Arcade - Teenage Mutant Ninja (Hero) Turtles

Arcade
Teenage Mutant Ninja (Hero) Turtles

At the time, it was the latest craze, the biggest cash cow, milked for all it was worth. From the moment the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared on TV, they were hot property and tie-ins of every nature began to appear. Action figures, medal collections, fancy dress outfits, a movie and the inevitable computer games... and, like The Simpsons, there have been quite a few.

In fact, there’s a lot of parallels you can draw between the Turtles and the Simpsons, especially when it comes to the arcade games that were released.

Just a quick pointer for any international readers here, over here in the UK we went through a period of ridiculous censorship on anything relating to Ninjas or martial-arts especially when it came to computer games. Games like Shadow Warrior, for example, had shurikens (throwing stars) removed and replaced with… erm… darts. Therefore for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (hereafter referred to as TMNT) cartoons, most footage of Michaelangelo fighting with nunchuckas or flails or whatever you want to call them was edited out for the UK. Even the title had to be changed (and the theme music re-edited) to “Hero” rather than “Ninja”. Why? Don’t look at me, I don’t make the rules.

Fortunately Michaelangelo was allowed to fight as he pleased in this, the Turtles’ first appearance in arcades. Bearing a striking resemblance to the old Gauntlet cabinets, the original TMNT arcade machine was one of the first to introduce the Credit Assign button. Rather than having 4 individual coin slots, there was just one. Once you had inserted sufficient funds (or “stuck yer coins in” if you prefer layman’s terms) the “Credit” buttons started flashing. Pressing the relevant button would assign a credit (and the correct number of lives) to that player. This was a good idea, in my opinion, as it prevented people unscrupulously pinching each other’s credits (and yes, as a youngster, I had done that in the past, which, given the chance, I’d like to apologise for!).

Before I get onto the game, it’s worth pointing out how the value of the game changed over the years. When first released, most arcade games were only 10p a play (and fruit machines weren’t overly popular), the 20p rate was often reserved for either new games or the real “big name” games. Naturally this game went straight in at the 20p rate, however most of them were immediately set to 1 life per credit. As time went by and 30p rates started to appear, these were often upped to 2 or 3 lives with it. Of course, there were arcades in Newquay that proudly advertised “All Video Games 10p per play”, GUARANTEED these were set to 1 life only. As usual, there were the bonus credits, so sticking 50p in the machines set to 20p play would get you 3 lives, and a quid would get you 7, from that point of view it wasn’t TOO bad for value.

Right, onto the game, then… By the hell, it was good. The graphics were absolutely outstanding, the sound and music superb, and with sampled speech too? Awesome.

Naturally, the main part of the game was a standard side-scrolling beat ‘em-up, and each player took one the role of one of the Turtles. Each had their strengths and weaknesses; Leonardo and Michaelangelo had the strongest attacks with a medium range, Donatello had weaker attacks, but his bo staff had the longest range, all three used the “Jumping swing” as their special attack (often a one hit kill, activated by pressing “Jump” and “Attack” simultaneously). However, Raphael was slightly different. On foot his attacks were very fast, but had the shortest range (Bringing Sai to a gunfight? D’oh!), but his special was far better than the rest, he would roll and do a sliding kick. Whilst it didn’t often get a one-hit kill, it was very useful for scattering the enemy when things start getting very hectic (the boss fight against Baxter Stockman and the Mousers in particular is a fine example).

The most common enemies were the Foot Clan. All robotic, the colour of their uniform gave you an idea of how they were likely to attack. Many carried no weapon, others carried boomerangs, swords, guns, spears, or even drain covers. With good references to the cartoons, other enemies included the “Capture” robots (the ones with the lassos that capture the Rhino and Warthog to make Rocksteady & Bebop), Mousers, Rocksteady & Bebop, Baxter Stockman, Krang, Shredder and Krang’s Rock Soldiers from Dimension X.

