Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Grudge Match

This is one of those flyers that I wasn't able to find much info on, but after checking it out I think you'll understand why I featured it this week. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Lode Runner

Hello, and welcome to Arcade Flyer Art Saturday at its new prime time! You can look forward to seeing it at this same time each week from here on out. This week's offering is the arcade version of Broderbund's PC classic, Lode Runner. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Computer Space

In almost a year and a half of doing Arcade Flyer Art Saturday I would have been hard pressed to choose a favorite. Until now. What makes this one particularly notable is that Computer Space was designed by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney for Nutting Inc. prior to their founding of Atari in 1972. It also happens to be the very first commercially available arcade video game. Here is the description of the gameplay from the back of the flyer which I have posted after the jump along with the flyer for the two player version. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Defender

For this weeks flyer I chose a classic game with one of my all time favorite posters, Defender. I don't think I need to explain the gameplay of Defender to anyone and if I do, then you should just sell all your consoles now and turn in your gamer card. So instead we'll concentrate on the flyer art itself. Like many of the classic games of the time, Defender had multiple flyers created for it and the ones done for other countries varied in style. In this case, the American versions mainly focused on images of the arcade machine while the Japanese one has an elaborate and brightly colored space scene and features a vastly different arcade cabinet. The German one also attempts to throw in some color by adding some nice chunky color frames. The best of all though is the one pictured above with the sultry space babe. You can tell she is a space babe because of her white wrap-around dress, accompanying silver quilted collar and belt. Also note the absence of foot wear. Because in space, no one wears shoes. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Devastators

Konami released Devastators into wide release in 1988. Capitalizing on the popularity of Contra, Devastators took on the similar plot device of two guys taking on hordes of enemies. It was set in the far flung future of 1989 and involved a Middle Eastern dictator who had taken over a small country. The country in turn hires the two main characters to save them and according to the flyer, these badasses were "the best, most efficient, ruthless, disciplined and most expensive 2-man team of freedom fighters in the world." Man, that's a whole lot of adjectives. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Kyros

It's not often that I pick a game that I am unable to find much information on, but something about the Kyros flyer really struck me. Searching around, I was able to find next to no information on the game, even on KLOV or Wikipedia which can usually fill in the gaps for me. After much searching and help from a friend, I discovered that the game was known by a couple of other names and eventually ported to several home computer systems under the name Desolator. So, going on that information, thus unfolds the tale of Kyros aka Kyros' Mansion aka Halls of Kairos aka Desolator. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Crazy Climber

We're going all the way back to 1980 for this week's Arcade Flyer Art Saturday feature, Crazy Climber. Produced by Nihon Bussan Co. Ltd., credited to Nichibutsu (whos name appears on all the buildings n the game) and eventually licensed by Taito, Crazy Climber will surely be remembered by arcade denizens of years past. Crazy Climber was an early relative of the ever popular Rampage and had the player controlling a man who for some unknown reason enjoys scaling the sides of 200 story buildings. The control was done with two joysticks, each one controlling one of the climber's hands, so some ambidextrous coordination was definitely involved while playing this one. It was eventually ported and remade for several home systems, but nothing could quite recreate that two joystick feeling. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom

Sega produced Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom for arcades in 1982. This was a perfect example of using a well known character to try and sell an otherwise boring game. The only thing branded "Buck Rogers" was the cabinet itself while the game had next to nothing to do with the hero's story besides the fact that it was set in outer space. It was controlled with an eight way joystick and two buttons with the cabinet coming in a stand up version as well as an enclosed sit down style. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Punk Shot

Punk Shot was produced by Konami in 1990 and gave arcade goers a different perspective on the average sports game. Up to four players could choose between two teams, The Ramblers and The Slammers with each team consisting of two members. Basher and Stallion represented The Ramblers while the aptly named Hair and Spike comprised The Slammers. Four different playing fields were available including an alley, a docking pier, a vacant lot and a park. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Aliens

Konami produced the Aliens game for arcades in 1990, nearly four years after the James Cameron directed movie of the same name. The game was loosely based on the film and players could choose between two different player characters, Lieutenant Ripley or Corporal Hicks although there was no difference between the two except for the graphics. It could be played with up to two people and was controlled with a joystick and two buttons. It was mainly a side scrolling shooter although a few levels had a switched perspective with the characters moving forward down long hallways. The controls were pretty simple with one button letting you fire while standing and the other button allowing you to fire while crouching. More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Rygar

Originally released in Japan by Tecmo under the name Argos no Senshi, Rygar made it to arcades in the States a few months later in 1986. Rygar put the player in the shoes of the Legendary Warrior, Rygar who is called back from the grave to save the land of Argool from the evil Ligar. Interestingly, in the original Japanese version, "Rygar" was actually referring to the main villain while the main character was just known as "Legendary Warrior." More »

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Night Stocker

Night Stocker, created by Nolan Bushnell's Sente Games, hit arcades courtesy of Bally in 1986. It was a bit of an odd bird given that it was a driving game and a shooting game combined in one. Despite the fact that the flyer claims it to be "the highest earning system game in history" I was able to find precious little info on the game in my research. But, what I did find (thanks to KLOV) I will relate thusly... More »