Arcade USA!

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Loved this game in my local arcade back in the early 80's, my favorite home version of it is on the Colecovision! I dont have TI99 but that one was pretty good to and had speech!

 

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First pickup video for 2016

 

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Full article can be read at the link below

http://gamester81.com/arcade-usa-checkmate-by-midway-games/

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Developed by Konami and released by Stern, Turtles features the player taking the role of a mama turtle trying to rescue her babies in a 8 story building.

 

The game features four different mazes that change every 2 levels(floors) in the building. The play field has eight mystery boxes scattered about the maze that the mama turtle must open. six of the eight boxes contain a baby turtle, while the remaining two contain additional enemies! As the mama turtle opens the boxes, if a baby turtle is inside it will climb up on mama's back. At that time a home graphic will appear in the maze, this is the safe area to drop the baby turtle off.

 

Enemies in the maze are beetles that will change color depending on how long it is taking to complete the maze. Beetles start of a light tan color and just randomly wander the maze, then they will turn into a brown color and will pursue the mama turtle if they catch sight of her, finally the beetles will turn blue and will actively pursue the mama turtle. However the mama turtle is not defenseless, she has bug bombs she can drop that will stun the beetles. Only one bug bomb can be on the screen at once and additional ones can be obtained from the center of the maze. A good strategy is to stockpile bug bombs early in the game.

 

There were some limited ports of this game to the home consoles as well!

 

Turtles! - Odyssey 2 - Very good home port of the arcade game. has only six mystery boxes but all the gameplay elements from the arcade are represented. If you have "The Voice" module attached to your Odyssey 2 you can enjoy some neat music while you play the game. this music changes as you progress through the levels as well.

 

Turtles! - Emerson Arcadia 2001 - interesting port of the arcade game, does have all eight mystery boxes however the enemies are now delivery trucks. This is from another arcade game called Turpin or 600, but the gameplay is still the same. This version also allows you to drop multiple bombs in the maze and there is no bomb pickup like the arcade version. The intro screen looks like the arcade version with what sounds like Morse code playing as the mama turtle enters the building. Once a maze is complete a door will open at the edge of the maze for the player to pass through.

 

Turtles! - Entex VFD game - This is a very good VFD (Vacuum Florescent Display) version of the arcade game. The gameplay and maze are represented quite well from the arcade game. This version of the game is what first made me aware of the actual arcade game! A neat twist this version of the game has is its two player feature, one player controls the mama turtle while the other controls a beetle!

 

Turtles! - Entex Adventurevision - A very well done version of Turtles for this obscure LED (Light Emitting Diode) tabletop game system. the maze is compressed vertically, but all the elements of the arcade game are there. Has all eight mystery boxes, the bug bomb pickup in the middle and numerous enemies (that look like centipedes instead of beetles in this version). I was able to play this game at CGE (Classic Gaming Expo) in 2014 and really fell in love with it and the system.

 

So how would I rank these ports?

1. Adventurevision
2. Odyssey 2
3. VFD Handheld
4. Emerson Arcadia 2001

My high score for the Arcade Game 11,490 points. If you ever see the arcade game or use Mame, give it a try and post your high score below!

[thevnaguy]

 

A interesting desktop mini arcade machine with 230 built in games by Soundlogic XT. These games are divided up into 4 main categories - Sports, Shooting, Puzzle and Arcade. Each category has a nice selection of games for the genre, with a few hidden gems mixed in such as Galaga (although it is not called this and has alternative game graphics, but the game play and some of the sounds are the same)

 

It has a nice 2.5 lighted color LCD display, although some text is hard to read on it in certain games. The control panel has a joystick, 2 fire buttons, reset, start and sound. The control pad in the unit has the typical carbon dot mushroom style actuators, no mechanical switches are in this device. I did find the controls responded nicely while playing the games. The sound has 4 levels – Off, Low, Medium and Loud. In some games the sounds do distort during gameplay and the music does get repetitive.

