This is a clone of Exidy's "Circus".
Springboard (Subelectro, 77)
This is a clone of Exidy's "Circus".
Space Battle (U.S. Billiards, 77)
Picture taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Not the same as the "Space War" bootleg or the Hoei game.
OOPS (Vectorbeam [prototype, vector], 78)
Scramble (Vectorbeam [prototype, vector], 78)
Picture taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Blasto (Cocktail/Standaround) (Gremlin, 78)
Info from GregAC5A:
According to the Blasto manual and an advertising flyer which can be
read on TAFA: "Gameplay and scoring is different between upright cab
version of Blasto (emulated) and the cocktail table or the stand
around table of Blasto. The cocktail table and stand around table
versions of Blasto behave the same."
(GT) Block Challenger (Sun Electronics, 78)
(GT) Block Perfect (Sun Electronics, 78)
Galaxy Force (Sun Electronics, 79)
Not the same as the Sega game.
Dai San Wakusei (The Third Planet) (Sun Electronics, 79)
Pictures taken from
Emulation Status
Runaway (Sun Electronics, 79)
Not the same as the Atari prototype.
Limbo (Universal, 78)
Picture taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Star Rub (Universal, 78)
Picture taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
UFO No. 1 (Turtle, 78)
A "Breakout" style game where the ball is a UFO.
Spacian (Turtle, 79?)
A clone of "Galaxian" or "Space Invaders"?
Super UFO (Turtle, 79?)
Sequel to "UFO No. 1".
Computer Othello (Nintendo, 78)
ShimaPong scans from a Japanese magazine.
Info from ShimaPong:
This is an early (first?) Nintendo arcade game. The distinguishing thing about
it is that the pieces are "Square" and "Plus" instead of white/black. You move
the cursor by vertical and horizontal buttons (not stick!), then set the piece
with another button. You can also skip your turn with a pass button. When you
want to give up, press the Hantei (Judgment) button and the game finishes. The
timer is displayed on a separate set of LEDs.
Block Fever (Nintendo, 78)
Similar to Breakout.
Monkey Magic (Nintendo, 79)
Picture from flyer.
Ball and paddle type game where the top area of the screen is a monkey head!
Sheriff 2 (Nintendo, 79)
Galaxia (Zaccaria, 79)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Dracula Hunter (Technon Kogyo, 79)
Tomahawk Missile (Electro Sport, 80)
This is the licensed version of Data East's "Tomahawk 777" which is
in MAME.
与作 [Yosaku] (SNK, 79)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Could possibly be dumped, but the ROMset is uncertain.
Battle Star (Centuri (Sega/Gremlin?) [ever finished/released?], 79)
Picture taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Flyer shows conversion from Space Fury to Battle Star.
Info from Randy Hoffman:
It's supposedly a G80 vector game. Not sure if it would have been a
Sega version of the Centuri game, or a different animal entirely. A marquee
has been found, but no boards. People should be careful though -- all "Space
Fury" boards are marked "Battle Star," so before buying a "Battle Star"
romset, they should make sure the ROM numbers differ from those of
"Space Fury."
Space Bug (Centuri, 79)
Shuttle Invader Part II (Omori, 79)
Sky Love (Omori, 80)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Sky Way (Omori, 80)
Super Space Guerilla (Omori, 80)
Astro Wars (Universal, 79)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Get A Way (Universal, 80)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Taskete (Karateco, 80)
A clone or bootleg of "Speak & Rescue" which is in MAME. Incidentally,
"tasukete" means "please help" in Japanese.
Tora Tora (GamePlan, 80)
Pictures taken from the MAME WIP page.
Ron 2-nin Mahjong (Sanritsu, 80)
Ron 2-nin Mahjong 2 (Sanritsu, 80)
Final Ranger (Hoei, 80)
Pictures taken from
Emulation Status
Space Battle (Hoei, 80)
Pictures taken from
Emulation Status
Not the same as the "Space War" bootleg or the US Billiards game.
