showing 16 games

namepublisher(developer)year arrow_downwarddescription
Hunchback Century Electronics1981 labelimageminimize
Donkey Kong  Nintendo;Falcon (Nintendo)1981Crazy Kong - Part II is not a bootleg of "Donkey Kong"!! Falcon DID have a license from Nintendo, but it was NOT for the US. Crazy Kong - Part II was supposed to be for sale outside the US (South America, Europe, etc.), but the lag in production of arcade DK's by Nintendo for a 3 month period during 1981-82 made demand for any DK type game go through the roof. At this time, Nintendo of America was moving from NY-NJ to Redmond WA and there was a 4 month backlog on orders. This opened the door for the illegal Crazy Kongs to fill the demand. Approximately 20,000 Crazy Kong were distributed illegally in the U.S.

The main difference between Crazy Kong and "Donkey Kong" is the sound, and color capabilities. Crazy Kong ran on hardware that had the same processor as "Donkey Kong", but its video capabilities were lacking, and it had a totally different sound chip. Basically what all this means is that Crazy Kong had terrible sound, and some definite strangeness in the color area. The background music is missing entirely, and most of the sound effects have been changed. For example, in Crazy Kong, Mario makes a 'Hiya!' sound when he jumps, instead of the 'Boing!' that he makes in "Donkey Kong". The graphics use slightly different colors, which change from level to level. The Kong animations are also different, and often do not match up with the in game action. There are also mild changes in gameplay. Kong doesn't toss out nearly as many barrels, and there are other mild changes such as gaps in platforms that were not in the original, and the manner in which the elevators work has changed as well.

There were lots of different Crazy Kong cabinets. The most common one was similar in design to the "Donkey Kong" cabinet, but the artwork was more realistic, and the monitor bezel had a circular clear area, as opposed to the rectangle that most games had. Crazy Kong could also be found in cocktail format. These were usually conversions, and were only decorated with an instruction card.***[media=youtube]aSsyM2-70Nk[/media]***Many official instruction exists:

1. Insert coin (s).
2. Select one or two players.
3. Controller moves Jumpman in 4 directions.
4. Jump button makes Jumpman jump.
5. If Jumpman reaches top, Donkey Kong takes the lady higher up, and structure changes shape.
6. When a certain structures have been cleared, Jumpman saves the lady.

This one is quote silly, as the controlled character sounds like the Kong instead of Jumpman (Mario)

- Rescue the lady by using the control lever!
- Drive the Kong into upper corner by clearing each difficult situation in limited time.
- You can get points when the Donkey jumps.
- When extra score is reached, you will have another man.
- If you finish early, the remaining time will be added as an extra bonus points.***The little man that you control in-game was originally named Jumpman and was latter renamed to the Mario that you know today. Mario was also a carpenter and latter changed jobs to a plummer.
[Airhead91]***First game designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and Nintendo's first success. A masterpiece derived from Space Panic's platform ideas, this game also introduced Mario to the gaming scene (although he was originally known as Jumpman). Biggest game of 1981.
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Bump 'N' Jump  Data East;Bally Midway (Data East)1982 labelimageminimize
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns Activision;Sega (Sega)1984Level 1 of this game resembles the original Pitfall!. Level 2 Resembles Pitfall II. Level 3 is unique and not available in any previous versions of any Pitfall game. Run through the jungle and caves collection treasures but more importantly, your friends that are lost in it. Avoid poisonous frogs, scorpions, snakes, crocodiles, and piranhas.
[Zerothis]
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I, Robot  Atari1984The game was completed and ready for market in 1983. But it wasn't liked by Atari management and ultimately did not make it to market until June of 1984 when management at Atari was in a full panic about the market crash and was making quite a few seemingly random choices since all the conventional choices weren't doing them any good. In fairness, they were probably not overly concerned with the existential gameplay and content, nor the extreme difficulty that resulted. The hardware was singular, expensive, and unreliable.

The game has a fire button but no jump button. Jumping takes place when the player moves the joystick in a direction that selects one of the highlighted jump targets.

The game contains numerous references to dystopian works and concepts.

