you know how when you're playing a belt scroller/beatemup and you've destroyed everyone around you, and the game tells you to get the show on the road? it's an arcade-y little piece of UI designed to direct players who might not realize they're done in the current area, and if you're lucky if helps reinforce the tone and setting of the game itself.

this can range from the utilitarian, as seen in the simple arrow from Final Fight 2, to the conventional but thematically appropriate gauntlet icon in Knights of the Round. getting even more whimsical you have one of my personal favorites, the strange creature directing you forward in Pu~Li~Ru~La, and of course the gold standard, GO! TO HELL! from Night Slashers.

Can yall think of any other good examples of this feature? please share with your favorites, i'd love to see em.

night slashers is an absolutely unassailable tower in this regard, no contesting that

but i just want to point out that "cute support character in the upgrade shop" is a bracket packed with nothing but career-proven killers, while "cute support character in the GO! arrow" has historically barely seen any serious competition at all. wide-open category, folks. free real estate