Tactically the game was mainly about timing your attacks to get the first hit in. Most of the time, getting the first hit was key to winning a one-on-one fight, but there are a few exceptions. Bosses can’t just be duffed up, you need to get a few hits in and then move away as they WILL counter, and then go in to hit them again for a knockdown.

Like a lot of beat ‘em-ups, there were some moments of extreme frustration. The battle with Shredder, for instance… As well as his sword, he also carries a mutagen ray, which will turn you back into a regular turtle on contact, immediately losing you a life. Yes, that’s right, one hit from that weapon could effectively cost you 20p to continue right there and then.

In terms of backdrops and scenarios, all recognisable areas from the cartoons are present, including April O’Neill’s apartment, the Sewers and the Technodrome. But there’s one feature I haven’t really talked about yet, which adds so much to the whole experience.

The sound. The wonderful, wonderful sound. It’s awesome. From the excellent music throughout to the sampled speech and awesome 90’s-style effects used in battle, the game simply oozed awesomeness in every clang, crash and kaboom. In fact, once again, thanks to Galbaldia Hotel, I’ve downloaded the soundtrack and it goes very nicely in the car.

I know I mentioned the huge 4 player cabinet, but there was also a 2-player version where you could choose your Turtle, but for obvious reasons that was never going to be as good as the full 4-player experience.

The game was followed up by at least one sequel, and another version hit the arcades as part of Nintendo’s multi-choice time-limited games system, but apart from the almost identical clone, The Simpsons, not much came close to the success of the original TMNT arcade game. Turtle Power!

If I won the lottery...

If I win the lottery, there's the usual, and understandable, things that people would normally do with a large amount, by which I mean:

a) Sorting the family out with somewhere to live, with no mortgage
b) ensuring the extended family all get a bit, at least paying their mortgages off if not more

So, besides those, there would be other things I'd want to do with the remainder. A donation to my old brass bands, for starters, the holiday to Australia we've always wanted perhaps, maybe take the kids to Disney World... but I'd like to keep a few thousand pounds for the "game room" in our new house.

As well as being tastefully decorated with a fine choice in retro posters / artwork, there would be some classic arcade games in there, maybe the games would be cycled after a while, but the list of games I'd initially want in there are listed below. Now, it is important to understand the reasoning behind these choices. For example, despite one of my favourite arcade games being Gauntlet, I'm not sure about owning it outright now that I've seen that there is no "end" to it, just a sequence of repeating levels. However, if I had 3 friends round for a retro session, it would be pretty cool... but would it be as cool as the big 4 player Simpsons game? Possibly not.

So, criteria 1, then, they need to be worthwhile owning for real, and not a game effectively killed by emulation.

Criteria 2 is quality. Obvious, really. Prop cycle may be a unique game, but was it any good? Not to me.

I think, to be honest, that's all I need. However, I feel I should point out that the choices below will just be a list of ten games of choice (and ten because I need to set a limit but I don't know how big my game room will be), and not necessarily the greatest games of all time.

1) Virtua Cop 3

 You might have thought there's bound to be a significant presence of gun games in my list. Firstly because I love them, secondly there's a lot of high-quality games in this genre. Of them all, Virtua Cop 3 was my favourite. Unfortunately, it's not particularly retro. However, it's the best gun game I've EVER played. So in it goes. As difficult as it might be, I'm going to try and avoid the genre for the rest simply for variation.

2) Roadblasters - Sit-Down Cockpit

A gem of a game I really need to cover in depth at some point, but this would be uber-cool to have in a game room. Of course, the Atari T-Shirt offer screen would still be activated, and eventually I'd get the code and send it off to try and claim one... Only a couple of decades late. Roadblasters is explained pretty well by its name... drive on a road, blast everyone in your way. Although it is also available in a stand-up cab, I'd rather have the cockpit for the cool factor.

