<Arcade> The Unregarded.

[F-ZeroOne]

So, just something I've been thinking about - if you're of my generation <late 70s/early - mid 80s>, you probably spent a fair amount of time in videogame arcades. And you probably encountered a lot of cabinets that everyone knows - "Space Invaders", "Defender", "Out Run", "Operation Wolf" etc. The ones that get all the coverage and articles.

But there were also those ones that... always seemed to be there, but no-one ever seems to bring up.

Now, these days, pretty much nothing is truly obscure - there will always be a blog post or YouTube video somewhere. But I just thought it'd be interesting to see if anyone is willing to trawl their memories and wheel out a less famous arcade denizen into the neon-light for a moment.

For me, one of those was "Wardner". Its a cutesy platform game, a little like "The New Zealand" story. For some reason, I always seemed to run across one in the arcades I frequented, even if it never seemed to be big hit. It apparently got a MegaDrive version, so someone must have liked it. One oddity is I don't recall ever playing it - I'm fairly sure I watched someone complete it once, but I just have no memory of getting my hands on the controls myself:



On the subject of "Wardner", theres another, earlier obscure one that I've often wondered if it was related in any way, as some of the gameplay elements are slightly similar, "Wiz". I must have seen it enough for it to have stuck in my mind, but again, it doesn't seem to be one thats been covered very often.

[Foozwah]

Good thread idea! I will keep checking in to see if anyone ever posts anything about an arcade game that I only ever saw and played in one place in the early 80s - was in the little shop attached to a caravan park in a tiny country town several hours drive NE of Melbourne, where my family had a "permanent" van when I was a pre-/early teen.

All I can remember about it is it was a bit Defender-ish, space ship on a horizontal scrolling landscape, but it had a (for the time) never before seen mechanic in that you had two fire buttons, one to shoot forward, another to shoot backward. I think the first enemies you encountered approached in a kind of bouncing, diagonal pattern, but I could be misremembering that.

We'd stay in that caravan park four or five times a year, but this machine was there for maybe two of our visits one year, before vanishing again.

Every couple of years I try searching online, but have never found it. I think I posted about it here a decade or more ago, to no avail.

Anyway yes, look forward to seeing some more obscure gems like Wardner in the meantime.

[F-ZeroOne]

Hi, thanks for appreciating the thread!

Regards your arcade game, "Vanguard" is the title that springs immediately to mind, but with that you could shoot up and down as well, not just to the rear.

[Misfit]

Not sure I have anything to add to the thread, but will be watching intently as always looking forward to finding old gems.

Seem to get more out of them than most modern games despite having all the latest tech.

[F-ZeroOne]

Another one that seemed to be almost omnipresent wherever I went to insert some 10ps, but rarely seems to get mentioned anymore - "Tiger Heli":

[Whiteball]

Excellent thread!

Loved Tiger Heli back in the day.

Never had a local arcade (except the odd chip shop and cafe that had games in etc) but each year we went on holiday and there was always an arcade close enough to visit multiple times

But my memory of a game I only ever saw once was not in the chip shop or on holiday but actually when a travelling fairground came to town.

Never played it because no one else was and it looked too different from the 'normal' stuff and I didn't know what to do
Found out many years later what it was and had a go. It was surprisingly good for quite an early game. Lots of nice, different mechanics involved.

Pulsar Sega 1981

[Foozwah]

Hi, thanks for appreciating the thread!

Regards your arcade game, "Vanguard" is the title that springs immediately to mind, but with that you could shoot up and down as well, not just to the rear.

No worries, re: appreciation. Looks like I'm not the only one - more cool stuff to check out!

Thanks re: Vanguard suggestion too. I remember that as well (mainly from playing the Atari VCS/2600 port) but yeah, def another game. I'll keep searching!

[Deckard]

Loved Wardner but hated the last boss - total exercise in frustration from a previously chilled game.

Games I didn’t see often on my frequent south coast arcade travels - major havoc and tac-scan which I was rubbish at but discs of Troy I rocked …I’ll add more later

[grue]

There are two that I saw once each and never encountered again. No idea what they're called but here's what I remember.

The first one was a sidescroller where you controlled a white-ish puffy little character with a head like a bean that shot orbs from its single eye. When you died the screen was flooded with orbs from you outward until only orbs filled the picture.

On the other one you controlled a bald little man (or two in two-player mode) with a hand gun that shot bubbles and I think you could also jump on them.. Also, I'm pretty sure it had Tchaikovsky music.

Anyone remember them? :-)

[F-ZeroOne]

Another one that was a bit of a rare encounter and which I don’t recall getting to play
that much, Capcoms “The Speed Rumbler”:

[Whiteball]

Another one that was a bit of a rare encounter and which I don’t recall getting to play
that much, Capcoms “The Speed Rumbler”:

Never seen that one but it looks interesting. Not sure how well it will actually play but it looks like nice graphics and a different take to the usual stuff.

Will have to get my mini arcade up and running with a good few of these lesser knowns.

Keep 'em coming please.

[Misfit]

Another one that was a bit of a rare encounter and which I don’t recall getting to play
that much, Capcoms “The Speed Rumbler”:

I like the look of that. Bit of a sucker for top down driving things.

[merman]

I loved Speed Rumbler when I played it in the 80s. It’s overly tricky in places, but then it was designed to grab coins.

[F-ZeroOne]

Another one that was a bit of a rare encounter and which I don’t recall getting to play
that much, Capcoms “The Speed Rumbler”:

Never seen that one but it looks interesting. Not sure how well it will actually play but it looks like nice graphics and a different take to the usual stuff.

Will have to get my mini arcade up and running with a good few of these lesser knowns.

Keep 'em coming please.

From what little I can remember of playing it, I recall it being pretty hard. I never seemed to last more than a few seconds, though the games setting was pretty unique at the time for an arcade game.

Apparently Hardcore Gaming 101 is stalking me:

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/wardner/

[F-ZeroOne]

If like me Stringfellow Hawke was your role model you may well remember this; I knew it under the title "Skywolf" but it seems it was also out under this more accurate, if possibly unofficial, moniker. It was great fun, but let down by the fact there was no continue system: