1978-1983 arcade shooter countdown.

Udderdude · Post by **Udderdude** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 12:12 pm

ZOM wrote:[random]

Moai are awesome, I bought one for my fishtank.

[/random]

Darius + Gradius combination :O

javel · Post by **javel** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 4:54 pm

#100 Exerion (1983) JAV 143,500

Ha, I actually enjoyed this one! :)
Bonus-stage a bit pointless though. You get some extra charge shots.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:02 pm

freddiebamboo & javel: yeah, there is a surprising lack of games here without any redeeming feature. Exerion would be a lot more fun if you didn't have to slide to a stop before changing directions.

This has gone on for far too long without this game.

#98 Commando (1983)
This is a single screen shooter with a boulder tied to each ankle. A slow-moving cursor ground shot mechanic for the loop de looping airplanes and falling parachuters, a regular shot for the commandos on the ground (capturing all of your bases that block your shots and not theirs, excellent). Move below a target, drag the cursor to the grid square a plane might be two seconds later. Loop de loop. It's like playing Battleship with moving pieces. Made me appreciate Xevious.

Ruldra · Post by **Ruldra** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:42 pm

Holy crap, I completely missed this awesome thread. Thanks for reminding me of Exerion, I remember seeing it at the arcades when I was a kid.

Let's see if I can beat javel.

TodayIsForgotten · Post by **TodayIsForgotten** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:47 pm

exerion is such a good game, come on. I actually have a score of 966,000 on 2 lives. And 1.6m on the default. booya.

henry dark · Post by **henry dark** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:12 am

Nice one! I'm going to get in on this next week

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:18 am

TodayIsForgotten wrote:exerion is such a good game, come on.

Not convinced, need a quiz.

Your ship moves like a 100 lb bowling ball.

#97 Astro Chase (1982)
This looks more like something I used to play in DOS than any arcade game here. The Euroshmuppiness is revolting. It obviously can't be as simple as shooting enemies - you must defend Earth. After you wait for your astronaut to stiffly walk all. of. the. way. and beam up to the UFO. Number 1 complaint is that those ugly background graphics aren't all ugly background graphics. Even some of those stars will have your ship bouncing backwards or jittering as you accidentally press against them. Then there's the inability to change direction while shooting (play Robotron or any other game with multi-direction on this list, this is the one game straggling behind). You'll be waiting and waiting while aliens also lodge themselves between Earth's many neighbors. Also, I know the screen is wider than it is tall, but that doesn't mean the vertical speed should be halved. This will be the only score where I abandon a credit out of boredom. If you want to see how far you can make it, be my guest!

#96 Funky Fish (1981)
A game that takes bits and pieces from every popular arcade game of the day, which somehow seems more pathetic than a straight clone of one game. Like, why a fuel meter for a fish. Shoot enemies before they disappear somewhere before the screen's edge and reappear before the edge of anywhere else, to transform them into Pac Man point icons. Trade your shooting ability for Frogger's tongue on level 3, which only makes the game easier since you no longer have to collect the point icons before they transform back into enemies. Then back to what it was before, which was bad.

freddiebamboo · Post by **freddiebamboo** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:42 am

I managed to play 5 credits of commando before I had to stop. Anyone beaten that?

nimitz · Post by **nimitz** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:53 am

wait, Robotron is in the list???

Herr Schatten · Post by **Herr Schatten** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:14 am

Rob wrote:Astro Chase (1982)

What hardware is that on? The screens make it look like a C64 or Atari 8bit game, probably because of the rectangular pixels.

320x240 · Post by **320x240** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:38 am

Herr Schatten wrote:
Rob wrote:Astro Chase (1982)
What hardware is that on? The screens make it look like a C64 or Atari 8bit game, probably because of the rectangular pixels.

That's where it was released originally. By First Star Software if I'm not mistaken. Both Bristles and Boulderdash got an arcade release too.

nimitz · Post by **nimitz** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:05 pm

From Maws, about Astro Chase hardware

"This is a cartridge for Exidy's Max-A-Flex system, which is basically an Atari 600XL computer inside an arcade cabinet."

also, Rob what about Gaplus/Galaga 3

# 97 Astro Chase (1982) page2 NIM - 13,320

at some point in the game there was a weird alarm and the controls stopped responding and lost all my lives (4). i wonder if thats a MAME bug...

