Software:Super Cobra

From HandWiki
Short description: 1981 video game
For the helicopter, see Bell AH-1 SuperCobra.
Super Cobra
MSX cover art
Developer(s)Arcade
Konami
Ports
Entex
Parker Brothers
Publisher(s)Arcade
  • JP/EU: Konami
  • NA: Stern Electronics
Ports
Entex
Parker Brothers
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemKonami Scramble

Super Cobra[lower-alpha 1] is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Konami, originally released as an arcade video game in 1981. It was published by Konami in Japan in March 1981[4] and released by Stern in North America on June 22, 1981.[5][6] It is the spiritual sequel to the Scramble arcade game released earlier in 1981. Super Cobra contains eleven distinct sections, versus six in Scramble, and is significantly more difficult, requiring maneuvering through tight spaces early in the game.

The game was a commercial success, selling 12,337 arcade cabinets in the United States within four months, becoming Stern's third best-selling arcade game. Super Cobra was widely ported by Parker Brothers, and there are Adventure Vision and standalone versions from Entex.

Gameplay

The player controls a helicopter through tight caverns, and the slightest misstep will result in the loss of a life, but unlike Scramble, the game can be continued where the player left off by adding more credits and pressing FIRE (but the player loses all points upon continuing).[lower-alpha 2]

The joystick accelerates, decelerates, moves up, and moves down. The helicopter uses a laser and bomb to destroy defenders, tanks, and UFOs while infiltrating 10 Super Cobra defense systems.[7]

The ship has a limited fuel supply, which is depleted over time. More fuel can be acquired by destroying fuel tanks in the game.[7]

The game is divided into ten sections, plus a finale, each with a different style of terrain and different obstacles. Players navigate through ten levels and a base, where they must safely make it through the level and remove the booty. The levels are described as follows:[7]

  1. Player must maneuver the chopper over mountainous terrain against fast and slow firing rockets.
  2. Chopper faces Arcing missiles over a mountain terrain.
  3. Smart Bombs flying in groups of four over mountainous terrain. Rockets appear, but do not fire.
  4. Single Smart Bombs over mountainous terrain. Again, Rockets appear, but do not fire.
  5. Chopper flies through a cavern-like terrain against falling mines.
  6. Rapidly firing, roving tanks over mountainous terrain. Rockets appear, but do not fire.
  7. Maneuver through a field of meteors which explode when hit with bombs or 3 times with laser, plus a single, green, shadow meteor directly in front of chopper which explodes when hit five times with laser. Rockets appear but do not fire.
  8. Chopper flies over mountainous terrain against rapidly firing UFOs. Tanks and rockets appear, but do not fire.
  9. Chopper faces arcing missiles over tall buildings.
  10. Firing rockets in a building maze.
  11. Base: Player must maneuver the chopper over tall buildings against arcing missiles and rapidly firing tanks to reach the Booty and safely carry it away. If the mission is successful, an extra copter is given (plus one when 10,000 points are scored).

There is no intermission between each section; the game simply scrolls into the new terrain. If the player destroys the booty on the final level, he/she must start back at the beginning of the level.

If the booty is safely carried away, the player starts back at the beginning of the first level and the cycle repeats. On the second time through the levels, the tanks fire much more aggressively and fuel is consumed much faster. On the third and subsequent times through the levels, fuel is consumed still faster. The faster rate of fuel consumption on the second and subsequent cycles may make it difficult to complete those cycles without losing at least one chopper due to running out of fuel, although this is compensated somewhat by awarding an extra chopper each time a cycle is completed and the booty is carried away.

Ports

The game was ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Intellivision, Odyssey², and Atari 8-bit computers by Parker Brothers. It was also released for Sord M5, MSX, Entex Adventure Vision and Casio PV-1000. Entex produced a standalone tabletop version.[8]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Arcade Express9/10 (Adventure Vision)[9]
Computer EntertainerStarStarStarStarStarStarStar (ColecoVision)[10]
Award
PublicationAward
Arkie Awards (1983)Best Action Videogame
(Certificate of Merit)[11]

The game was a commercial success, selling 12,337 arcade cabinets in the United States within four months, by October 2, 1981, becoming Stern's third best-selling arcade classic after Berzerk and Scramble. Scramble sold 15,136 cabinets in the U.S. in five months earlier that year, adding up to 27,473 U.S. cabinet sales for both.[6]

Arcade Express in November 1982 gave the Adventure Vision port a score of 9 out of 10. They concluded that it "takes real skill to master, and represents the state-of-the-art of scrolling shoot-outs".[9]

The Atari 2600 version was awarded a Certificate of Merit in the category of "Best Action Videogame" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards for 1983.[11]: 42  They compared it to Vanguard and said it "provides the same brand of relentless, multi-scenario action".[12]

Legacy

Super Cobra appeared alongside Scramble on the retro compilation Konami Arcade Classics, released for the Sony PlayStation in 1999.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ スーパーコブラ (Sūpā Kobura) in Japanese[4]
  2. ↑ This option will cease to be available after continuing 4 times in the original Konami version (or 255 in the Stern-licensed version), and can be disabled entirely for operators who dislike it by changing a DIP switch setting.

References

  1. ↑ "Atari VCS game release dates". https://www.atariarchive.org/atari-vcs-game-release-dates/. 
  2. ↑ "Colecovision game release dates". https://www.atariarchive.org/colecovision-game-release-dates/. 
  3. ↑ "Atari 5200 game release dates". https://www.atariarchive.org/atari-5200-game-release-dates/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "スーパーコブラ まとめ [アーケード"] (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain, Inc., Tokuma). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=25909. Retrieved 2018-07-25. 
  5. ↑ "Overseas Readers Column - Konami Industry Grants a License on "Super Cobra" to 3 Foreign Companies". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (173): 31. 15 September 1981. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Stern production numbers and more CCI photos". 2012-05-01. http://www.tokensonly.com/2012/05/misc/stern-production-numbers-and-more-cci-photos/. Retrieved 2013-07-21. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Stern. Super Cobra Manual. p. 3. http://www.arcade-museum.com/manuals-videogames/S/SuperCobra.pdf. Retrieved 7 November 2012. 
  8. ↑ "Entex Arcade Defender and Super Cobra Handhelds". May 3, 2013. http://www.retroist.com/2013/05/03/entex-arcade-defender-and-super-cobra-handhelds/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "The Hotseat: Reviews of New Products". Arcade Express: pp. 6–8 [6]. November 7, 1982. http://www.digitpress.com/library/newsletters/arcadeexpress/arcade_express_v1n7.pdf. Retrieved 2 February 2012. 
  10. ↑ "Critically Speaking..ColecoVision-Compatible". Computer Entertainer 2 (10): 150. January 1984. https://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/video_game_update_jan84.pdf#page=6. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (January 1984). "Arcade Alley: The Arcade Awards, Part 1". Video (Reese Communications) 7 (10): 40–42. ISSN 0147-8907. 
  12. ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (January 1984). "1984 Arcade Awards". Electronic Games (Reese Communications) 2 (11): 71–72. ISSN 0730-6687. 

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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