Baraduke II

Bakutotsu Kijūtei was only moderately-successful in arcades. Game Machine reports it was Japan's seventeenth most popular arcade game of September 1988. The publication noted of the game's smooth sprite animation and detailed visuals during a tradeshow demonstration, believing it would be successful in its own right. In a 2015 retrospective review, Federico Tiraboschi of Hardcore Gaming 101 described the game as being a cross between Gradius and Section Z, with some vague resemblance to Metroid. He noted of the game's drastic change in its graphical style, being more cartoonish compared to the original Baradukes less-muted and darker tone, as well as being more detailed and rounder in shapes. Tiraboschi was most critical of the gameplay itself, which he greatly disliked for its difficulty and bizarre structure. He criticized the lack of shields and the player starting with only one life, which he labeled as "the ultimate "screw you" to the players", saying that the game was ultimately hindered by these "ridiculous limitations", and as such was more of an obstacle course than a scrolling shooter. Tiraboschi also felt the music lacked the unsettling nature of the original. Tetsuya Inamoto of Game Watch ranked it as being one of Namco Bandai's more peculiar choices for the Virtual Console. He commented on the game's graphical overhaul and differences from the original. Ultimately, while he liked the fact that Namco Bandai decided to finally give it a home release, Inamoto considered it to be inferior to its predecessor.