Let's talk obscure games you've seen in arcades

[RayB]

The classics are easy to remember, but there have been some obscure games here and there that for whatever reason I just don't remember being too fond of, or they disappeared rather quick:

The Blob (or The Glob?): You controlled this blobby thing with cartoon eyes, and had to get to the top of the screen (or clear it of something?). You could stick to the ceiling to avoid baddies. I don't remember side art or anything special about the cabinet... Must have been a bootleg. I played it occasionally when all the good games had waiting lines. The game just wasn't all that fun.

Joust 2: I LOVED Joust. Joust 2 on the other hand, is a turd. They "enhanced" the game by letting you turn into this winged horse of some kind, whenever you felt like it. Wasn't really clear to me when you should or shouldn't be powered up, but whatever. I know either I sucked at the game or the game just sucked. I played it twice to be sure I didn't just misunderstand the game the first time. Nope. It sucks.

Post yours!

[Zero_Hour]

The Fun-N-Games at Century III Mall near Pittsburgh had a couple of games that I've never played or seen elsewhere.

Darius (The 3 monitor side scrolling shooter) - I would love the chance to play that one again on a full scale.  Interestingly enough they also had a The Ninja Warriors, that also used the 3 screen display, but I really didn't care for the game itself that much.

Hercules - The giant sized Pinball machine from Atari. Neat in concept, but played lousy in practice.

And Ray, I totally agree with you on Joust 2 - It sucked, not you.

Pretty sure The Glob was a conversion kit - according to KLOV, Epos and their subsidiary Cardinal Amusement, did a total of 7 games, and 3 of them are Glob and Super Glob / Beastie Feastie, all of which are damn near the exact same game.

[SirPeale]

I don't remember where, but I played Chiller on location.

IIRC when my parents caught me I wasn't playing any more.

[leapinlew]

I've played Zwackery at a bowling alley. They had the game for about 2 weeks. I liked the unusual controls.

Semi-obscure:
Marble Madness - I loved this game as a kid. It ate my quarter pretty quickly, but what a great game. Totally different than anything else I saw at the time.

Forgotten Worlds:
Fun game I could beat on 2 quarters.

Discs of Tron:
In an environment cab. I've only ever seen 1 in the wild.

[Guaranos]

I don't know how obscure it was, but there was a Growl machine near me in the 1991/1992 timeframe.  For those that don't remember (or more likely choose not to remember) this game, you play one of four tough guys who take on an evil organization of animal poachers.  The boss fights typically consist of you walking up on someone who is standing around whipping a lion or poking an eagle with a stick.  You then kill the very mean person with weapons ranging from lead pipes to rocket launchers.  The lion and/or eagle typically breaks free and aids in your assault, before disappearing into the woods.  Luckily, the lion and/or eagle is impervious to your attacks, so you can fire your rocket launcher with impunity, even if the eagle and/or lion is standing right on top of the very mean person.

If you put up with this long enough, you get to fight the ringleader at the end.  He has to be killed several times in his various incarnations and ends up being some sort of alien.

As "interesting" as this game was, to its credit I have yet to become an animal poacher or evil alien, so apparently its moral lesson was imparted on me as intended.

[SirPeale]

Discs of Tron:
In an environment cab. I've only ever seen 1 in the wild.

Oh yeah!  I had one of those too.

[ChadTower]

I've never seen a DOTE in the wild but I did see two in a guy's garage once... next to 5 star wars cockpits.

I'd say the most novel video game I've seen would be the Sega hologram games. 

I have seen all manner of odd EM machines in arcades.  I tend to make trips specifically to places I know have a strong EM selection.  It's getting harder as the years go by.

[(+_+)]

A non-video video game comes to mind.

Zeek's Peek.

I only ever saw one of these and a friend of mine now owns it because he worked with the owner and got it for a steal.

[shardian]

Galaxian 3. I almost crapped my pants when I saw that one. It was AWESOME!

"Dad, Dad! there is a video game in here where you get to play inside a movie theater!! Its Awesome! CANIPLAYCANIPLAYANPLAY!!!!"

[shorthair]

DOTE: I think these were so expensive, only theme parks had them or many of them. Six Flags Magic Mountain had a couple/few in the mid-80s.

Joust 2: Yep, it bites. Not only did  they go off the deep end and make it a vertical game - ?! - but they added weird text areas, effectively reducing the play field. As well, the raster animation sucked.

Glob: never saw this before Mame. I play Super Glob - it's pretty cute.

Zwackery: the local golf castle actually had one of these. Loved the graphics. Controls-to-movement was a little complex.

Marble Madness: again, local golf castle had one. I never got past the third maze. The time thing kinda goes against the neatness of going through the mazes.

Kinda obscure: I, Robot - in particular, the Doodle game.

[NightGod]

DOTE...How I miss that arcade in the Louis Joliet Mall, they always had the best games.

