If they can do it for Zero Wing, they can do it for Atomic Runner CHELNOV -- Nuclear Man, The Fighter
This side-scrolling arcade game from 1988 by Data East apparently draws its inspiration from the Chernobyl explosion. The back story is vague: You are Chelnov, the atomic runner. You run. You run toward the Statue of Liberty. There is a hammer and sickle. Perhaps you are running from Communism?
The gameplay is straight-ahead. You can jump and shoot. You can turn around, but you must always run forward. Always running. Keep running.
The intro is classic video game Engrish. The thinnest of narrative. A cartoon quick-cutting through the stuff of epic--i.e. in medias res, epithet, battle of good and evil. The misspelling seems almost a parody. (Parody of kitsch — is that possible?)
I present it below, sic, and with a description of its illustrations.
ONE WINDY, A DISASTER
OCCUERED, AN EXPLOSION OF
NUCLEAR POWER STATION.
RADIO-ACTIVITY POURED OVER
MANY PEOPLE. A COAL MINER
CHELNOV WAS AMONG THEM.[A graphic shows a man in a hat, blown back by an explosion. The noise of the explosion is given as, "BKOW!"]
HE SURVIVED THE DEADLY
ACCIDENT, HOWEVER, HE WAS
POSSESSED WITH AN ABNORMAL
POWER.
[A man rests his head on one hand while his other hand lays glowing in his lap. The illustration reads, "AAAGGH!"]
HE MADE UP HIS MIND TO ACT
IN THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE,
TURNING DOWN DEVILISH
DESTARIAN'S ENCHANTING
SOLICITATION.
[A shadowy figure highlighted in a beam of light seems to be shooting a man in a yellow and red suit.]
GO AHEAD AND FIGHT! CHELNOV,
THE INVINCIBLE WARRIER,
CHELNOV.
[Man in a yellow and red suit and helmet breaks his glowing fist through glass.]