 

Running on 3 AA batteries you can expect to get around 4 hours of play time. The manual shows the names and screenshots of the games included on the MultiCade. Likewise you can see a screen shot of a game and its title when on the game selection screen.

Pros:

• Wide variety of games
• Some very good reworked arcade classics (Defender, Galaga, Elevator Action, Etc...)
• Nice cabinet artwork
• Decent controls

Cons:

• Sound distortions in some games
• Game music gets repetitive
• Low resolution screen

Overall I like this MultiCade, much better than the DreamGear My Arcade I reviewed some time ago. With a better selection of games and a improved graphical interface, this MultiCade is more desirable for continued play. Typically this can be found for around 30 dollars, but if you shop around you may find it at a lower cost.

 

Rating: (3 out of 5 mincades)

 

 

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[AtariBrian]

I live in Toledo , I stop in there all the time and talk with Mike .

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Released in 2005 by Excalibur Electronics, this mini arcade machine is loosely based on the classic Coleco Tabletop Mini Arcades of the 80’s. Although it does not have the “classic” VFD (Vacuum Florescent Display) screen, it does have a back lit LCD screen that kind of simulates that VFD look. Four “C” sized batteries are required to power the unit.

 

Playing the game you will find that you simply cannot hold the joystick to one side to have your base continue to move, rather you have to release the joystick and push it again. The control panel also has a on/off, pause, mute and start/fire buttons. controls are responsive but the sound effects are lacking. The screen is divided in two parts (Left and Right) so as the invaders disappear of the right hand side of the screen you can follow them with your base. This gives you six total bunkers to hide behind and each bunker can take five hits before disappearing (they do show damage). The overall game play is kind of slow and the early levels are not much of a challenge. The invaders will not start marching down until you get up into the higher levels.

 

I did notice that it appears Excalibur Electronics has updated the graphic display. I had a 2005 released version that shows a much different play screen than what this unit is showing. The older units had the same graphics as the other hand held space invaders games Excalibur Electronics has made, whereas this newer unit has graphics that look like the original Taito Space Invaders!

Pros:

• Very well built
• Nice artwork
• Backlit screen
• Improved gameplay graphics

Cons:

• Smaller than the original Coleco minicades
• Repetitive joystick motion to get base to move
• Playfield is divided into two screens
• Sound effects are “tinny” at best

Overall this is a fairly nice electronic game to add to a collection, especially if you like Space invaders and these little minicades.

Rating: (4 out of 5 MiniCades)

 

 

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Released by Hashy Toys, this Breakout MiniCade Bank was mainly only available in Japan. Based on the same molds as the Excalibur MiniCades, the build quality is quite good. The controls however do suffer a bit, the joystick does not respond will if you happen to push down while playing. The sounds can get annoying but thankfully there is a Mute button (labeled Sound) to play the game in peace .

 

The unit runs of 4C batteries and features a working coin slot on top! There is a small micro switch in the coin slot to detect coins. anything from a arcade token up to a quarter will activate the machine. The bank part of the machine has a very large capacity, there is a screw lock door on the back of the machine to empty out your moola

The system auto powers down after 3 minutes. To activate it, you insert a coin and get 3 minutes to play the game. The screen is a back lit color LCD and is fairly clear. This machine also features a pause button do you can take a break from your current game.

 

The gameplay is straightforward breakout. you start the game with 3 balls (which are indicated on the upper left side of the screen). You paddle starts off four pixels wide and as soon as you break through the wall of bricks, the paddle shrinks down two pixels wide and the ball speeds up. Also on the screen is a indicator to show if the sound is on and off and a score display on the upper right.

Pros:

1. Make money off your friends
2. Well built housing
3. Nice artwork, will look good on any shelf or desk
4. Enjoyable gameplay
5. Pause and Mute buttons

Cons:

1. The joystick can become unresponsive if you happen to depress it while playing
2. The sounds, oh the sounds, they are maddening!
3. Screen can be hard to see in some orientations.

Overall I really like this Minicade!. Granted its not VFD based like the Coleco Classic MiniCades, but it does the job well.

Rating: (4 out of 5 Minicades)

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