Red Tank (Sigma, 80)
The original "Red Tank" is needed, the Venture Line licensed update
"R2D Tank" is already dumped.
Cosmopolis (Sun Electronics, 80)
Not the same as the Tairo America prototype.
Route 16 (Sun Electronics, 81)
Only the original Sun version is a Most Wanted ROM, the Centuri and bootleg
versions are supported in MAME.
Super Golf (Logitec, 81)
ShimaPong scan from a Japanese magazine.
Info from ShimaPong:
Super Golf was released in autumn 1981, while the Deco Cassette smash hit Pro
Golf came out in August. So, we don't hear much about Super Golf. It also doesn't
help that it was such a rare release.
Crazy Otto (General Computing [prototype], 81)
Picture taken from Time article.
This is more commonly known as "Pac-Man With Legs", from the picture
which appeared in a Time Magazine article about Pac Man fever spreading
around the US. Anyway, GCC, known for making Food Fight and Quantum
for Atari as a settlement for producing a Missile Command hack had also
made this hack of Pac-Man. After settling with Midway, the game was
converted into the famous Ms. Pac-Man. Whether or not any boards of
the "Crazy Otto" version exist (or were released to the public at all)
is the big question. Check out an article about it
here.
More info...
According to an interview
(the 7800 one), the creators said that three Crazy Otto machines were tested in
Boston and Chicago. It's unknown where they are presently, though. Thanks to Ken
Aromdee for the link.
Jump Bug (Alpha Denshi, 81)
The original Alpha Denshi version of Jump Bug is a Most Wanted ROM, though
the Rock-Ola version is supported in MAME.
Laser Base / Future Flash (Amstar/Hoei, 81)
Picture taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
From WHATSNEW.TXT:
Unemulated protection.
Jack Potten's Poker (Omega, 81)
Outpost (Cinematronics [prototype, vector], 81?)
This was the prototype for Boxing Bugs.
Donkey King (Bootleg, 81)
This is a bootleg of Falcon's "Crazy Kong". Cabinet and marquee can be found
at KLOV.
Info from Chuck Cochems:
It is (a clone, but) not a carbon copy of Crazy Kong.
1) It has a unique, but cosistent color scheme. The third level, for
example, had RED girders on it, as I recall. it also didnt' do the "half
the elevators missing" thing.
2) I recall the jumpman in that version having a much more angular jump
that covered more distance than the normal donkey kong jump. This was
probably their workaround to the old crazy kong cheat.
3) it has it's own bug with the bonus count routine, where you will get
a huge bonus if the timer has the right number on it.
4) getting the top score earns you a FREE GAME.
Congorilla (Orca, 81)
This is a bootleg of Falcon's "Crazy Kong". It's such a bootleg, in fact, that
the ROMs to the game are exact duplicates of Crazy Kong's - they are no longer
needed.
Crazy (Kong) Jr. (Falcon, 82)
This was Falcon's bootleg of Donkey Kong Jr. Pictures of the marquee
all say "Crazy Junior" as opposed to Crazy Kong Jr. Possibly unemulated
because of no ROM dump, the hardware is probably similar to Crazy Kong.
Catapult (Epos, 82)
Catapult doesn't work at all in MAME 0.62.
Space Pioneer (Rock-Ola, 82)
This is the same as Pioneer Balooon but with space-themed graphics.
The existing dump is bad.
Battle Back (Alstate Group [ever finished/released?], 82)
Flyer exists but doesn't have any pictures or description of the game, other than
that it took the shape of two back-to-back cabinets, with a screen for each player.
Donkey Kong speed-up kit #2 (Nintendo, 82)
The official speed-up kit #2 for "Donkey Kong", part number TKG-23-70
is a Most Wanted ROM.
Survival (Rock-Ola, 82)
Survival is under the Phoenix driver but isn't working due to unemulated protection.
Journey (Stern, 82?)
A short movie of the game is at the
Starcade Page.
It's not the same as the Midway game with the rock band.
M075 Poker (Greyhound Electronics, 82)
Treasure Cove (Wico [ever finished/released?], 82)
The Shogun (Omori, 82)
Sky Parking (Omori, 82)
The 野球拳 [The Yakyuken] (Omori, 82)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Dodge Man (Omori, 83)
Barracuda (Coinex, 82)
Monster Zero (Nihon Game, 82)
From Pierpaolo Prazzoli:
Monster Zero (Nihon Game 1982) has a weird protection which seems to test some values
from program code, but it also seems to provide extra code to extra ram which will
probably need a trojan to extract it.
Armada (Olympia, 82?)
Vega (Olympia, 8?)
Witch Way (Shine Electronics, 82)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Witches Way (ATW (Arctic) [ever finished/released?], 83)
Possibly the same game as "Witch Way"?
Big Paw's Cave (Moppet Video, 82)
Desert Race (Moppet Video, 83)
Picture taken from
Emulation Status.
Change Leon(?) (Sanritsu, 82)
The title is uncertain but it's not "Chameleon".
Red Selector (Sanritsu, 82)
Triple Punch (Sanritsu, 82)
The Sanritsu version of Triple Punch is a Most Wanted ROM, the KKI
version is supported in MAME.
Jantotsu (Sanritsu, 83)
Picture taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Jantotsu Super (Sanritsu, 83)
Quiz Jump (Sanritsu, 83)
Roppyakuken (Sanritsu, 83)
AIM (Ever Denshi, 83)
ShimaPong scans from a Japanese magazine.
Info from ShimaPong:
Conversion kit for Mr.Do. You absorb attacks for a given length of time. Your energy
decreases when you fire and the game is over at 0. You recover energy by destroying enemies.
Jong II (Dynax, 83)
ShimaPong scan from a Japanese magazine.
ACW (SNK, 83)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
This Japanese version is a Most Wanted ROM, the other version "Marvin's Maze"
is supported in MAME.
Tangram Q (SNK, 83)
Hovercraft (Cinematronics [never released, vector], 83)
68K-based vector game, the software might still exist.
Donkey Kong Jr. kits (Nintendo, 83)
The official kits for "Donkey Kong Jr.", kits DJR1-E (easier version)
and DJR1-P (harder version) are Most Wanted ROMs.
Punch-Out! (Nintendo, 83)
The Japanese version of "Punch-Out!" is a Most Wanted ROM.
Safari (Zaccaria, 83)
This is a clone/bootleg of Olympia's "Portraits".
Great Guns (Stern, 83)
Pictures from MAME WIP page.
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Info from WHATSNEW.TXT:
Graphics leave trails.
Burble (Falcon, 83)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Holey Moley (Tai, 83)
Picture courtesy of Deb.
In MAME as "Mole Attack" by Yachiyo.
Clone (Rock-Ola [ever finished/released?, vector])
Rocket Racer (Rock-Ola [ever finished/released?, vector], 83)
Flyer exists, but the only description is "Maneuver your own Rocket Racer thru the
challenging space corridor".
Mazer Blazer (Stern, 83)
Pictures from the MAME WIP page.
The existing dump is missing the sound and color PROMs.
A short movie of Mazer Blazer is at the
Starcade homepage.
Birdiy (Mama Top [ever finished/released?], 83)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Anno Domini 2084 (Midcoin [prototype?], 83)
Info from GregAC5A/Kold666/Vernimark:
Apparently AD 2083 is a preproduction or prototype board, and Anno Domini
2084 (AD 2084) is the final revision. Both boards are originals marked Midcoin.
Mini Boy 7 (Bonanza Enterprises Ltd, 83)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Fast Draw (Stern, 83)
Super Draw (Stern, 83)
Poker game conversion kits. According to the flyer, Fast Draw is a conversion
for horizontal cabinets and Super Draw is for vertical cabinets.
From WHATSNEW.TXT:
needs inputs finishing, need to work out if its a gambling game, if so
it will be removed
Altair II (Cidelsa)
Similar to Destroyer, but you can move your ship up and down
also.
Vampire (Entertainment Enterprise Ltd, 83)
Little Casino 2 (Digital Controls, 84)
Devastator (Williams [prototype], 83?)
3D, 68k-based game. According to the flyer, it's a space flight simulator
with flight and thrust sticks, laser trigger, and torpedo launch buttons.
Predators (Williams [prototype], 84)
Info taken from
Predators page
This game was made to link four cabinets together in what was called the
"Quadraplay System". Each cabinet was named after a bird of prey --
Eagle, Hawk, Falcon, and Condor. Predators has been found in a cabinet
similar to Williams' Blaster, and in a dual-screen Nintendo VS cabinet.
The screen was color vector and had a vertical orientation. Apparently
the game had "a space theme and your ship was just a circle with a turret
on top" and you view a radar and use thrust, fire, and anti-matter pod
(bomb) to seek out and destroy the other players. See the
Predators page
for more information and pictures of the cabinets.
Space X (Nintendo [ever finished/released?], 84)
3D hardware (!), resembled a 3D version of "Radarscope"
Arcade Super-Reflex (Zaccaria, 8?)
Revenger '84 (Magic Electronics [ever finished/released?], 84)
"Defender" clone? Flyer exists with no real information about the game.
Bouncer (Entertainment Sciences [prototype], 84)
Picture scans found on the web!
From Chris at Turbo Sub:
Bouncer was completed and was tested at two arcades in Southern California, and was also shown at the
New Orleans AMOA show in 1983. At one point in time there were approximately 20 Bouncer machines that
were completed. While it tested well, it was shelved due to cost and until a follow-up game could be
completed. A second game, Turbo Sub was released, and Bouncer was to be sold as a kit. Unfortunately,
a bitter legal battle ensued between Entertainment Sciences and the company they contracted to build
the games. After the contract company lost the legal battle, they disappeared with most of the assets
of Entertainment Sciences. The few remaining assets (a few completed Turbo Sub machines, and many
uncompleted were relocated to a warehouse in Baton Rouge where they were discovered many years later.
In 2004, the owner of the contract company was located, and I was informed that the items that disappeared
were destroyed in the 1990's. The items included prototypes, completed PCB's, PCB films, disks, etc.
They have been sitting in a landfill in Southern California for at least 10 years now.
Of the 20 machines that were initially built, at least 3 are known to have escaped destruction. I've been
searching for these machines for the past 7 years, and in the process I have contacted virtually every
employee of Entertainment Sciences. Unfortunately no former employees has any Bouncer rom images.
Info from Arnold:
I was surprised to see this game listed. This game was much hyped by
Gamepro in 1983/84 (while in development) as a start-up game with breakout
graphics/gameplay from the cartoon company Hanna-Barbera! I never saw
it in the arcades here in the LA area, though.
Small bit of info sent to me:
August 22, 2004 update at Giant List of Video Game Programmers
Rob Patton was at Cinematronics at the same time as Tim Skelly and Scott Boden and wrote
Barrier (1979) and War of the Worlds (1981). But what's most interesting is that he was
responsible for Entertainment Sciences' Bouncer a few years later. Never officially
released, Bouncer generated buzz in 1984 for featuring much more extensive character
animation than was the norm and for real-time scaling of sprites. Here's Rob:
The field tests on Bouncer did really well, and it was the best animated game of that era.
I hired an ex-Disney/HannaBarbera animator to lead that part, and we may have been one of
the first companies to optically capture the animation using our own capture and anti-alias
fill tools.
The reason it didnt get manufactured was the company was on limited funding and had
difficulty raising several millions for a manufacturing run. Atari (Bushnell and others)
flew down for licensing meetings but ended up studying the game and incorporating similar
ideas in their next round of products.