The title [i]I, Robot[/i] of course refers to [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot]Isaac Asimov's 1950 collection of short stories[/url] that introduced the three laws of robotics and was foundational to his Robots and Foundation seriesum.

The protagonist is designated, "1984" in reference to George Orwell's [i]Ninteen Eighty-Four[/i]. Notably, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four]that novel[/url] is set in a society that no longer has "laws".

The game does not make reference to "rules", or "programming", but rather, uses the word "law" both in-game and the instructions printed on the cabinet. Another reference to Asimov's robots.

The most present enemy and main threat throughout the game, is [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry]an eye on top of a pyramid[/url].
The eye on top of a pyramid enemy is called, "Big Brother". Another reference to [i]Ninteen Eighty-Four[/i]

Big brother is protected by a shield with depletable armor value referred to as "[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family]REDS[/url]".

Many people complain about the unfairness of this game. There are multiple modes of play with different [s]rules[/s]laws and they are notably not specified in the instructions on the game cabinet nor are they specified in advance in the game itself. Rather the game instantly kills the player, then informs the player of the law they violated. This should not be credited to poor game design. Rather this is intended to fit the dystopian themes. It should not be forgotten that Dave Theurer previously designed [game=#205]a game based on a nightmare of insects emerging from a hole in the ground to kill him[/game] and [game=#128]a game about nuclear holocaust the player must lose by design[/game].

The game has a unique mechanic concerning the adjustable camera which can be taken to the extremes of overhead view and directly behind the robot protagonist view, with any other angle in between being available. The lower the angle of the camera is, the more points the player can score. There is a viewer killer enemy that does not Target the robot protagonist but instead targets the camera. If the player is unable to successfully dodge the viewer killer enemies ( by adjusting the camera ), the viewer killers will stick to the camera and block the player's view. This tends too quickly lead to the robot protagonist's death.

There is an enemy that destroys the floor from the front of the screen forward. Which of course requires the player to hurry you complete the level as quickly as possible. And it adds an even more urgent threat than the timer that pounds down to an instant death.

At any time the player can switch over to the "ungame" known as _Doodle City_. Hear the player can paint the screen by moving, spinning, and rotating the various three-dimensional polygons used in the game, as if they were paint brushes. The lives of the robot protagonist are spent as the clock ticks by during a Doodle City session. The player can switch back to the game at any time or remain a dual city until all the robot's lives are lost. Doodle City could be interpreted as the sentient robot protagonist spending his literal life on pursuing an artistic hobby.

This game is the subject of an urban legend. As the story goes, Atari put 500 unsold units in a shipping container bound for japan. But made arrangements for the shipping container to 'accidentally' fall overboard and sink to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Thus allowing the expensive cabinets to be used as a tax loss. Rusty Dawe as stated the personal appeal the idea holds for him, but confirmed that it did not actually take place.

This game came out of a project that Atari worked on for almost a decade to try and make a fully polygogonal racing game. The project would eventually produce hard driving in 1988. But in the meantime the games of [game=#19]Battle Zone[/game] and [game=#197]Star Wars[/game] developed out of the project. And in a roundabout way, [i]I, Robot[/i]. The game began as [i]Ice Castles[/i], also called [i]Ice World[/i] and [i]Heart of Ice[/i]. The story was about a prince navigating a polygonal world to rescue a princess whose heart had been frozen. It was roughly based on the Grimm's Fairy tale, Heart of Ice. Development was to be led by Mark Cerny, who was currently busy with Marble Madness. At the same time, The Davids were working on a piece of arcade hardware to make a fully polygonal game. Making a race car game with non-flat terrain proved to be too difficult as the cars tended to clip through the terrain and no efficient way was yet found two properly calculate the clipping at a speed that let games run at a decent frame rate. One of the David's noted that a blocky computer world would be much better suited to the limits of current hardware, than a racing game or a fairy tale game that required navigating natural looking non-flat terrain. Thus, we got a game that was filled with more existential nightmare fuel than anything the Grimm Brothers ever created.