[TOK]

Rescue by Stern. Twin stick game where you pilot a helicopter and fight off enemy helicopters while rescuing humans from the ocean. Its actually very similar to Robotron in play mechanic, but entirely different to play.

It was in this crappy little deli around the corner from my parents when I was a kid. It works great in MAME and is still one of my favorite games to this day.

[shardian]

I played Fire truck at an RV campground in Wisconsin when I was a kid. Was actually a pretty neat game and is the only one I have ever seen...of course I am young.

[squirrellydw]

Tapper at some bar

[Moon Monkey]

I found somewhere that had a mutant night.... I think it was a pizza place in Manchester randomly.... I remember being very drunk and very tired at the time so it kinda freaked me out... really want to get a hold of the board!!! love all the weird  !!!

Also... there was a boxing game I played when I was about 6/7 when I went to Greece... can't remember the name of it... but basically you had 2 handles that you moved round to simulate the punches... brilliant game... possibly called title fight or something.... then when i went to Haggerston Castle (woo hoo butlins!!!) THEY HAD IT THERE!!!!!!

immediately ran tot he nearest change machine and promptly put about £10 straight in the boxing machine!!! was totally ace!! was kind of 2 machines slightly angled so you couldn't see the other players hands... 1 pair red 1 pair blue... MINT!!!

[rovingmind]

I played Fire truck at an RV campground in Wisconsin when I was a kid. Was actually a pretty neat game and is the only one I have ever seen...of course I am young.

I have a smokey joe marquee, it was the upright version of fire-truck

[shorthair]

immediately ran tot he nearest change machine and promptly put about £10 straight in the boxing machine!!! was totally ace!! was kind of 2 machines slightly angled so you couldn't see the other players hands... 1 pair red 1 pair blue... MINT!!!

In cases like this (not just the thread, but yours in particular) it might help to give your age, as it's hard to tell what era those you referred to might be from. Or, you could explain the graphics qualities.

[geomartin]

One of my favorite games was at the Time Zone arcade in Oak Ridge Mall, San Jose, CA.  around 1984/85.  It was a four player Demolition Derby game, in fact I think it was called "Demolition Derby".  The four players would stand around the game and look down at the screen.  You had to drive your car backwards and wreck the other players and AI cars without damaging your cars front end.  It was a blast to play, and I have never seen it anywhere else.

[Moon Monkey]

i'm 26... not sure if i class that as young or old...

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=T&game_id=10129

that's the bad boy.... i couldn't physically own one cause it would be broken within days!!! machines must've been built to take a beating cause you always ended up going all out.... brilliant game... think i'm gonna book a weekend in haggerston castle...

[shorthair]

i'm 26... not sure if i class that as young or old...

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=T&game_id=10129

that's the bad boy.... i couldn't physically own one cause it would be broken within days!!! machines must've been built to take a beating cause you always ended up going all out.... brilliant game... think i'm gonna book a weekend in haggerston castle...

Ah. I might've seen it. The concept seemed familiar, and seemed it might be a 90s era game. Would need at least a dual two-player panel to play it in Mame.

[Moon Monkey]

I would say it's a game you need a cab to play.... don't think it would  have the same feel to it... though I'm gonna check now cause i got one of the 15gb torrents for it..... am I allowed to say that??? 

[RayB]

Moon Man: You would have loved this earlier Sega boxing game, called Heavyweight Championship:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=8098

THe entire top of the machine swivels left and right, up and down. Each control can be "punched" in. They also swivel. So basically you have the freedom to do things like upper cuts, jabs, etc all in fairly "realistic" motions. The hard you punch, the more damage you cause. (Hurt my shoulders after a while!)

[Moon Monkey]

 

omg!!!! want it!!! need to play it!!!

that looks brilliant.... i'm sure i'd destroy that one within a week too!!!!

[shorthair]

Well, you know, they have newer versions that are just gloves attached by cables. They are of course very large and bulky to keep the kiddies from getting all crazy. But that's what the Wii is for, no?...although, yeah, like RayB talked about, you can hurt yourself being too physical with it, as most people who don't actually really box aren't in the shape to be doing it.

[RayB]

Well, you know, they have newer versions that are just gloves attached by cables. They are of course very large and bulky to keep the kiddies from getting all crazy. But that's what the Wii is for, no?...although, yeah, like RayB talked about, you can hurt yourself being too physical with it, as most people who don't actually really box aren't in the shape to be doing it.

yeah, I have to wonder though if those motion sensor based ones can really detect your movement accurately enough (like, to know you just swung your fist in a particular arc or not). There's also the lack of force feedback. You're just punching at air. That Sega game had a definite limit to how far you could throw your punch, and you felt it. So in that respect it was much more realistic.

[Dudeman]

Warrior.

My dad and I came across it at a fair one year, but I could never remember what it was called. Everyone I every asked about it just said  . I had to go through every listing on KLOV to figure out what the name of it was so I could put it on my cab.