Bouncer was the first of many planned games that were interchangeable on the same hardware & cabinets.
Interestingly, after Bushnell saw what we were up to, he soon left Atari and founded Sente
and came out with his own line of interchangeable games called the Sente System. At that
time I was then with Sega and actually had a couple business meeting with Nolan regarding
Sega partnering with him on games for Sente & Sega.
Info from Randy Hoffman:
New info indicates that "Bouncer" was never released, but prototypes
were in the process of being made when Entertainment Sciences went under.
However, none of the boards that have been found have been populated with
ROMs, and it's unknown whether any ROM chips were actually burned with the
game software.
Info from Christian:
I don't know if this helps at all, but I clearly remember playing
Bouncer in a large arcade adjacent to Golden West college in Huntington
Beach, CA, when I was nine years old. The experience was very vivid --
the game was hysterical -- my little sister laughed out loud as I
played it. Even she remembers the game to this day, and she was seven
years old.
You play a bar's bouncer who goes around roughing up 'unwanted' bar
patrons, then throwing them out the door or the window. Sometimes
you'd actually crush a guy into a ball, then dribble them around the
bar like a basketball until you tossed them out. (The game image on
your website shows this). The game had very advanced voice clips and
sound clips for the time -- drunks would enter the bar singing "How dry
I am...", other beatnecks come in with similar catch phrases, window
breaking sounds, ball-dribbling sounds -- this game had it all.
Control was a little awkward considering that you moved the bouncer
around the bar with a trackball, not a joystick. I only remember a
single action button, used to jostle/rough-up a guy, pick them up,
then 'release' them near an exit where they'd go flying.
The game was only at this arcade for a few weeks. I was disappointed
when I no longer saw it there. I looked for it for years at other
arcades -- never saw it again. If it's true that it was only a
prototype, then that arcade must have been a test site of some sort.
Jan Oh / Mahjong King (Toaplan/SNK, 84)
Jan Kyou / Mahjong Mania (Toaplan, 85)
Zarya Vostoka (Nova, 84)
This sequel to Intrepid is playable in MAME 0.62, but all the graphics
are garbled and mixed up.
Aka Zukin (Sigma/Seibu, 84)
a.k.a. "Little Red Riding Hood"?
Wiz knight version (Seibu Kaihatsu, 84)
ShimaPong scan from a Japanese magazine.
Info from ShimaPong:
The main character is a knight instead of a wizard in this version.
According to the caption, it's for export (i.e. a non-Japanese version).
906III Video Poker (Casino Electronics, 85)
Wink (Midcoin, 85)
Any Midcoin game except for Wall Crash and Wink is a Most Wanted ROM.
Trivia Challenge (Joyland, 85)
From WHATSNEW.TXT:
Missing question ROMs.
Trivia Madness (Thunderhead Inc, 85)
Kayak (Kyle Hodgetts [prototype], 85)
This was a "Frogger" conversion co-created with Tony Hana. There is
also a prototype conversion for two "Qix" boards and dual monitors
co-created with Tony Hana that resembled the C-64 game "Elite", but
the name of this game is unknown.
Mirax (Current Technologies, 85)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Possibly a clone of Exerion.
Boomerang (Sun, 85)
Picture scan courtesy of Deb!
This game is in MAME under the name Ikki. Boomerang is the English
language version.
Planet Probe (85)
Really a great game, but information is hard to find about it (may have
been made only in Japan) It's a horizontal shooter, even if you shot
vertically (like in Tehkan's Senjyo). Volcanos erupting, many many
different enemies, dozens of secret targets.
Zippy Bug (Coreland, 86)
Pictures taken from
Filtek's Used PCBs.
Zippy Bug is supposed to be the name of the game in the US, and the name the
pictures were listed under was GP Bug...
Anyhow, a bootleg version of this game is in MAME under the name
Noboranka. The original Coreland version of Noboranka is a Most Wanted
ROM.