The polygonal racer was not working well but the David's had been working on a game where the player climbed into a car and drove to different buildings in an open game world. The player could then get out of the car and enter the buildings where they would play one of Atari's arcade games. This concept would eventually be used by Namco for their Namco Museum series. But in 1983, it was not to be used by atari. This mechanic of going into doors to play different games, was somewhat translated into the I, Robot game. The player has the option of entering doors and thus different modes of gameplay than the main one.

There is a warp and continue feature. On the first level the player can quickly move towards one of the teleporters then start the game on any of the first five levels. If they have previously lost all their credits and then enter the teleporter using a new quarter, the game will begin at whatever level the player was last at, including levels beyond level 5. There's also a built-in infinite lives cheat. Bus to continue feature and infinite live feature seem to be intentionally placed in the game for the players to discover.

The game suffered from technical issues. It required a massive amount of RAM by 1984 standards and individual chips of the cheap RAM that it shipped with would fail often. Okay I want to display the message "you have entered a black hole". Also problematic was the hall effect joysticks. These were a very Innovative concept and eventually it would be put to very good use. But the ones used for i, robot where first generation technology. They relied on using magnetic force to calculate the position of the joystick rather than potentiometers. They spent magnetic disturbances, sources of magnetism in the arcade, or even nearby sources of magnetism such as a magnetic crane, when cause anomalous movement of the joystick in contrast to the players input or lack of it. The system also required calibration and could discalibrate quite easily. The cabinets also shipped with a terrible power supply that had a tendency to fail and begin smoking. There was also a problem with the hardware on the board heating up beyond its functioning temperature range.***- Move robot over all red zones. When red zones are eliminated jump to eye to complete each wave.
- Do not jump if eye is red.
- To jump: Go to an edge and push joystick in desired direction (flashing squares indicate where you can land).
- Avoid all enemy objects. Some can be destroyed by using fire button.
- In the space waves shoot all pyramids to get maximum points. Some objects cannot be destroyed.
- Hints: The shield counts down the number of red zones remaining. To select higher levels enter transporter. To change perspective press start buttons.***The first game to feature shaded 3D polygonal graphics. Also the first game to have a continue option. Guide a robot in his mission to destroy the giant eye of Big Brother. The game also featured an alternate mode called "Doodle City" where the player could draw using polygons from the main game.
[Jacquismo]
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Cosmo Police Galivan  Nichibutsu1985There is a danger to the Earth...transform!
Space Warrior Galivan!
Blue flash / the birth of a combat suit hero.
Special attack, laser Blade.
Cosmic crash explosion.***Hi there New and old timer game Freaks. I'm here to give my comments on old a game classic called GALIVAN COSMO POLICE, developed by Japanese game developers Nichibutsu in 1985. Personally for me it was a very exciting and adventurous game, combined with the elements of hand to hand combat, weaponary and comedy, although the stages would be repeated, it would be come challenging at times an excellent game in it's era.
I was so addicted to this game that i would practically stand for hours, bout 13 or so and just continually go hard at it, so ho old was i when playing this game 13 to 14 years of age. I wish i could have this game again, i'm not so sure if i can play it on PC, or probably have to play on the old coin op arcade machines. Hey if anyone knows how i can obtain a copy of this game classic, please send me information and your thoughts about this favorite classic of mine, it would be much appreciated THANK YOU. My E-Mail address is: [email protected]
[BLADE 2000]
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Metro-Cross  Namco1985 labelimageminimize
Teddy Boy Blues - Yohko Ishino  Sega1985Nice platform game with a very cool soundtrack. Pretty graphics. labelimageminimize
The Legend of Kage  Taito1985Run through the woods throwing your shuriken at the bad ninjas. Make impossibly high jumps to the tree tops to rescue the missing princess. labelimagesubject
Xain'D Sleena  Taito (Technos)1986
[41]***The precursor of Amiga's Turrican. Great graphics.
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Black Tiger  Capcom1987"Long long ago, three dragons descended from skies above with a rolling thunder and destroyed a kingdom into darkness.
From lengthy suffering and darkness of the kingdom came one brave fighter"
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Golden Axe Sega1989In Turtle Village, the invaders are ugly, brutal and 12 feet tall. They roar with laughter as they pound you into the dirt. Swing Axe Battler's mighty sword and shatter them with Mushroom Magic. Smash and blast with Tyris Flare's Curtains of Fire. Somersault and strike with Gilius Thunderhead's axe or scorch the brutes with lightning!