3) Club Take Your Pick - Fruit machine

Thanks to the wonders of Fruit Machine Emulation, I managed to relive the glorious days of working at St Wilf's Club in Standish, where this fruit machine resided for a considerable amount of time. With a lot of depth to the machine, and lots of features, and GREAT sound, this absolutely would stand proudly and well-maintained in my game room. It would also double up as a saving-box for the next retro-project... or holiday.

4) Paperboy

Obvious reasons why I'd prefer to play the arcade original rather than an emulated equivalent, right? No? It's the handlebars, you dummy. Without them it's just not the same. And as a game, apart from Paperboy 2, it's a concept unrepeated since. Why? Erm... copyright infringement, I should imagine.

5) Track and Field / Hypersports

I can't decide which of these I'd want in there. I was always a big fan of both games, and yes, I'd absolutely take either of these two ahead of a Decathlete (a.k.a Athlete Kings). Maybe I could make space for both...
6) Galaxian 3: Project Dragoon

The Galaxian theatre by Namco has always excited me, from the first time I saw it in Blackpool, to seeing this excellent set of pictures of one being dismantled and moved. I'd be pushing the boat out on this one, but given the opportunity I'd get one of these in. With an awesome sound system, incredible laserdisc footage and a decent game to boot (6 player simultaneous, anyone?), owning this would add up to some serious envy factor. Plus it would be like, totally awesome, dude.

7) Pac Man Ball - Pusher

Tell you what, just read my review.

8) G-LOC - R360 version

Tremendously expensive at the time, and even needed its own attendant to oversee it, this was undoubtedly the best way to play this (admittedly basic) variation on After Burner. Another one crying out for review.

9) American Laser Games Gun Game cabinet

It's too tough to make a choice. Mad Dog McRee? Who Shot Johnny Rock? Crime Patrol? Space Pirates? I want to play them all, and I understand they're pretty easily converted from one to another. So in it goes.

10) Space Harrier

 Number 10 is a silly one, to be honest. I'm not a fan of Space Harrier. Not in the slightest. But for me, an 80's/90's arcade was not complete without the ambient noises, the things you can pick out over and above your own game's noises. Without doubt the noise I most remember hearing in an arcade was the attract mode of Space Harrier. "Welcome To The Fantasy Zone. Get Ready!", followed by the death scream... "AAAaaaaaargh!" So, this wouldn't be played much, but it HAS to be there...

Honourable mentions
It was difficult only coming up with 10 games. My initial thoughts consisted almost entirely of shooting galleries and driving games (which surprises me, not being a driving game fanatic). However, with a bit of thought, here are a few that might get in the next rotation of games:

The Simpsons (4 player sit-down cabinet)
Daytona USA
Sega Rally
Any Time Crisis game
Crisis Zone (big screen version)
Police Trainer (big screen version)
Point Blank (big screen version)
House of the Dead (surely you know which version)
Rambo
Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom
Hard Drivin' (sit-in cabinet)
Time Traveller (the faux-holographic game)
720

Arcade - Pac Man Ball

Arcades

Pac Man Ball

The “pushers” or “penny falls” (or whatever you like to call them) have always been popular in arcades. I never saw the attraction for years (I always played the video games until I discovered the fruit machines), seeing the massive overhang of coins didn’t do anything for me. Until one year I went to stay at Pwllheli, North Wales.

Simply put as nicely as possible, it wasn’t exactly the sort of place to find the kind of arcade I liked. Sure, there were a couple of pool tables, which kept me and my dad entertained for a little while, and there were some arcade games like Sunset Riders and… erm… I can’t remember there being any others, really. And that really was it. The fruit machines didn’t appeal to me (too many Bellfruit machines, if I remember rightly), so I was kind of forced to look at the other amusement machines.

Across the way from that arcade was one other, filled with a batch of older fruit machines, and even older-looking Penny Falls. So old, it actually DID take pennies, not 10ps like most of the more modern ones. So old, it actually WAS made of wood…

I changed a pound down, and spent ages on them. I don’t know why I enjoyed it so much, maybe it was the tension of getting down to the last ten pennies, then getting a colossal drop of coins out, and moving on to the next overhang.