Jan-Shin (Dynax, 86)
ShimaPong scan from a Japanese magazine.
American Football (Universal [unreleased], 86)
American Soccer (Universal [unreleased], 86)
ShimaPong scan from a Japanese magazine.
Info from ShimaPong:
This is the unreleased Japanese version of Indoor Soccer. The same year, Universal
planned another sports game "American Football", but this game was unreleased too.
Dodge City (Merit, 86)
Poker game.
ZX-2000 (Electrocoin, 86)
Pictures taken from
magazine scans.
Diamond Derby (Electrocoin, 86)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Info from WHATSNEW.TXT:
This is a gambling game and will probably be removed once the
driver is complete, it's just here while it is developed.
Turbo Sub (Entertainment Sciences, 86)
From WHATSNEW.TXT:
Basic driver for now, acts as a bitmap viewer for the GFX roms.
Fire Trap (Woodplace, 86)
This original version of Fire Trap is a Most Wanted ROM, the bootleg
and Data East versions are in MAME.
Give Us a Break (JPM, 86)
Ten Up (JPM, 88)
THX-DR122 (Game Arts, 86?)
From MAMEWorld Message Board:
Seeing how the word "arcade" is thrown all around the various paragraphs on back
cover of the box, the wording on back of the box probably meant that the word
"arcade" is probably more of a generic description regarding the game play...
not "game used to be in arcades".
Yes. Especially in light of the next section, which says:
Thexder was created for second generation computers with 16-bit
processors and advanced animation capabilities.
Info from Paco Aragorn:
THX-DR122 was called "Thexder" on domestic/computer conversions. The
programming was by Synergistic Software Inc. though the producer was
Game Arts Co. Ltd. Domestic ports were on the MSX, NES, Apple II,
IBM PC, and maybe others. It's a lovely game that I played when I
was a boy. I can't try to emulate it because I don't have the ROM set.
Buggy Boy/Speed Buggy (cockpit) (Tatsumi/Data East, 86)
The one-screen Buggy Boy Jr/Speed Buggy (upright) is playable
in MAME, but this 3-screen version doesn't work yet.
TX-1/Buggy Boy update from Phil Bennett:
The main issue is the (documented) arithmetic chip and its complex
interface with the slave CPU. The sprites and road drawing rely
VERY heavily on it.
More Information from Who Wants to Know:
The hardware for Buggy Boy
isn't nearly as complex as we thought for Lock-On, but it's still a
bear. Both single and triple-screen versions use hardware similar to
TX-1 (figures since they're from the same manufacturer): two 8086's
(could be Intels or equivalents from AMD or NEC) and a Z80 to drive some
standard-issue sound. Still, the layout's pretty complex, and that's
what's slowing progress on the emulation.
Why it's not emulated (Randy Hoffman):
The only dump of Speed Buggy/Buggy Boy that I know of is
missing a sound ROM, but I'm not sure whether the rest of the emulation is
doable or not, especially since it has the same nutsy quadruple-V30
hardware as Lock On.(distributed by Data East)
Gray Out (Tatsumi, 87)
Flyer pictures taken from
Emulation Status
Surfer (Action Video [ever finished/released?], 87)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Mayumi Chan Kiki Ippatsu (Sanritsu, 87)
The Sanritsu version is a Most Wanted ROM, the Victory version is
supported in MAME.
Trail Blazer (Coinmaster, 87)
Super Nudger II (Coinmaster, 89)
Go Coo: The Incredible Challenge (Technos, 88)
Found in magazine
scans, Go Coo is in MAME As China Gate.
Blasta Ball (Mastertronic/Arcadia, 88)
Based on the Amiga game Hyperbowl.
