Granada Japan^[a] is a shooter video game developed and originally published by Wolf Team exclusively for the X68000 in Japan on 20 April 1990. The ninth title to be created and released by Wolf Team for the X68000 platform, the game is set on a futuristic Africa in 2016 where a war erupted over mining rights towards rare metals and has quickly escalated due to newly-introduced weapons called Maneuver Cepters, as players assume the role of mercenary 

Granada Japan

Leon Todo piloting the titular Maneuver Cepter tank unit in an attempt to stop the conflict once and for all. Its gameplay mainly consists of action and shooting mixed with mission-based exploration using a main two-button configuration.

Developed over the course of two years, Granada became the first project by Wolf Team that placed emphasis on gameplay instead of plot and was influenced by various arcade games like Grobda and Assault by Namco. Initially launched for the X68000 home computer, the title was later ported to the Sega Genesis, which was published across several regions during the same year such as Japan by Wolf Team and North America by Renovation Products respectively, featuring several changes compared with the original version. The X68000 version has since been re-released only in Japan through download services for Microsoft Windows.

Granada Japan

Granada became a popular title among the X68000 userbase from Wolf Team during its release for a brief period and was eventually nominated for a “Game of the Year” award by Japanese magazine Oh!X before ultimately losing against other titles on the system.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} The Sega Genesis version garnered generally positive reception from critics, who commended several aspects such as the presentation, graphics, sound design, controls, gameplay and replay value. Retrospective reviews for the Genesis version have been equally positive in recent years.

Gameplay – Granada Japan

Granada is a multidirectional shooter game similar to Thunder Force where players assume the role of mercenary Leon Todo taking control of the titular Maneuver Cepter tank unit through eight stages of varying themes set on Africa in order to complete a series of objectives as attempts to fight against the enemies and ultimately end the ongoing conflict in the region.^[7][8] 

Granada Japan

Before starting a new game, players have access to the configuration menu at the title screen, where various settings can be adjusted such as controls and choosing any of the four levels of difficulty, each one applying a different stipulation during gameplay depending on the version that is being played.^[7][8]

The players are situated in a large field full of enemies, obstacles, and enemy generators that may be freely moved upon, unlike most conventional shooter titles and the main goal of each level is to destroy each main enemy signalized as red dots on the HUD located on the bottom right corner of the screen, with the last objective being a boss that must be fought at the end of the stage in order to progress further before the timer runs out. Players can also collect items scattered across the stage to increase their available arsenal.

Windy Avenue (Stage 2: Carrier)

Marching Way (Stage 4: Underground Cavern)

Smashing Street (Stage 9: Enemy Base)

Bumpy Road (Stage 8: Volcano)

Heavy Line (Stage 1: Dead City)