Die Hard Arcade

Die Hard Arcade
North American Saturn box art by Mick McGinty
DevelopersSega AM1
Sega Technical Institute
PublisherSega
DirectorMakoto Uchida
ProducersRoger Hector
Rikiya Nakagawa
Makoto Uchida
DesignerMakoto Uchida
ProgrammerHiroshi Ando
ArtistsKunitake Aoki
Tatsuto Kumada
ComposerHoward Drossin
PlatformsArcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Network
Release
July 1996
  • Arcade
    • JP: July 1996
    • NA: August 1996
    • EU: September 1996
    Saturn
    • JP: January 24, 1997
    • PAL: February 24, 1997
    • NA: March 18, 1997
    PlayStation 2
    • JP: April 27, 2006
    PlayStation Network
    • JP: August 22, 2012
GenreBeat 'em up
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemST-V

Die Hard Arcade, known as Dynamite Deka (ダイナマイト刑事, Dainamaito Deka; lit. Dynamite Detective) in Japan, is a 1996 beat 'em up video game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It was the first game in its genre to use texture-mapped 3D polygon graphics, and used a sophisticated move set by contemporary beat 'em up standards, often being likened to a fighting game in this respect. It also features quick time events, the ability to combine items to make more powerful weapons, and in two-player mode the ability to perform combined special moves and combos.

The game was published in cooperation with Fox Interactive and was a licensed product based on the Die Hard movie franchise. Because Sega did not hold the Japanese video game rights to the franchise, the game was stripped of the Die Hard license in Japan and published as an original property.

Similarly to hit action films of the time, Die Hard Arcade is dominated by over-the-top, largely gore-free violence which is played for comedic effect. Released in 1996 for arcades, the game was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1997 and the PlayStation 2 (Japan only) in the Sega Ages line in 2006. A sequel, Dynamite Cop, was released for arcades and Dreamcast in 1998 without the Die Hard license.