It's a spellbinding age of magic, fiery dragons and skeletons in armor. Battle the invaders on the back of a giant turtle. Fight on the feathered wings of a soaring eagle. Conquer and ride flame-spewing monsters to victory!

Rescue the kidnapped King and Princess to return peace to the world. The score is Death Adder, thousands -- you, zero. Grab your weapon and change the score!***
[100]***
[28]***
[42]***
[62]***
[85]***
[22]***This is the game from which the entire series grew. The timeless world of LOTR/Conan-style fighting was an instant hit with arcade-goers, and inspired a heap of other games that tried to be like it, but failed miserably.

[b]Trivia:[/b] (from MobyGames)
'The game is banned in Germany for violence (ban issued on 30.05.92). The game 'Golden Axe: The Duel' is not affected.'
--I have looked into this, and it appears all ports may have been affected, but certainly the Genesis, Arcade, and Amiga ports.
Ban has since been lifted as the content was (apparently), but no longer isn't (apparently), harmful.
[b]Even More Trivia[/b] from Mame.dk Golden Axe page
'The kanji [Japanese character] on the title screen actually reads 'Senpu', meaning 'Fighting Axe'. This is an example of 'gikun', where Japanese artists use the phonetic value of a character to determine the game's name, and not the meaning of the character itself.'
[Garrett]
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Super Off Road  Leland1989 labelimageminimize
Golden Axe II: The Revenge of Death Adder  Sega19921 player, 2 players, 3 players or 4 players.

4 people can participate in simultaneous and cooperative play.
(From the game flyer)

Attractive and realistic magic & graphics made possible through the utilization of the SEGA SYSTEM 32.

Due to various highlight scenes, and different course junction points depending on the stage, the player can experience a different excitement each time.

Colorful game actions, such as picking up and using an item, opening the doors, kindling a torch, opening a box, etc., are provided in abundance.
Well that pretty much sums up this game, the greatest of all beat-'em-ups

Trivia from Mame.dk Golden Axe page
'The kanji [Japanese character] on the title screen actually reads 'Senpu', meaning 'Fighting Axe'. This is an example of 'gikun', where Japanese artists use the phonetic value of a character to determine the game's name, and not the meaning of the character itself.'
[Garrett]***This is not the same game as Golden Axe II for megadrive. They are completely different.
[zinger]***Probably the most under rated scrolling beat`em up of all time, widely passed off as more of the same but nothing could be further from the truth. It improves on the original in almost every way. Ask any [[game:Golden Axe]] fan, this is the best in the series.
[southgunr]
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Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom Capcom1993[media=youtube]https://youtu.be/8LmHnGpXHCY[/media]***A beat'em up with many layers of complexity, very engaging in multiplayer mode (with a great focus on classes' synergy)

8 de 10***Based on AD&D rules this game worked on the same principal as Streets of Rage only much more advanced. There were four characters (elf,cleric,dwarf,fighter) and a maximum of four players at once though these machines were rare. Each level had a nasty boss and the ultimate aim was to kill the evil Lich king.
Characters could carry many items at a time including daggers,burning oil, magical items, rings and spell scrolls. Every character had several alternate weapons and could pick up and wear different equipment to reduce damage taken, jump higher, hit harder ect. There were shops every few levels where items could be bought and sold. Most monsters killed dropped either gold or items.
As the game progressed characters went up levels and gained more spells (elf and cleric) or better weapons (fighter and dwarf).
Control consisted of one eight way stick and 4 buttons (attack, jump, use and select) per player, so there was much fighting for elbow room. Pressing start while playing showed what equipment you were currently wearing.

- Matt(v) -
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Knight-Rescue  Author2015Source:
https://github.com/droftware

Despite the name, it is in no way a clone of Donkey Kong, rather it is inspired by it, and this, despite what the creator says; I ran it, and they don't look much alike***A clone of Donkey Kong made as part of SSAD assignment.(Akshat Tandon)

https://github.com/droftware
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