Fast Forward almost a decade, and on holiday in Newquay this time, and me and the better half discover Pac Man Ball. The basic mechanic of winning is the same, put your coins in, watch them drop down onto the pusher area, and hope for a big drop of coins. However, there is the added bonus of the screen in the middle of the play area, and the bonus boxes you can hit with your coins to activate the screen.

And I think this is what set the game apart from the rest. There was the chance to add up to 50 extra coins to the platform through this screen! Which, unbelievably, almost always resulted in a lot less than 50 coins coming out of the payout tray…

Let’s not be naïve about this, we all know, only too well, that arcade operators wouldn’t ever site a machine that was going to lose them money. That would be pretty dumb business. Like all AWP/SWP/Pushers/any kind of arcade machine at all, the primary function is to take cash in and make money for the owner. The odds are always in favour of the owner, if they weren’t then arcades wouldn’t last long. Pac Man Ball is no different… basic physics suggests that the holes at the side of the front platform will collect money, more money than what people would ever win out of the front, especially as that money pretty much needed to be replaced before it could be won again…

So, how to play, then… easy enough, drop your coins down the chutes at the sides, they then commence falling from the top of the play zone, sometimes passing through boxes marked with different fruits. All coins played will reach the moving platform at the bottom, where they settle and if dropped correctly will push against the back wall of the machine with the backstroke movement, hopefully pushing some coins down to the final platform that will push into the pile of coins waiting to drop out of the machine one way or the other. On their way down, if coins do pass through the fruit boxes, the fruits are sent to the screen…

Which is basically a game similar to Puzzle Bobble. On one side is a fruit waiting to launch, on the other is a launch pad for whatever fruit your coins may have activated on the way down. If you manage to launch the same as the fruit on screen, they collide, disappear and a couple of extra coins fire down onto the moving platform to increase your chances of a win. If they don’t match, the two symbols will bounce off each other and drop towards the floor, where again any matching symbols will be taken away, and this is where the chance for big money lies.

If you’re lucky, you could wipe out a number of fruits that cause further matches to be made as they cascade downwards. Through this you could accumulate up to 50 coins, all of which will slide down onto the moving platform. Don’t expect to win all these coins, however this is your best chance to get a few at the very least! A lot will drop down into the machine’s coffers, though.

Alternatively, if you manage to link up two Pacman symbols, you’ll get a “Wheel of Fortune”, where again you could add up to 50 coins to the sliding tray. If the arcade operator isn’t feeling quite so greedy you may find, sitting atop the massed coins, actual paper money, usually fivers. These make a nice welcome addition to your pocket, however more often than not, you’ll have a cycled a fiver or more through the machine to get it.

I’ve always been loathe to call gambling machines “honest”, but this one feels about as honest as you can get. You can see the areas where the machine collects its fee from the coins, so you’re well aware that they make their money out of it, but you don’t feel like it’s ripping you off. I think that’s an important thing, otherwise no-one would play. The bonuses are made so that you can earn them regularly without it actually giving you too much, but the excitement of 50 coins dropping down make you think, “Surely a load of them are going to come down to me!”

The other thing to remember is that the screen part is PROBABLY NOT random at all, in terms of the symbols presented, the bonuses awarded, and also how far the fruits bounce apart when they collide. When the pile gets big enough, new balls that land are removed if they're too high, and I have seen it get as fruits land repeatedly atop two peaks (and therefore disappear) until you eventually get a match.

But it's rare to get to that stage. With the 50 coin drop limit, your combos could potentially be pretty big (and a record is kept on screen of the best and longest combos), practically clearing the screen, but still with only 50 coins dropping (which to be honest only takes a 3-4 combo to achieve).

You know what, if you get to see one of these machines, give it a go. I've seen it in two flavours previously, 10p drops and 2p drops. Changing a couple of quid down to 2ps could potentially earn you a good 2 hours or more play, we certainly managed to get nearly 3 hours of play out of £4 in 10p's in Cornwall about 7 years ago.

