Page 25 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #4

sions of a Joust movie - but I have a
hard time with that concept. (Maybe
it’s because I occasionally have to
feed a gaggle of real live ostriches, but
I just can’t fathom anyone actually rid-
ing the things.)
I’m sure that everyone has their
favorites about which they’ve imagined
whole epic storylines - but that, friends,
was the charm of the early games.
Q*Bert What they may have lacked in graphi-
Frogger
is YES. Some games were plotted so cal finesse, they made up for in spades
well - even if the plots were tenuous by forcing the player to use his imagi-
links between sequels - that they nation - and in so doing, the player in-
begged for some Hollywood-style flesh- vented half of the adventure in his
ing-out of their stories. The mind head.
boggles at the thought of a properly- Sometimes, when I remember these
executed, anime’-style show following cartoons, I think that it may have been
the Defender-Stargate-Robotron- better that way to begin with!
Blaster cycle of games. Sinistar could
have easily made the leap to TV or
movies. One of the creators of Joust Cartoon screenshots
claims that he’s had, from day one, vi- Space Ace courtesy: Toonarific.com

W from Pac-Man were
W
complemented by

Kong, and Donkey
hile Mario, Donkey
video game fans Kong Jr. from the
may remember Donkey Kong
Coleco as the com- games.
pany that brought the key Kong, Other companies jumped
incredible ColecoVision Coleco also on the video game/toy band-
console to the world of produced small wagon in later years, to the
home video gaming, we solid PVC fig- point where both are con-
shouldn’t overlook ures of charac- ceived simultaneously
Coleco’s prior record as ters from these (Pokémon, anyone?). Ac-
a toy manufacturer. One games. claim picked up the banner
of the early entrants into Pac-Man with a line of PVC Super
the dedicated-console merited a total Mario Bros. characters, and
races of the 1970s of six figures: other manufacturers have
(Coleco’s Telstar con- Pac-Man, Ms. based toys on game charac-
soles played everything Pac-Man, and ters ranging from Mortal
from Pong clones to Blinky were Kombat to the Final Fantasy
tank games, but only joined by Mr. series to – believe it or not –
one game per console), Pac-Man (sporting a bow a brand new series of Donkey Kong
Coleco had earlier pro- tie, cane, and top hat), action figures. But even before the
duced air hockey tables Mrs. Pac-Man (complete Q*Bert toys manufactured by
and a line of sports ac- with veil and bouquet), Kenner, Coleco had Pac-Man and
cessories. In 1982, hav- and “Pac-Angel” (for Donkey Kong on the
ing snatched a license lack of a better descrip- shelves.
to produce tabletop electronic tion, Pac-Man with wings and a
games based on Pac-Man and Don- halo). The half-dozen characters

Classic Gamer Magazine Summer 2000 25