''Justice Duel'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

developed and published by

Mega Cat Studios Mega Cat Studios is an American video game development and publishing company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 2015 by James Deighan, Nick Mann, and Zack Manko. Mega Cat develops and publishes games for computers, consoles ...

. It was released on the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

in 2017. Players battle one another while riding cybernetically enhanced eagles. The game plays similarly to ''

Joust Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

''.

Gameplay

The player controls a cyborg version of a past

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

riding a cybernetically enhanced eagle to duel either against other human players or the game's AI. The player duels by firing projectiles at their opponents; a level is completed once there are no remaining opponents. Players can pick up power-ups in the form of mines and traps to use against opponents. ''Justice Duel'' supports multiplayer for up to four players through the

NES Four Score The NES Four Score and NES Satellite are multitap accessories produced by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). With supported games, both peripherals allow the connection of up to four controllers to input simultaneously on th ...

Development

Besides ''Joust'', the game's developers cite ''

TowerFall ''TowerFall'' is an action indie video game created by Maddy Thorson through her company Maddy Makes Games. In the game, players control up to four archers in a multiplayer platform fighter. It was released on the Ouya microconsole in June 2 ...

'' and ''

Balloon Fight is an action video game developed by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released for arcades as ''VS. Balloon Fight'', with the console version releasing in Japan in ...

'' as having inspired elements of the game's design.

Evercade release

Mega Cat Studios released ''Justice Duel'' in a compilation cartridge for the

Evercade The Evercade is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by British company Blaze Entertainment. It focuses on retrogaming with ROM cartridges that each contain a number of emulated games. The Evercade was released on 22 May 2020, and ...

, along with several other titles from the studio, including ''Little Medusa'', ''

Log Jammers ''Log Jammers'' is a sports video game published and developed by Mega Cat Studios. It was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System and is scheduled to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One in 2020. ...

'', and ''

Coffee Crisis ''Coffee Crisis'' is a game for the Sega Genesis, Genesis/Mega Drive and Microsoft Windows, developed and published by Pittsburgh-based company Mega Cat Studios. The console version was released on February 24, 2017, as a physical cartridge with ...

''.

Child's Play edition

In 2018, Mega Cat Studios released a special edition of ''Justice Duel'' to raise money for the charity Child's Play; it debuted at

PAX East PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, and Melbourne. Previously, it was also held in San Anton ...

and was part of the Omegathon tournament. This special edition of the game features two additional playable characters: Della and Rod, who ride a duck and a quail, respectively.

Reception

''Justice Duel'' has received a generally positive reception from the press, being praised for its aesthetic and fast paced gameplay.

References

External links

* {{Homebrew 2017 video games Eagles in popular culture Fiction about cyborgs Fictional presidents of the United States Homebrew software Indie games Mega Cat Studios games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Platformers Unauthorized video games Video games developed in the United States Video games about birds