Black Tiger (1987)

Black Tiger, known in Japan as Black Dragon, is a 1987 action game released for the arcades by Capcom. A barbarian hero jumps and fights his way through a variety of colourful, enemy-packed levels. The sprawling, eight-way scrolling, two-dimensional levels are packed with hidden bonuses to encourage and reward exploration. Though a percentage of these bonuses consist of dubious and often self-evident "advice", most come in the form of "Zenny coins", currency that allows the player to buy such items as an upgrade to their weapons and armour, keys for treasure chests, and anti-poisoning potions. Special items that reveal coins, upgraded armour, full vitality, extra lives, extra time, or simply bonus points may be found by attacking certain walls. The player's vitality bar will also increase up to three times as a reward for reaching score benchmarks.