Hmm.. This has given me an idea for a new article... if I won the lottery and made a game room, what would you have in there? Here's 1 for my list...

TI99/4A - Munch Man Video Review

TI99/4A - Parsec Video Review

Commodore Amiga - Yo! Joe!

Commodore Amiga
Yo! Joe!

Y'know, some things I'll never understand. The popularity of retro gaming, for instance. No, I understand why retro gaming is popular, but there's certain games I've either never played or never understood the hype behind them. Take Head Over Heels, for instance, or the original Batman game. I've just never got into them as much as apparently most people did.

Then there's the games that I really liked that no-one ever mentions. In all my time of retro-gaming, I haven't heard a single mention of Yo! Joe! for the Amiga, except by myself, and I don't know why. Me and several other of my friends loved the game, having originally been hooked on a playable demo of the first half of the first level... and that's not as bad as it sounds because the levels were HUGE.

Basically, then... you, with or without a friend, must make your way through some big levels of various designs, beating things up along the way. Animation is wonderfully smooth, the graphics are highly detailed, and the controls are simple and easy to learn.

The reason you're in this situation isn't abundantly clear. All you can tell is some evil magic circle wants to cause Joe and Nat (the playable characters) pain and suffering, and so make you fight your way through their domain. Well, it's easy enough to just say "Whatever" to the plot, it could be about being pulled up for not scooping the poop for all I care, as long as the main game mechanic remains as it is, because this is one enjoyable experience from beginning to end.

It wasn't particularly difficult, but you did need to exercise a little brain power here and there and choose when to back off a bit. Attempting to simply plough forward was just a little too dumb and would cause you to die fairly readily. Ducking and weaving a bit delivered far better results.

Magazine reviews were mixed, public opinion was and still is mixed. I would be very interested to know what other people think about this game, so please post your comments below. If you haven't played before I'd say it's worth hunting down for a quick blast.

TI99/4A - Munch Man

TI99/4A
Munch Man

Pac Man has been cloned in many different ways. It’s often said, however, that despite all the different versions, the original remains the best and nothing’s going to top it. One thing’s for sure, the new “DX” version of Pac Man certainly doesn't.

Anyway, that’s a whole different article and story and in no way helps set the scene for Munch Man. Munch Man was the TI99/4A’s version of Pac Man, and is, in my humble opinion, just as good as the famed game, although in quite a different graphical style.

First off, gone are the dark backgrounds of most games of this genre, and in comes a bright white background. Gone are the dots to eat, instead you have to make a chain round the maze (until later, anyway). You still have your power pills, though they're shaped like Texas Instruments logos. The ghosts are replaced by "Hoonos", baddies that come in a variety of shapes and speeds.

Graphics are colourful, and the animation is simplistic yet effective. The sound effects are marvellous, especially the satisfying "crunch" as you eat one of the Hoonos. As far as gameplay goes, it's no more complicated than Pacman, but just as fun. The speed of the game starts off alright, but increases steadily to a stern test of nerve, especially when you reach the last couple of levels in the loop... rather than having your visible maze and filling it with chains, now the walls are invisible, but paths are marked by tiny TI logos that you must eat. Unfortunately, as you eat these logos, you take away your map, leaving you reliant on your memory as to where the paths are.

Let me be honest... if you're a Billy Mitchell type who can deliver a perfect high score on PacMan, you're NOT going to find this overly challenging. However, a regular everyday joe like most of us will find Munch Man a refreshing and fun alternative to everyone's favourite yellow ball. The further you get, the faster the game is, so the challenge is constantly increasing.

One last thing... the game contains one of the earliest known "Cheat" modes. At the start screen, before the title animation begins, if you hold the Shift button and type "838", you can select what level you want to start on and how many lives you have.

Thanks to emulation, you can get hold of this game to play within moments, which I've tried, but I have to be honest... I still prefer the real thing every time.