GAMING GRAILS
RAPID RELOAD
EXAMINING OUR HOBBY’S BIGGEST HITTERS
It’s not Halloween, but Axel and Ruka still have to fight off the Pumpkin Heads in this early PlayStation run-and-gun. It’s a clear tribute to a Mega Drive classic – does it live up to its inspiration, and can it justify the hefty price tag it now commands?
Words by Nick Thorpe
» [PlayStation] Ruka unleashes her homing lasers in the second stage, a jungle swamp.
IN THE KNOW
» PUBLISHER: SONY
» DEVELOPER: MEDIA VISION
» PLATFORM: PLAYSTATION
» RELEASE: 1995
» PRICE TODAY: £190+
» Rapid Reload may have been renamed for its PAL release, but it kept the Japanese cover art.
THE GAME
Rapid Reload – or Gunners Heaven, as it’s known in Japan – is a traditional run-and-gun game in which you take control of either Axel Sonics or Ruka Hetfield, treasure hunters on a quest to find a stone called the Valkiry.