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| Super Locomotive | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Fukumura Mizunaga |
| Programmer(s) | Fukumura Mizunaga [1] |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Sega Genesis Mini 2 |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Arcade system | Sega Z80 |
Super Locomotive [lower-alpha 1] is a side-scrolling train action video game developed by Sega and released for arcades in 1982.
The objective of the game is to guide a train from one station to next. Along the route, the player must avoid obstacles such as other trains, planes, red signals, trucks crossing intersections, and guide the train along multiple routes by changing tracks en route. The player is armed with a steam fire bullet for destroying airborne targets, and a temporary force field which protects the train for a limited period of time. The use of the bullets and shields rapidly deplete an energy bar which must be maintained between levels by picking up oil items en route. Upon completion of a level, a bonus stage is played which involves the train attempting to shoot as many airborne enemies within a finite time period. The bonus awarded is dependent upon the number of enemies destroyed. The game then resumes on more challenging levels.
The game's soundtrack features a chiptune rendition of Yellow Magic Orchestra's synthpop hit "Rydeen" (1979) playing throughout the main gameplay. [4]
The same tune later appeared in several personal computer games, including Rabbit Software's Trooper Truck (1983) and Superior Software's Stryker's Run (1986), and as the Ocean Software loader theme for Daley Thompson's Decathlon (1984).
The Sega Genesis Mini 2 version replaces "Rydeen" with the song "Ryzeen" by Oriental Magnetic Yellow, a YMO parody band led by composer Shinji Hosoe.
Computer and Video Games magazine reviewed the game in its September 1983 issue. They said it is an "enjoyable romp" with "a good setting" and "a marvelous rousing tune that adds immediately to the action." [3]
The game was sold in Japan and Europe. In the UK, a machine was sited in a small arcade in a wooden building next to a small funfair in the seaside town of Morecambe. The arcade and funfair shut down in the 1980s and the site is now a car park, behind and to the left of the Johnny's Fun Factory arcade.
While no official conversion of the game existed until 2022, the computer games Trooper Truck (1983) and Loco (1984) are heavily inspired by Super Locomotive. In 2022, Sega released the Sega Genesis Mini 2 (also known as the Mega Drive Mini 2), which included a Genesis port of Super Locomotive developed by M2.
The game is considered one of the earliest train video games, making it a precursor to train simulator video games such as Ongakukan's Train Simulator series (1995 debut) and Densha de Go! (1996 debut). [5]
Zaxxon is an isometric shooter arcade game, developed and released by Sega in 1982, in which the player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses. Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki is also credited for having worked on the development of the game.
Ghouls 'n Ghosts, known as Dai Makaimura in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Capcom, released as an arcade game in 1988 and subsequently ported to a number of home platforms. It is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins and the second game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series.
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Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games. Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.
Shinobi (忍) is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash action game produced by Sega, originally released for arcades on the Sega System 16 board in 1987. The player controls ninja Joe Musashi, to stop the Zeed terrorist organization from kidnapping students of his clan.
A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport, whilst others emphasize strategy and sport management. Some, such as Need for Speed, Arch Rivals and Punch-Out!!, satirize the sport for comic effect. This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is competitive, just like real-world sports. A number of game series feature the names and characteristics of real teams and players, and are updated annually to reflect real-world changes. The sports genre is one of the oldest genres in gaming history.
Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous river.
A train simulator is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations. They are generally large complicated software packages modeling a 3D virtual reality world implemented both as commercial trainers, and consumer computer game software with 'play modes' which lets the user interact by stepping inside the virtual world. Because of the near view modeling, often at speed, train simulator software is generally far more complicated and difficult software to write and implement than flight simulator programs.
Driving simulators are used for entertainment as well as in training of driver's education courses taught in educational institutions and private businesses. They are also used for research purposes in the area of human factors and medical research, to monitor driver behavior, performance, and attention and in the car industry to design and evaluate new vehicles or new advanced driver assistance systems.
Fantasy Zone is a 1986 arcade game by Sega, and the first game in the Fantasy Zone series. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Master System. The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights an enemy invasion in the titular group of planets. The game contains a number of features atypical of the traditional scrolling shooter. The main character, Opa-Opa, is sometimes referred to as Sega's first mascot character.
Sunset Riders is a side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter video game developed and released by Konami as a coin-operated video game on the JAMMA arcade platform in 1991. The game is set in the American Old West, where the player takes control of a bounty hunter who is seeking the rewards offered for various criminals.
Flicky is a platform game developed by Sega and released in arcades in May 1984. It was licensed to Bally Midway for distribution in the United States. In Flicky, the player controls the eponymous blue bird and must gather all the small birds called Chirps in each round and bring them safely to the exit. There are cat and lizard enemies which can disperse the Chirps and kill the player, but Flicky can use items on the playing field to protect herself and the Chirps from danger.
1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, Super Mario Bros. 2, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and Super Mario Bros. 3, along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q.
1982 was the peak year for the golden age of arcade video games as well as the second generation of video game consoles. Many games were released that would spawn franchises, or at least sequels, including Dig Dug, Pole Position, Mr. Do!, Zaxxon, Q*bert, Time Pilot and Pitfall! The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man, for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home system was the Atari 2600. Additional game consoles added to a crowded market, notably the ColecoVision and Atari 5200. Troubles at Atari late in the year triggered the video game crash of 1983.
The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as the Mega Drive, and in 1989 in North America as the Genesis. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tec Toy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.
Super Monaco GP is a Formula One racing simulation video game released by Sega, originally as a Sega X Board arcade game in 1989, followed by ports for multiple video game consoles and home computers in the early 1990s. It is the sequel to the 1979 arcade game Monaco GP. The arcade game consists of one race, the Monaco Grand Prix, but later ports added more courses and game modes based on the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
Loco-Motion, known as Guttang Gottong in Japan, is an arcade puzzle game developed by Konami in 1982 and released by Sega in Japan. The North American rights were licensed to Centuri. In Loco-Motion, the player builds a path for their unstoppable locomotive by moving tracks which will allow it to pick up passengers.
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Thunder Blade is a third-person combat flight simulator video game released by Sega for arcades in 1987. Players control a helicopter to destroy enemy vehicles. The game was released as a standard stand-up arcade cabinet with force feedback, as the joystick vibrates. A helicopter shaped sit-down model was released, replacing the force feedback with a cockpit seat that moves in tandem with the joystick. It is a motion simulator cabinet, like the previous Sega Super Scaler games Space Harrier (1985) and After Burner (1987). The game's plot and setting was inspired by the film Blue Thunder (1983).
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