Golly! Ghost!
| Golly! Ghost! | |
|---|---|
 Arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Redemption game/First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer (2 players can play simultaneously) |
| Arcade system | Namco System 2 |
| CPU |
2x Motorola 68000 @ 12.288 MHz, 1x Motorola M6809 @ 3.072 MHz, 1x Hitachi HD63705 @ 2.048 MHz |
| Sound |
1x Yamaha YM2151 @ 3.57958 MHz, 1x C140 @ 21.39 kHz |
| Display | Horizontal orientation, Raster, 288 x 224 resolution |
Golly! Ghost! (ゴーリー! ゴースト! Gorī! Gōsuto!) is an electro-mechanical/video game hybrid released by Namco in 1990; it runs upon Namco System 2 hardware, and employs a diorama which is controlled by the game's driver board to open and close mechanical doors which are connected to solenoids, much like the moveable items on a pinball table. The diorama has five 24-volt globe lights that come on only during gameplay to light up the rooms - and they are all on when the game is being played during the shooting scenes, and off for the cutscenes, title screen, and high scores. The globes are not individually controlled, and are either all on or off; the driver board powers the diorama unit's solenoids and lights via several connectors on the driver board and the guns also plug into the driver board via another small connector (it was the first Namco game to use them). It was also the fourth game from Namco to allow scores not ending in "0" (after Hopping Mappy, 1986, Bakutotsu Kijūtei, 1988 and Metal Hawk, also 1988).[1]
Gameplay
There are two lightguns mounted on the game cabinet; the one on the left is colored blue and nicknamed "Zip", while the one on the right is red and is nicknamed "Zap". The players use their guns to shoot a specific amount of comical enemy ghosts before the timer runs out - and, this is a video ticket/redemption game, in which players will be rewarded with tickets (based on their scores), which emerge from a ghost's mouth painted on the cabinet. The game contains four scenes, and is also notable for its use of a three-dimensional diorama over which the actual video ghosts are projected; a sequel game, Bubble Trouble: Golly! Ghost! 2 was released exclusively in Japan in 1992 and was themed around sunken treasure. The gameplay was much the same as the original, only the players shot at undersea creatures.
Golly! Ghost! 2
The sequel videogame Bubble Trouble: Golly! Ghost! 2 (バブルトラブル: ゴーリー! ゴースト! 2 Baburu Toraburu: Gorī! Gōsuto! Tsu) was released two years after the original, and also ran on Namco System 2 hardware; it was also the fifth game from the company to allow scores not ending in "0" (after its predecessor), and the gameplay is very much like the original game, but this time it is themed around sunken treasure. The players, who are again codenamed "Zip" and "Zap", must now use their guns to shoot fish, crabs and other sea creatures at the bottom of the ocean (rather than ghosts in a haunted house) - and a certain amount of points must get scored before the timer runs out in order to continue to the next scene, while bonus creatures which are worth 2 to 5 points when killed shall also appear to try to help the players reach that value. However, if neither player cannot manage to score the required amount of points before the timer runs out, the sea creatures will take over the bottom of the ocean and the game will, much like the original, immediately be over.
References
- ↑ "Golly! Ghost!". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 1 Nov 2013.
External links
- Golly! Ghost! at the Killer List of Videogames
- Golly! Ghost! at the Arcade History database
- Bubble Trouble: Golly! Ghost! 2 at the Killer List of Videogames
- Bubble Trouble: Golly! Ghost! 2 at the Arcade History database
- Golly! Ghost! at the Arcade Flyer Archive