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Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
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About Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Capcom's export release of this 2.5D fighter focuses on side-scrolling combat against prehistoric threats. Players navigate various environments while utilizing heavy weaponry and melee strikes to clear waves of enemies. The gameplay emphasizes rhythmic brawling and projectile management to survive through multiple stages of the combat-heavy experience.
Player layout in our catalog: 3P sim.
If you are exploring by feel rather than by title, jump from the tags above into the matching genre rooms, or return to the Arcade hall for the full wall.
Open Play on this page to start Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. Keyboard, USB/Bluetooth pads, and the on-screen touch gamepad all work inside the emulator bar. Save states and fullscreen live on that same bar so you can pause mid-session and resume later.
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs — play guide
What Cadillacs and Dinosaurs wants from you
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Capcom CPS1, 1993) is a three-player beat-’em-up set in a post-apocalyptic Xenozoic world: Jack, Hannah, or Mustapha smash through Black Marketeers and dinosaurs toward the finale. Your objective is crowd control with character-specific tools—grabs, jumps, and the occasional vehicle—while keeping health packs for late-stage packs of enemies. Bosses mix human gunners with dino spectacle; respect both hitboxes. Treat Cadillacs and Dinosaurs as Capcom’s colorful CPS1 brawler exam, not a button-mash demo.
First minutes in Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Boot Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and pick Jack for balanced power, Mustapha for speed, or Hannah if you like her kit’s pacing. The opening stages teach two-side spawns immediately: walk to create a pocket, jump-attack tall threats, and grab when an enemy is inside throw range instead of trading punches forever. Weapons and guns appear as pickups—use them to thin a wave, then drop back to grabs when empty. Do not burn the character special on the first lone thug; it is your surround escape. In three-player, stagger who opens crates so health is not eaten by the healthiest character.
Grabs, guns, vehicles, and dino bosses
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs runs on Capcom belt grammar: proximity throws, jump attacks, ground weapons, and food/health from breakables. Firearms change spacing—hold a lane and do not reload your attention into empty air while a raptor closes. Vehicles show up as stage toys; ride with intent and bail before a crash animation drops you into a pack. Dinosaur bosses and mid-bosses have wind-ups—learn the roar-and-charge timing instead of mashing through invuln frames. Human bosses with guns want horizontal movement and patient approaches. Co-op multiplies both clear speed and food hunger; call heals out loud if you are sharing a cabinet.
Score and credit strategy
Score rises with defeated enemies and stage clears, but Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is paced so that survival into late stages is the achievement. Continues while learning the final gauntlet are normal; one-credit clears need fewer panic specials and cleaner weapon use. Skip greed: breaking every barrel during a surround is how credits die. Extends, when present, follow score—play well enough to notice them without farming the first desert forever.
Mistakes that burn Cadillacs and Dinosaurs credits
Common mistakes: standing center-screen in spawn points; punching when a grab would delete the threat; dumping specials on trash; ignoring off-screen partners; and chasing a dinosaur’s face during invulnerable roar frames. Players also hog every gun drop in three-player. Fix by checking both edges every few seconds, saving specials for surrounds, and assigning who takes the next health pack.
After Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
After Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, The Punisher and Final Fight keep Capcom’s grab school sharp under clearer street peeks. Knights of the Round and Warriors of Fate add fantasy weapon layers when you want class kits instead of dinosaurs. Metal Slug swaps dinosaurs for tanks if you want run-and-gun humor instead of belt scrolling. Keep playing until panic-mash empties stop ending sessions mid-stage on later boards. Clear one full stage carefully before you chase vanity specials again on denser Capcom belt cabinets, and keep co-op lane peeks honest every credit.
Sources cited below under Further reading.
Cabinet dossier
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is filed in our catalog as a 1993 release.
Player layout on this cabinet: 3P sim.
Genre tags on Classic Arcade Games: Fighter.
Credit line lists Capcom as developer.
Screenshots
Next cabinets
Nearby cabinets you may also open from this hall (each on its own play page):Captain Commando, Knights of the Round, The King of Dragons, Mega Man: The Power Battle (CPS1, USA 951006), Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting, Street Fighter Zero (CPS Changer, Japan 951020), Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers (bootleg of Japanese Mega Drive version), Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter II (handheld), Tenchi wo Kurau II: Sekiheki no Tatakai (CPS Changer, Japan 921031), JoJo's Venture
Explore more on this site
Same genre
Captain Commando · Knights of the Round · The King of Dragons · Mega Man: The Power Battle (CPS1, USA 951006) · Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting · Street Fighter Zero (CPS Changer, Japan 951020) · Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers · Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers (bootleg of Japanese Mega Drive version) · Super Street Fighter II Turbo · Street Fighter II (handheld) · Tenchi wo Kurau II: Sekiheki no Tatakai (CPS Changer, Japan 921031) · JoJo's Venture
Same studio
Captain Commando · Knights of the Round · The King of Dragons · Mega Man: The Power Battle (CPS1, USA 951006) · Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting · Street Fighter Zero (CPS Changer, Japan 951020) · Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers · Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers (bootleg of Japanese Mega Drive version) · Super Street Fighter II Turbo · Street Fighter II (handheld) · Tenchi wo Kurau II: Sekiheki no Tatakai (CPS Changer, Japan 921031) · JoJo's Venture
How to play Cadillacs and Dinosaurs online
- Arcade stick feel: Arrow keys for the joystick, X/Z (and nearby keys) for buttons, Enter=Start.
- USB / Bluetooth pads map cleanly; six-button fighters use the face-button cluster.
- On phones, open the on-screen pad from the emulator bar; rotate sits next to fullscreen.
- Save states, load, volume, and fullscreen stay on the emulator bar between credits.
Studio notes — Capcom
Capcom appears on this cabinet’s credit line. Browse more titles from the same studio on the developer shelf, or stay on this page and try the next cabinets in the same hall.
Captain Commando · Knights of the Round · The King of Dragons · Mega Man: The Power Battle (CPS1, USA 951006) · Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting · Street Fighter Zero (CPS Changer, Japan 951020) · Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers · Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers (bootleg of Japanese Mega Drive version)
Questions about Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Can I play Cadillacs and Dinosaurs free in a browser?
Yes. Classic Arcade Games hosts Cadillacs and Dinosaurs as a Arcade cabinet you can start on this page. The emulator loads in the browser; you do not need to install a separate app.
What controls does Cadillacs and Dinosaurs support?
Arcade stick feel: Arrow keys for the joystick, X/Z (and nearby keys) for buttons, Enter=Start. USB / Bluetooth pads map cleanly; six-button fighters use the face-button cluster.
What genre is Cadillacs and Dinosaurs on Classic Arcade Games?
Our catalog tags Cadillacs and Dinosaurs under Fighter. Open those genre rooms from the tags on this page to find more playable cabinets in the same feel.
Further reading
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