Pool (Mastertronic/Arcadia, 89)
More info about the hardware:
These titles were made by a group called Mastertronic under the label
of Arcadia. They were based on the Amiga hardware, and possibly only
released in Europe and Australia. According to Zzapp64, these games
were part of the Super Select System, similar to a Playchoice-10 but
with Amiga-based games. The first five make the "Sports Simulation"
package, while the latter five are the "Arcade Action" package.
Aaargh! (Mastertronic/Arcadia, 88)
Pictures taken from
magazine scans.
Control a giant lizard or cyclops who destroys buildings a la Rampage.
Rockford (Mastertronic/Arcadia, 88)
Picture taken from
magazine scans.
A version of Boulderdash.
Air Raid (Seibu, 87)
Cross Shooter (Taito / JKH [bootleg], 87)
Pictures taken from the MAME WIP page.
Pictures taken from
Tim's Arcade Page and
Emulation Status.
雀棒其の2 [Jongbou Sono 2] (SNK, 87)
flyer doesn't have any snapshots for this mahjong game.
Back Fire (Tecmo [prototype or limited release], 87)
Pictures taken from a Japanese magazine. Anyone
fluent in Japanese see anything interesting in the text?
Supposedly dumped, but the ROM images haven't been released. This is not the same as the Data East
game. For more pictures, see Emulation Status link below.
More info from Emulation Status:
According to Gin, this is a special prototype version of the horizontal scrolling helicopter shoot 'em up,
Silkworm. The background of the 1st level resembles the background of Silkworm very much, but other than
that, the gameplay is quite different. The player controls a plane instead that has forward & reverse
thrusters so he can go forwards and backwards, which is why the game is named Back Fire. The energy bar at
the bottom energizes as the player accelerates. The player also has a condition meter at the top of the
screen that shows the status of the plane he controls (goes from green to red).
Almond Pinky (Dynax, 88)
雀遊記 [Jan Yu Ki] (Dynax, 88)
ShimaPong scans from a Japanese magazine.
Info from ShimaPong:
Jong Yu Ki is a mahjong game with dual monitors like Jong Tou Ki.
Super Ranger (Suna, 88)
A clone of Rough Ranger.
Alpha One (Vision Electronics / Kyle Hodgetts, 88)
Dash Yarou (Toaplan, 88)
In MAME under the name Rally Bike/Dash Yarou.
Tatsujin (Toaplan, 88)
In MAME under the name Truxton/Tatsujin.
Last Apostle Puppet Show / Chinese Exorcist (Homedata, 88)
These are other names for Reikai Doushi, which is in MAME. Though there
has been a screenshot showing the title screen of "Chinese Exorcist"
I'm not 100% sure there is an actual version called
"Last Apostle Puppet Show".
International Team Laser (88)
Pictures taken from
magazine scans.
Apache 3 (Tatsumi, 88)
Pictures taken from
Tim's Arcade Page.
Round Up 5 (Tatsumi, 89)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Cycle Warriors (Tatsumi, 91)
Pictures taken from
Arcade Flyer Archive
Games are pretty much playable but the graphics need work to various degrees on each
game.
From WHATSNEW.TXT:
Incredibly complex hardware! These are all different boards, but share a similar
sprite chip (TZB215 on Apache 3, TZB315 on others). Other graphics (road, sky,
bg/fg layers) all differ between games. Todo:
Sprite rotation
Finish road layer (Round Up 5)
Implement road layer (Apache 3, Cycle Warriors)
BG layer(s) (Cycle Warriors)
BG layer (Round Up 5) - May be driven by missing VRAM data
Round Up 5 always boots with a coin inserted
Round Up 5 doesn't survive a reset
Dip switches
Various other things..
Description from Duncan
Apache 3 is an After Burner-esque helicopter game. You shot at other
helicopters and ground targets while rescuing hostages. The graphics make heavy
use of scaling and rotation effects. The machine I played was very beat-up, but
it appears to use a yoke similar to Atari's yoke (used on STUN Runner and Star
Wars). Only one button worked so I'm not sure if you had any weapons besides the
standard machine gun.
