This 1982 arcade racer from Namco is a hugely influential video game. Possibly the most influential driving game ever made.
Tag Archives: Arcade
Arabian, Arcade
Released into arcades by Sun Electronics (aka Sunsoft) in 1983, Arabian is a platform game in which you play a prince on a mission to rescue a princess from a castle in which she is being held prisoner.
Pooyan, Arcade
A relatively obscure arcade game from Konami, released into arcades in 1982. Pooyan is a simple, but hectic (and fun) shooting game where you play a mother pig, moving up and down a cliff in a basket, trying to rescue, then protect, her piglets from invading wolves with a bow and arrow. It’s a bizarre idea that works very well as a video game.
Pac-Land, Arcade
Developed by Namco and released into arcades in 1984, Pac-Land is a departure for the Pac-Man series because this time it’s a platform game. And a pretty good one at that.
Jr. Pac-Man, Arcade
Manufactured by Bally Midway in 1983, Jr. Pac-Man is another sequel to the smash hit, dot-eating maze game, Pac-Man, created by Namco in 1980.
Super Pac-Man, Arcade
Unlike Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man was developed by Namco themselves in 1982, so could be considered the first ‘official’ sequel to Pac-Man.
The fact is: it is arguably inferior to both the aforementioned Midway Pac-Man games, which is a little embarrassing. That said: it is still a decent game in its own right; maybe not quite as ‘pure’ or ‘hardcore’ as Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man, but good nonetheless.
Pac-Man Plus, Arcade
Another American Bally Midway variation of Namco‘s Pac-Man, shipped out into arcades in 1982 to take advantage of the PM craze sweeping the globe.
Ms. Pac-Man, Arcade
The 1982 sequel to the smash hit Pac-Man originally started out as a third party modification kit for Pac-Man machines, developed by General Computer Corporation, and called ‘Crazy Otto‘.
After legal action from Atari, GCC was forced to present Crazy Otto to Midway, the North American distributor of Pac-Man, who bought the game and developed it into Ms. Pac-Man.
Further complicating the story, apparently Midway did this without Pac-Man‘s original owner Namco‘s consent, which caused some licensing issues later. The truth is by no means clear, but in the murky world of video game licensing it is sometimes the case that people sell and exploit rights to products they have no right to.
Super Locomotive, Arcade
An original arcade release from Sega in 1982, Super Locomotive is a side-scrolling action game where you must guide a train from one station to the next, while at the same time avoiding obstacles and other trains trying to shunt you off the track.
Boot Hill, Arcade
Midway‘s 1977 classic, Boot Hill, actually owes it existence to another game – Taito‘s 1975 arcade game Gun Fight (aka Western Gun in Japan). Boot Hill is an authorised remake of Gun Fight.