Title: Kauboigan 4: Tetsudō sensō (カウボーイガン 4: 鉄道戦争)
Developer: Chuo Team
Publisher: Pilcom Corporation
System: Musjido 32
Release Date:
JP: September 13, 1997
NA: N/A
EU: N/A
Unlike Zykaya, which signed an exclusivity deal with Phonos, Pilcom published games for both the Musjido 32 and the Phonos FunSystem (as well as the Japan-exclusive JEC-PC). Under pressure from Musjido to release an RPG for their system, Pilcom commissioned Chuo Team to develop a new entry in their Kauboigan series immediately after the release of Kauboigan III. Development lagged due to Chuo’s unfamiliarity with 3D and the Musjido 32’s infamously poor developer kit, but the competed game was eventually released in fall 1997.
Kauboigan 4 is an all-3D game with a theme of grand strategy in addition to its RPG elements. It sees the player commanding a party of three, Ken, Viki, and Zeke, while attempting to wrest control of a complex railroad network from an evil robber baron named, fittingly enough, Baron. El Conejo returns from Kauboigan III as a neutral force who may be courted or fought as he seeks to sabotage rail lines, and other characters from the earlier game appear as NPCs as well. By capturing, holding, and defending their rail network from Mr. Baron, Ken and his companions can eventually build up the strength to challenge him and learn about his true backer: Satan, the Devil himself.
While regarded as a minor classic, Kauboigan 4 was only a modest seller in Japan. This is largely due to the Musjido 32’s lukewarm performance in that market, as Kauboigan 4 topped the Musjido sales charts for some time.
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