Mahjong Joshi Pro-wres -Give up 5 byou mae- (Homedata, 88)
Incidentally, "Pro-wres" is the Japanese abbreviation for Pro Wrestling, and
"Give up 5 byou mae" means "Give up before 5 seconds".
Pinbot (Playchoice-10) (Nintendo/Rare, 88)
RBI Baseball (Playchoice-10) (Nintendo/Atari [ever finished/released?], 89)
Shatterhand (Playchoice-10) (Nintendo/Jaleco, 91)
Sparkman (Suna, 89)
From WHATSNEW.TXT:
Not working, protection.
Kyuukyoku no Striker (East Technology, 89)
In MAME under the name Last Striker/Kyuukyoku no Striker.
Grudge Match (Yankee Game Technology [ever finished/released?], 89)
Not the same as the Bally/Sente game.
Adventure (Wing, 8?)
ShimaPong scan from a Japanese magazine.
The Japanese text at the bottom of the title screen says "Wing", identifying the manufacturer.
So the title of the game is simply "Adventure".
Pachi Fever ([ever finished?], 8?)
This video pachinko game was featured in a Japanese arcade-industry
magazine in the late 80s. Manufacturer and date is unknown.
Honey Bear (Eastern Micro (ever finished/released?), 8?)
Twang (Eastern Micro (ever finished/released?), 8?)
Pit Boss (Merit, 8?)
From WHATSNEW.TXT:
Added to Merit driver, not investigated the issues yet.
American Poker II (Novomatic, 8?)
Cherry Master II (Dyna Electronics, 8?)
Escort (Williams [prototype])
Info from Zube
Williams Escort is mentioned in this article.
and after a reply from Mr. Jarvis, I contacted one of the people who worked
on it. He hasn't given me permission to give out his name yet, but he
did provide the following description of the game:
The project only lasted about 4 months.
The game was based upon a space theme (popular of the time). The object
of the game was to guide a fleet of ships from various jump zones to a
space station. The space station had a protective perimeter surrounding
it (sort of like an electric fence). On the outside of the fence were
plasma parasites that would drain the energy from the fence making the
area vulnerable to attack.
The fence gave little protection to the space station and the traveling
fleet. It was the job of the escort to ensure safe arrival of suplies
and personal carriers to the space station. There were several other
features being planned but this was the extent that the project had
reached.
Caliber 40 (Midway?)
Two-player game in which each player was a
motorcycle and you could get powerups like sidecars with weapons, etc.
Could this actually be Thundercade? If anyone knows more about this
game let me know...
Destruction (East Technology [ever finished/released?])
Eeek! (Shinkai/Magic Electronics)
Runs on modified Pac-Man hardware.
Survivor (Tai?)
A game mentioned on Tai's flyer for Triple Punch is Survivor, a "fast
encounter game that pulls in players". Anyone know more about it?
Thanks to GregAC5A for pointing it out.
Pinky's Maze (?)
Runs on modified Pac-Man hardware, a flyer has been seen. Exact name,
date, and manufacturer is unknown.
Yumefuda
Info from WHATSNEW.TXT:
preliminary, doesn't boot yet
Dealer (Epos)
Info from WHATSNEW.TXT:
bad rom or bad decryption
Malzak (Kitronix)
Malzak II (Kitronix)
Info from WHATSNEW.TXT:
collisions don't work.
Super Crown Golf (Nasco/Face?)
Info from WHATSNEW.TXT:
Very preliminary. simple graphic layer hooked up, rom banking
hooked up in a way which allows rom test to pass etc.
Pinball 421
Info from Randy:
A friend of the Project has won a copy of a game called "Pinball 421," so
hopefully it will be dumped within the next couple of months.
Update:
This doesn't exist, the board was just 'Super Pinball Action'. The label
probably just meant "board 421, pinball".
Cal Omega games (81-85)
These Cal Omega gambling games aren't working in MAME.
Not dumped
