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View topic - Who developed arcade Zaxxon?

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  • Joined: 23 Jul 2007
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Who developed arcade Zaxxon?
Post Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:51 pm
Hello! Is there any information about people who developed original arcade Zaxxon? In middle 1980's you could make guesses by looking at default hi-score tables, but in Zaxxon it comes clear.
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:41 pm
During that era, developers rarely got credits, especially not with real names. Are you looking for information above what's already on the internet? Wikipedia tells me it was developed by a subcontractor which makes it doubly unlikely that you'll find credits; you might find a few ASCII initials in the ROM if you're lucky.
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:49 pm
Thanx, I never noticed that line in the infobox at Wiki! Maybe I took it as granted that developer is Sega.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikegami_Tsushinki
Here reference is made only to one book which author is earlier gaming journalist (back to 70's). It must be reliable, but styles of the games are so different (according to current Wiki IT developed both for Sega and Ni****do) I tend do believe that Ikegami Tsushiki was only supplying hardware and it could be lost in translation. And nothing about games mentioned on IT milestones page:
http://www.ikegami.co.jp/en/company/milestone.html
However, it seems so 'serious' company that it could be done to maintain image. Or it is just really insignificant.
Ofcourse contacts are made through inquiry form (I filled similar at Sega's site last week, haven't got anything so far, but sometimes such forms work and your question is headed to right people).
I consider contacting Masumi Akagi himself. I think it could be very interesting and revealing talk - early arcade industry in Japan is still a mystery outside of that country.
http://www.ampress.co.jp/english_news.htm
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:11 pm
And then I've found this discussion which has excerpt of the book.
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:31 am
Never heard of this company. It would make a great investigation for GDRI.
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:05 am
Some interesting links:
http://www.talkaboutgaming.com/group/rec.games.video.classic/messages/249468.htm...
http://forums.webmagic.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=2&Board=UBB3&Numb...

If you look in the graphics of Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, or Congo Bongo, you will find the ITC (Ikegami Tsushinki Co.) logo. I have circled it in the following image:

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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:17 pm
Cool. Looks like this all wasn't really noticed until this summer.
What program have you used to browse through tiles? It would be nice to have the whole list of games related to IT.
And also how (what particular program is used) text is usually found in roms?
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:51 pm
I just played Future Spy (Sega's game - Zaxxon's hardware and engine, but gameplay is more like Scramble and Xevious, a lot of variety, though) and, adding groups of 3 letters, from Hi-Score table we read: Kajihara Katsuya Nagata Eiromrida. Maybe "r omr ida" is some means 'rom reader', Eiromrida sounds strange, Eiromida or Ei would be more normal, I think.
Future Spy's graphics style seems to be more like that found in Sega's earlier Buck Rogers and Subroc-3D, than in original Zaxxon games - Future Spy looks almost like cute'm up. Notice dithering (checkmate shading) on fuel cans, BTW!
futspy.png (1.71 KB)
futspy.png
futs0000.png (3.81 KB)
futs0000.png

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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:45 pm
A.B. Lazer wrote
Hi-Score table we read: Kajihara Katsuya Nagata Eiromrida. Maybe "r omr ida" is some means 'rom reader', Eiromrida sounds strange, Eiromida or Ei would be more normal, I think.


It could also be interpreted as "muri da", which means "impossible".
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:50 pm
CRV wrote
Some interesting links:
http://www.talkaboutgaming.com/group/rec.games.video.classic/messages/249468.htm...


Isn't it typical that it's Hally that brings this up?
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Post Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:42 am
A.B. Lazer wrote
What program have you used to browse through tiles?


MAME.

A.B. Lazer wrote
And also how (what particular program is used) text is usually found in roms?


I usually just open them up in Notepad.

Another link worth checking out:
http://web.archive.org/web/20030905033137/http://www.video-fenky.com/archives/00...
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Post Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:05 am
ROMSearcher does "relative searching" which helps a lot when the text is not stored as ASCII. I'd say the majority of text is like that in SMS roms at least.
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Post Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:44 pm
CRV wrote

MAME.
I usually just open them up in Notepad.
Another link worth checking out:
http://web.archive.org/web/20030905033137/http://www.video-fenky.com/archives/00...

Time to read help file for me, I guess.
Checked. It worth. Wish more translations like that were available - everyday so many people translate anime for free, they could use their forces for something like that.

Maxim wrote
ROMSearcher does "relative searching" which helps a lot when the text is not stored as ASCII. I'd say the majority of text is like that in SMS roms at least.

I've got to test it soon!

idrougge wrote
A.B. Lazer wrote
Hi-Score table we read: Kajihara Katsuya Nagata Eiromrida. Maybe "r omr ida" is some means 'rom reader', Eiromrida sounds strange, Eiromida or Ei would be more normal, I think.


It could also be interpreted as "muri da", which means "impossible".


Do you read japanese?

Now I have on hands Japanese book about videogames released circa 1987, maybe there's some clues? I attached scan.
Sega_Zaxxon.jpg (136.74 KB)
Sega_Zaxxon.jpg

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Post Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:21 pm
A.B. Lazer wrote
Now I have on hands Japanese book about videogames released circa 1987, maybe there's some clues? I attached scan.


No, no mention of anyone but Sega there.
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:05 pm
See the Ikegami Tsushinki entry on GDRI:
http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Ikegami_Tsushinki
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:33 pm
Zanxx for replies!

On Super Zaxxon:
I'm pretty shure that graphics of Congo Bongo was drawn by the same artist as those in Super Zaxxon, at least one of them. Reason - Dragon in SZ drawn in the same style as Congo in CB. Been artist a Sega's own artist or IT's - it's unknown, however.

BTW, is Future Spy IT game or not?
And what button combination brings up tile viewer in MAME?
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:31 am
F4
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 1:13 am
A.B. Lazer wrote
BTW, is Future Spy IT game or not?
And what button combination brings up tile viewer in MAME?


I didn't see the ITC logo in Future Spy.

As Heliophobe said, press F4, then press enter.
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Post Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:41 pm
A.B. Lazer wrote
BTW, is Future Spy IT game or not?


Those high score initials spell out names, all of which show up on Star Jacker (AC).

Katsuya Kajihara (KAJIHARAKATSUYA)
Eiro Nagata (NAGATAEIRO)
Takaya Ida (MRIDA)
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