ATARI7800fan Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) Hello. I have recently got into collecting hand-helds and have noticed some people mention electro-mechanical ones when talking of ones before the original game-boy. What do they mean exactly by mechanical and what are some good ones to get. They did mention Tomy mini arcade and Tomy's in general, Plus good prices. Thanks for your time. Edited May 27, 2011 by ATARI7800fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-topdog Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) Hello. I have recently got into collecting hand-helds and have noticed some people mention mechanical ones when talking of ones before the original game-boy. What do they mean exactly by mechanical and what are some good ones to get, Plus good prices. Thanks for your time. Tomy had some great ones like Digital Derby, Attack in Space, Cat Dodger, Sky Catch, Torpedo Terror, Desert Race, Knight's Mission, Astro Raid and about 10 others. Tomy also had some electro mechanical ones that looked like little arcade games, they were the "Mini Arcade" series which consisted of Cosmic Clash and Daring Driver (also known as Arcade Attack and Arcade Racing)... these two were simply awesome. Cosmic Clash was also released in a Japanese version called simply "Arcade Game" Dozens of other companies released similar handheld electro mechanical games like these. eBay is definitely your friend for these. You can also find a ton of them on HandheldMuseum.com Edited May 27, 2011 by the-topdog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 I don't know if there are very many "good" EM handhelds as their gameplay is limited. But heck, they're nifty. And yeah Tomy had a lot as mentioned.. with BLIP being the big first one that used batteries that I was aware of. That's always a good one to have. One thing you could always check out were the Tomy Pocket line.. there's lots of them, and some better than others. My favorite one was Frog Fight where I would challenge my brother. Most are just pachinko/style variation things though where you shoot a ball around.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARI7800fan Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 I don't know if there are very many "good" EM handhelds as their gameplay is limited. But heck, they're nifty. And yeah Tomy had a lot as mentioned.. with BLIP being the big first one that used batteries that I was aware of. That's always a good one to have. One thing you could always check out were the Tomy Pocket line.. there's lots of them, and some better than others. My favorite one was Frog Fight where I would challenge my brother. Most are just pachinko/style variation things though where you shoot a ball around.. Thanks for the advice so far. Tomy defiantly seems like the company to go with. Also thanks for the pocket line advice. What do you guys think of Attack in Space and Turnin' Turbo Dashboard. Have a nice day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raskar42 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 mechanicals are simple games that use springs or magnets ot other machines to move the gameplay forward - Tomy Pocket Games are great examples of this, and some of them are alot of fun. Electromechanical games use electronic components with mechanical elements in game play. an example of this is the modern pinball machine, but at it's peak there were many types of electomechanical games - racing, sports, shooting, flying... this was one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqwJZy8cg1c not too many hand held versions of these were made - tomy's mini arcade line was one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 As mentioned, there are moving gears and LED's in these type of games. I picked up a BLIP and Hit and Missile a few months back. They're prime examples of Electro-mechanical games. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwgPRlixoVo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animan Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I too have been looking into mechanical games. Does anyone have any of those Tomy Pocket Games/Pocketeers/Pocketmates? Any videos to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epyx_Fail Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss 2600 Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I too have been looking into mechanical games. Does anyone have any of those Tomy Pocket Games/Pocketeers/Pocketmates? Any videos to share? I have a small collection of Tomy Pocket games. For being so small and not requiring batteries, they are pretty fun. There was a lot of variety and creativity in them. Tomy made all kinds of games the same size. I had a few as a kid: Tic Tac Score (yellow) was the first one I had. A series of metal balls were launched through a shoot like a pinball machine and you'd try to guide them into certain numbered slots to make three in a row. Speedway: I don't know how it works. It probably uses magnets. You'd turn a dial and the cars start moving on the track. Pop-Up Pirate: A pirate is hiding inside a barrel. There are swords you push in and (like Russian Roulette) one will trigger the pirate. Bi Plane Battle: Feed metal balls into a bi-plane and aim it towards the enemy. Hit it just right, and the enemy will move across a bar until it hides behind an explosion sticker (meaning it is blown up). Horsing Around: There is an inside horse and an outside horse and a wheel. Spin the wheel and where it stops is how many spaces one of the horses advances (or goes back). Pac-Man: Catch metal balls with Pac-Man to score. I've added a few more through eBay. Here's a photo of my collection (Tic Tac Score, Pop-Up Pirate, and Bi-Plane Battle are at my parent's house). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Pac-Man & Moto Cross FTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drixxel Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Good lord, I haven't thought about Tomy Pocketeers and their facsimiles since I was a kid. Haha, I remember being fascinated by these things and feeling inspired enough to draw up plans for my own pocket-sized mechanical games, most being high on the physical implausibility scale but tons of fun to imagine (and imagine playing!) at the time. As shallow as the gaming experience is that these dealies offer, they are undeniably cool, if only for their appealing, compact designs and tangible nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerSpaceFan Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I don't suppose any of you folks know someone who repairs Tomy handhelds, do you? My Digital Derby don't work. I have emailed the guy at Handheld Museum but never got an answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberpunk Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Rik? he also posts here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emehr Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 It all makes sense now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cebus Capucinis Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raskar42 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 anybody have/play with this thing? http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mego/STPhaser.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.