# 99 Dead Eye (1978) page1 NIM - 41,825
# 98 Commando (1983) - page 2 NIM - 12,100

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:18 pm

For Rob,

You should add the 1983 arcade laserdisc classic of Funai's Interstellar shmup game to your 1978-1983 arcade shmup list. I recall that the USA version of Interstellar came in two different arcade cabinet configurations: deluxe sit-down version (rare beast indeed) and the upright version (more common). I was lucky to have my local Chuckie E. Cheese's get a rare brand new deluxe SD cabinet version of Interstellar back in mid-1984. Interstellar's sound effects and BGM tunes were presented in stereo -- something that most early 1980's arcade games never had because they were presented in mono sound only.

Interstellar has made a few appearances at the once-a-year California Extreme show in the past. It's always good to see the upright Interstellar cabinet from time to time. Playing it on emulation really doesn't cut it...it's best to play with the real laserdisc hardware setup/original cabinet setup.

I recall scoring an even 60,000 points on a single credit and reaching the cool white/yellow checkerboard stage which definitely kicked my ass. The countdown timer that appears (when you score high enough to place on the high score screen) does countbackwards rather quickly...just barely enough time to enter your three intials properly. The actual arcade joystick is able to twist at a 45 degree angle in either left or right direction (in addition to the basic up, down, left and right movements for your fightercraft) for some wicked isometric shooting action during certain portions of a given stage. I can see why Interstellar has never gotten a proper home console port because of the unique arcade joystick that it utilizes. ^_~

The average price of a arcade laserdisc game back in 1982-1984 was at fifty cents a pop. Not much gaming to be had with just a single dollar if you did play laserdisc games at 50 cents per credit (unless you were on good terms with the local arcade operator and he or she gave you free credits to play them -- an even better deal right there). Who couldn't resist that tantalizing offer? ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

ZOM · Post by **ZOM** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:03 am

#96 Funky Fish (1981)

ZOM - 35,950

Ever had a good ole magic shroom session just before playing a shmup? No?
Well, me neither but sure as hell this game's developers did have one
before programming this game. Everything in this game is just... wrong.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 6:24 am

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:You should add the 1983 arcade laserdisc classic of Funai's Interstellar shmup

Not covering laser disc games, but thanks for filling in some gaps with your impressions. :]

nimitz wrote:also, Rob what about Gaplus/Galaga 3

'84. I'm swamped with 78-83, had to make a cut-off point somewhere. Robotron is in, though.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:17 am

#95 Super Bond (198?)
Supposedly, the idea is to go room-to-room rescuing hostages. I saw a lot of saw blades and not much else. I think I might've seen a hostage or two for a split second. Problem, the hero is constantly shooting so running towards them doesn't work at all. If they were hostages, killing them doesn't appear to be punished. Just move on to the next room whenever you want, demolishing random walls for seemingly no reason. An arcade game, an early 80s arcade game, should not need page after page of instructions. There's a reason the classics can be fully understood in less time than it takes to loop them. I didn't see any booze bottles to not touch, either.

#94 Gravitar (1982)
The first vector-based Spacewar!-inspired abomination on the list. Including something like gravitational pull is a result of having more brains than a sense for good game design. But I'm sure a lot of these lower tier entries are dream games for people who like rarely used perspectives and control styles. It is all in the title. Travel to a planet and keep your ship from plunging into its surface while shooting a variety of targets, on a not too generous supply of fuel and with puny firepower. This is very very challenging in a way I have no patience for.

The relatively jumbo sized screenshots are another reason to hate these vector-based games. Just going with thumbnails. Not much detail to miss anyways.

#93 Dark Planet (1982)
Of all games I don't get here, I don't get this one the most. Sometimes it is better to not understand. See Zoar. The red creatures seem to be building an elaborate something. You can break holes in it. The threat seems to be the other blue ship and it has a much better gun. Yours just leaves a trail of dud explosions. Rules: figure it out without anyone telling you how to play it.

No score for me on these. Don't let that stop you if you're so inclined to play bad games as much as I have for this thread. At least you won't have to write about them.

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:19 am

Sometimes you can go underground.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:27 am

How do they let you know that you're underground? I missed the cool part.

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:52 am

You turn red and I think you can crash into the incredible machine. I'm not sure, though, because I was only able to do it once and I never played another credit.

nimitz · Post by **nimitz** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 4:49 pm

wow, gravitar is the worst...

# 93 Dark Planet (1982) page2 NIM - 36,400

to go "underground" (red ship) just move to the top of the screen

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 12:19 am

although I didn't actively locate the roms to play these, I've been reading with interest, so I hope you'll reach #1 Rob.

Actually, a list of the hundred games, alphabetical of course, would be appreciated so I can put my pirate hat and prepare a mame setup. I also understand that revealing the hundred to the public would be anti climatic... so maybe you can pm me.

Yeah I know... I'm being an extremely lazy asshole. Don't wanna to check KLOV myself

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 1:11 am

You'll definitely want to note when the games start getting good, though I suppose there won't be a sharp divide. I'm expecting Xevious will be on the good side of that (possibly vague) divide.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 3:40 am

Turrican wrote:Actually, a list of the hundred games, alphabetical of course, would be appreciated so I can put my pirate hat and prepare a mame setup. I also understand that revealing the hundred to the public would be anti climatic... so maybe you can pm me.

A zip file of all of these games is about 4 mb. Not offering roms to anyone. Just saying.

professor ganson wrote:You'll definitely want to note when the games start getting good,

About 25-20.

nimitz · Post by **nimitz** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:48 pm

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:53 pm

#92 Super Zaxxon (1982)
#91 Zaxxon (1982)
Viewpoint + flight sim ambitions. They waste little time before setting up electrical fences (death in screen two) to let you know how much altitude control, checkpoints and an isometric view suck, and never as much as when they are together. My initial impression was that these had to be the worst two games on the list, but, Commando. I'd rather be fried by 100 electric fences than play that one more time.

#90 Cosmic Avenger (1981)
Worst of three Scramble clones (not counting its sequel). You can move a little faster if you press towards the middle of the screen (can't move beyond that point since that's what Scramble was like), which kind of makes it feel like the racing shooters no one likes. If you want a high score, you'll want to move at the slowest possible pace to match the firing rate.

#89 Ambush (1983)
Keep your ship from careening off of the runway, then guide large ship through debris that appears a short distance in front of you. Enemies that refuse to enter the part of the screen you can actually shoot in (screen two) and crashing immediately upon starting a new life are uniquely bad features even for games this low. There's a much better game like it on the list and it came out a year before Ambush, so no excuse.

Will be back whenever for an overdue vector-based game mega-post!

escadrille · Post by **escadrille** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 11:22 pm

I remember playing a C64 port of Zaxxon and thinking it looked so cool that it had to be good, even if it didn't seem like it was any fun to play whatsoever.

Needless to say the novelty of isometric graphics has worn off but the gameplay remains terrible.

Early ‘80’s games are such a nice mixture of over-ambitious ideas poorly executed, and flat out bad ideas.

Post by **spadgy** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:43 pm

Rob - this is a beauty of a thread. Gutted I missed it up until now, but I'm glad I caught on. Another forum highlight.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:54 am

Baha, safe spots in Battle Cross's first screen, at least up to where a UFO starts moving up from the bottom left. What a crazy game. I'm somewhat familiar with some of the others listed here, though. I should see if I've got my old highscore around here somewhere...lots of files to look through, agh.

Edit: I managed to get Zoar working, and before the sound conked out I noticed it sounds a lot like Scramble, with the same sort of buzzing quality to the sound. This is basically a vertical Scramble, then. I guess the "Zoar" button is meant to replicate up-down motion. It didn't work very reliably for me though.

The secondary button seems to launch a quick stream of ground bombs but by the time you see a target it's too late to hit it with one, even though they land on the middle of the screen. The most points I could reliably get were from hitting the large red planes with primary fire anyway.

Edit #2: Man, I forgot that I've played Exerion recently. The idea behind the primary fire key confuses the hell out of me. Obviously meant to reward accuracy, but it doesn't work well when coupled with the terrible inertia. Axelay's ship turns on a dime by comparison.

Tingling with anticipation to see what's like Ambush (not Zoom 909?) but better. Ambush has some neat ideas but the execution is so very, very bad.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:53 am

NEW IN 129u1:

- 02738: [Documentation] zoar: The rom marked as bad dump is not bad.
(Aaron Giles)

HURRAH

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:10 am

Ed Oscuro wrote:This is basically a vertical Scramble, then. I guess the "Zoar" button is meant to replicate up-down motion.

The game is nothing like Scramble.

Zaxxon is a closer fit, since its most distinctive feature is the altitude confusion. If it was like Scramble the screen would be changing its neon colors every 10 seconds.

Ambush has some neat ideas but the execution is so very, very bad.

Which ideas are those?