I want to thank each and every one of you for making Pac-Man month better than I could ever imagine. It’s been a blast! Don’t worry- I’ll be keeping up on the Pac-Man articles even though it’s over!
But to end everything on a high note (pun intended) I want to have the last article of Pac-Man month be a great one!
So here’s an episode of a show I grew up with- I think most of the older Arcaders (like me) will remember.
in 1982, a show aired called Square Pegs. It’s a fun romp, showing the different cliques in a high school. one episode in particular had our little yellow friend- and it’s called Pac-Man Fever! Check it out!
Don’t fret- the month may be over- but The Pac-Fun isn’t!
In the early days after Pac-Man was released to the world, there were a lot of arcade and home console companies that wanted in on the Pac-profit! This series will focus on these lesser known games. weather it’s an original game, or a Pac-bootleg, we will be touching base with these games that Pac-forgot!
The next game is one I remember playing at my local roller rink’s arcade- Piranha!
Piranha was programmed by a small company- GL. This was one of the biggest Pac-Man bootlegs- it actually had an dedicated cabinet release in the U.S. by U.S. Billiards.
The cabinet looked like a standard Sega cabinet of the time (Frogger, Carnival, Pulsar) with some beautiful artwork, the cabinet’s quite a looker. Check it out!
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Now that we have seen the cabinet- what about the game?
Here’s a write-up from Strategy Wiki-
This hack of Pac-Man was released as a conversion kit. It was available as an upgrade board, much like the original Ms. Pac-Man was.
The graphics have been drastically altered to present an underwater theme. You control a red piranha, while you are chased around by four squid-like monsters. (In an earlier variant of the game, they are little more than altered ghost sprites, with extended sprites for the tentacles).
Most of the maze in the game is wide open. You’re free to move about various open portions of the maze, but so are the squid-like monsters.
One central tunnel is present on the left and right sides of the maze, as well as another central tunnel at both the top and bottom of the maze.
There are fewer bonus items, and their values start at 500 points for the Crab, and end at 5000 points for the Yellow Anchor. The Fish (Rounds 3 & 4) is worth 1500 points, the Red Anchor (Rounds 5 & 6) is worth 2000 points, the Cyan Whale (Rounds 7 & 8) is worth 2500 points, and the Blue Whale (Rounds 9 & 10) is worth 3000. Eating the squid-like monsters is also worth four tremendously different point values: 300, 700, 1200, and 2000 points, which adds up to total of 4200 points.
The first thing You’ll notice- there’s not really a maze. I always felt it was like you were in a large salt water tank. The whole nautical theme has been done very well- from the seaweed, rocks, to the kelp bed- you feel like you’re underwater! The screen has four exits- two on top and two on the sides! The ghosts have been turned into squid- with soulless, hollowed out eyes!
Your power pellets have been turned into shells! The bonus fruit are now crabs, anchors,and other fish. Interestingly, the dots are placed in a pattern. But, the piranha’s control is still 4-way… meaning you’ll be circling around a few times to get a single dot. So the game’s challenge is tough- even for the most seasoned of players.
So- why don’t we watch a game?
If you have a emulator, you can play this game- I suggest giving it a go. It will keep you coining up for more!
We all know what today is- Pac-Man Day! But- do you remember the first time you saw Pac-Man? was it in the arcade? On the Atari VCS? On a later system? Well, that’s what Josh, Danny, and myself talk about in this episode!
Happy Pac-Man Day… And Keep Playin’ Like It’s 1981!
Welcome to the latest issue of COIN UP! This is the review series where I go back in time and review those arcade games of the past that you probably remember or or have a memory vaguely playing at the local arcade- the game tucked away in a corner while you’re waiting for your turn at Frogger. If you have a favorite game you would like to see in a review- let me know in the comments section below! Lets start this Maze Madness series on the Pac-Man games of the Bally-Midway Era, with the one that started it all! Continue reading →
This one comes to us from 1982- courtesy of American Bandstand! Jerry and Gary never released any music videos back then (at least I don’t think so) but, they did this one show. For those of you that weren’t around back then- American Bandstand was a music show on Saturday afternoons that would have a live audience while the bands performed for them. it was hosted by the legendary Dick Clark. This was just after the release of the Pac-Man Fever album- at the height of the craziness (as you’re about to see!) Let me know if you remember this episode in the comments!
