu. As soon as the four descendants meet, their battle against the Velvets have begun.

Gameplay
Velvet Hunters follows the same gameplay established in most beat-'em-ups like Final Fight and Streets of Rage. The arcade version allows up to two, three, or even four players simultaneously depending on the game's settings. The player can select between any of the four Hunters (Sol, Lee, Faye, or Guy) as their character, with each player controlling a different character. The player's objective as usual is to move towards the end of each stage, defeat every monster who gets in their way while avoiding any traps that they may throw at the player's way before eventually fighting the boss awaiting at the final area of each stage. The game consists of a total of ten stages.

The control configuration is exactly like Final Fight and Captain Commando, with an eight-way joystick for moving the character left or right, as well as towards or away from the background, along with two action buttons for attacking and jumping. The player can perform numerous combination of attacks while standing or jumping, including grabbing the enemy, as well as a special attack by pressing the attack and jump simultaneously that will drain a portion of the player's vitality. An addition to the controls is the ability to dash by pushing the joystick left or right twice. The player can perform a running attack or even a running jump attack.

Like in most beat-'em-ups, the player can pick up health-restoring food items hidden inside barrels and other destructible objects to restore their vitality, as well as other bonus items to increase their score. The Sacred Gauge, or S-Gauge for short, is a powerful special attack method which can activate the player's character's special attack.

The first level allows the player's character to use his or her special attack. As an aftereffect, it enhances the player with ability bonuses (depending on the character being played as) and boosts strength, defense, and mostly speed.

Characters
Solomon "Sol" Drake - an 18-year-old human and the descendant of Suzaku the Phoenix. He is a brash and impatient young man who expects little of the unexpected and often hangs out in school instead of just learning. He saw Kristi enter the city and was warned by her about the Velvets' arrival. After learning that he is the descendant of Suzaku, he made it his duty to protect his friends from the Velvets roaming the world. His Sacred Special is the Phoenix Bomb (朱雀弾 Suzakudan).

Lee Black - a 17-year-old human, Sol's friend, and the descendant of Byakko the Tiger. Unlike his buddy Sol, Lee is more studious and patient than him, and is willing to succeed in his classes to make his family proud. He and Sol witnessed Kristi running from the Velvets and they rescued her. She reveals to him that he is the descendant of one of the Sacred Beasts, Byakko. With this, he is now willing to save the world. His Sacred Special is the Tiger Crash (白虎ラッシャー Byakkorassha).

Faye Natasha - a 20-year-old futakuchi-onna and the descendant of Seiryuu the Dragon. She has a problem with fitting in with the other humans because of the "other her" on her head, so she acts hostile towards those who want to be her friend. But her hostility ends when she met Kristi, who told her about the Velvets across the world and how she is the descendant of one of the Sacred Beasts, Seiryuu. Learning that she is not the only one who is a descendant, Faye tries to cope with the others to stop the Velvets. Her Sacred Special is the Dragon Slash (清流断 Seiryuudan).

Guy Bronze - a 26-year-old human/golem hybrid and the descendant of Genbu the Turtle. He is a peaceful being with a sense of optimism and a dislike towards evil. He also saw Kristi and was intrigued to hear about the Velvets that are recently roaming across the world. But what actually surprised him was that he is the descendant of Genbu, but he accepted his fate and joins the other three to defeat the Velvets. His Sacred Special is the Turtle Break (玄武レーカー Genbureika).

Kristi - a mysterious woman sent to gather the four descendants of the Sacred Beasts. Nothing about her is publicly known, though she is a primary target of the Velvets. She gathers Sol, Lee, Faye, and Guy to fight the Velvets and defeat their leader. It is later revealed that she is the descendant of Qilin the Ancient. She is not playable, though she helps the the other 4 defeat Argus by using her Sacred Special, the Sacred Sword (麒麟剣 Kirinken).

Argus - the main antagonist and the leader of the Velvets. He, along with his three henchmen Red, Black, and Green, begun their objective to find Kristi and kill her. After learning of the four descendants stopping the Velvets, he sent his henchmen to deal with them, but to no avail. The moment the four heroes reach his lair, he then decides to reveal his true self, a large Velvet with a demonic aura. But his reign ended after Kristi and the others slayed him with the Sacred Sword, therefore killing all the Velvets.