[FrizzleFried]

The "Family Fun Center" in Montclair CA had a DOTE...played it for years.  They also had a Wacko...I love that crazy-ass cabinet.   They had a Fire Truck...fun with 2 people.   They also had both the stand up and cockpit versions of Star Wars.  I too was less than impressed with Joust 2....as I was with Dig Dug II and don't even mention how asstastic Spy Hunter II was.

[vintagegamer]

I don't remember where, but I played Chiller on location.

IIRC when my parents caught me I wasn't playing any more.

OK I never saw this one as a kid and just looked it up..  no wonder your parents pulled you from it- it's seriously f@##@$d up..

http://www.ironicconsumer.com/videogames/chiller.html

Who designs stuff like that??!!

[cowguy]

I don't remember where, but I played Chiller on location.

IIRC when my parents caught me I wasn't playing any more.

OK I never saw this one as a kid and just looked it up..  no wonder your parents pulled you fron it- it's seriously f@##@$d up..

http://www.ironicconsumer.com/videogames/chiller.html

Who designs stuff like that??!!

That is the most ---fouled up beyond all recognition--- up arcade game I have ever seen.

[Texasmame]

Cliff Hanger

Only seen it once in the wild and back in the day.  In fact, that was the ONLY time I've ever seen one in person!

Space Dungeon is another.

[Crowquill]

A couple stick in my mind.

On vacation in Huntsville, Alabama I played Majestic Twelve at a mall arcade. I was thrilled because at the time I was obsessed with playing Space Invaders '91 on Genesis. The strange thing was that Majestic Twelve is the japanese name for the game (Super Space Invaders '91 is the American version).

There was a small laundromat that was within bike-riding distance from home. They cycled their games pretty often and had a pretty good variety of games throughout the late 80's when I was going there. I got to play games like Pyros, Thunder Fox, and R-Type. It was also there that I started my obsession with Shinobi.

There's one other that I only played at our local Putt-Putt that was actually a Namco redemption game. Cosmo Gang. Five plastic aliens moved down a track towards you trying to steal the power cells that sat in front of 2 mounted lightguns (one for each player). If they made it all the way to your end they would grab the cell and start to move backwards down the track. If any of them made it all the way back your game was over. The game was popular enough that they re-used the characters for Como Gang - The Video and Cosmo Gang the Puzzle. The bonus rounds in "the video" are pretty much what the redemption game was like.

[ElGwako]

Radical Radial cocktail. Of all places....in a local donut shop. I was spending a summer at my fathers in a town with cranberry bogs everywhere. I rode my bike to it everyday since besides swimming, there wasn't much else to do in that town. Not sure if it because it was the only one around BUT i loved that game. As far as i know it was the only one around for quite a distance. Even the local pizza shops didn't have anything.

[(+_+)]

I don't remember where, but I played Chiller on location.

IIRC when my parents caught me I wasn't playing any more.

OK I never saw this one as a kid and just looked it up..  no wonder your parents pulled you from it- it's seriously f@##@$d up..

http://www.ironicconsumer.com/videogames/chiller.html

Who designs stuff like that??!!

"GOOD SHOOTING!"

That's too funny.

[Kremmit]

I was really lucky as a kid, the local ops at the time must've had interesting taste.  List only includes games I actually saw & played on location when I was a kid, not stuff I've seen at arcade conventions.

Dedicated Major Havoc - Round Table Pizza
     - Gotta have that roller!

I, Robot - Round Table Pizza
     - I think I'm the only person that ever liked this game.

Mikie : High School Graffiti - Round Table Pizza
     - Never liked it.

Puck Man - Holiday Grocery Store
     - Yup, a real Japanese Pac Man!  No idea what it was doing there.

Darius - Mr. C's Family Billiards
     -Someday when I get a 60" Plasma I'll be able to play this one again properly.

Time Traveler - The Gold Mine arcade
     - Neat gimmick, horrible game.

Crossbow - Chuck E. Cheese
     - Looking to buy one of these!

Cliff Hanger - Chuck E. Cheese
     - Wow, did we put a lot of tokens into that darn thing.

M.A.C.H. 3 (cockpit) - Chuck E. Cheese
     - Best laserdisc game ever.

Baby Pac-Man - Chuck E. Cheese
     - Didn't like it.

Aztarac - Movies 3 Theater
     - I can't claim 100% certainty on the Aztarac.  I only saw and played it one time, but my memory jibes with that round bubbled bezel and I remember the radar button.  I think they might have had a Warrior there, too, but I'm not sure enough to include that one on the list.  That place always had a lot of vectors, for some reason.

Super Bug - Viking Skate Country
     - Stupid B+W thing was there, taking up space, year after year after year after year...

Star Trek (cockpit) - Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
     - Only played one game.  Died really fast.  Didn't catch on fire the day I was there...

...that's all I can think of right now.