As I sit in the Archives bunker of isolation, I watched UberNerds play through of Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Facebook live… and it was good. It took me back to the Gamesters videos (you dudes NEED to bring the Gamesters back!!!!). So good in fact, I got my old gears turning. Maybe I give this play through stuff a go- and put a RayGunn spin on it!
So, in the next few weeks, I will start playing the classic arcade games you remember… or maybe you don’t. I will play the ports too, giving you my spin on these games and the time in my life when they came out!
Now for the surprise- the intro video I’ll use! What do you think? let me know in the comments!
Raygunn here, and do I have a treat for you today! One of the gifts I received form my lovely wife- was the book “Pac- Man Fever”. So, while I’m in self isolation in the Archives Bunker, I thought I would do a Video Review of it!
Welcome to the latest issue of COIN UP! This is the review series where I go back in time and review those arcade games of the past that you probably remember or or have a memory vaguely playing at the local arcade- the game tucked away in a corner while you’re waiting for your turn at Space Ace. If you have a favorite game you would like to see in a review- let me know in the comments section below! We have our first sequel and it will be a part of our Shmup series!
If you didn’t read the last issue- WHAT ARE YOU DOING? go back and read the Coin Up review of Astro Fighter! If you have-great! You know its a shortened name for Shoot Em’ Up- a genre of game that involved a space fighter or jet moving in a direction (or all, as we’ll see later in this series!!!) Shooting enemies who move in a pattern (or random as well…) trying to shoot you down. My favorites tend to be space shmups (or space shooters!) And this one tops it’s predecessor in every way!!!! Continue reading →
Long time, no speak… Been a little busy as of late- so UBERNERD has been holding the fort for a while (and is doing an amazing job!!!) Let’s begin…
A Long Time Ago… In 1983…
A movie was released, that, well most people didn’t want to see. and that movie was JOYSTICKS!!!!
I was there at opening night, at the Dutchess Mall theater. And I loved it. I always thought this movie was something more than a PORKY’S ripoff- because of the true star of this movie- THE ARCADE!
It was…AMAZING! Unlike most movies of the 1980’s that needed an arcade setting (Go to the mall, film said arcade) They- BUILT THEIR OWN!!!! That’s right, they built their own arcade, from scratch, in a warehouse in L.A.! and it was awesome!
…But, that’s a story for another time.
We’re here to talk about the soundtrack!
It was never released. Why? Who knows why. Poor ticket sales, the director, producers, or distributors of the film not thinking it was necessary- the list goes on and on.
Flash ahead 33 years later-
Jon and the fine folks at ECZEMA RECORDS are releasing the official movie soundtrack to this fine film!
You can get it two ways-
Buy the digital download for the sweet price of $9.99- you choose-
MP3 (320kbps)
iTunes Plus AAC (256kbps)
Apple Lossless (ALAC)
FLAC
Pre order the JOYSTICKS Vinyl LP + Immediate MP3 Download for $25.00!
Jon sent the Archives a digital copy to review, and I can tell you- it’s amazing just to hear the music with nothing over it! The album must be from the masters because they are flawless! The late 70’s / early 80’s vibe is here in this music. The fun and optimism was there for me when I heard “Last Chance For Love” this time, just as it was when I heard it at the end of this movie back in ’83. This album will be playing in my arcade for years to come!!!
Now, as a side by side comparison, here’ the beginning of the film with the Joysticks theme song-
and here’s the soundtrack version-
Its flawless!
I’ll be doing a proper song by song review in the coming days, (also when I purchase the vinyl, we will be doing a video review!) and may be Jon could even answer some questions…
If that’s peaked you interest, head over to ECZEMA RECORDS and get you copy NOW!!!
Thanks to everybody over at ECZEMA RECORDS for the tunes!!!!!
Piranha was programmed by a small company- GL. This was one of the biggest Pac-Man bootlegs- it actually had an dedicated cabinet release in the U.S. by U.S. Billiards.
