This was the very first video arcade game I played as a teen. It interested me because it 'talked' and I had never seen an arcade game talk before and I was always a fan of Star Wars, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica.... so this game, unlike others at the time, really interested me with full color as well (unlike asteroids or space invaders at the time)
The anxiety this game gave me as a pre-teen in the early 80s was immense with its booming sound and synth speech truly intrigued me. I usually watched others play it more than I did as the player experience overwhelmed me a bit as a young kid. Hearing it again is a true blast from the past. Truly awesome. Everyone should experience this game at least once!
LOVED THIS GAME. I'll never forget when my father took us to an arcade on Sundays. After four hours of game play, I'd walk out shaking, jittery, like an addict. May explain why I'm a little screwed up.
This video brought a smile to my face. I frequented an arcade in the early eighties. Never understood why more gamers didn't play Astro Blaster. The overheating weapon was a unique component which added to the challenge.
Hey, THANKS for the memories! Astro Blaster was the most popular game at the bar I frequented back in the early 80's, and I loved it even though it was very addictive. I easily stuck a few thousand dollars ito the machine. The alien spacecraft had certain rhythms in the way they moved back and forth, but eventually you would figure the rhythm out and mimic the movement and do okay... I managed to get into the 4th Sector twice (I BOLDLY went where no man had gone before...LOL!) The first time, though, I was so excited about getting that far into the game that I wiped out almost immediately, but the second time I almost made it completely through the Sector before losing it.... Astro Blaster was a great game and lots of fun!
Could never remember the name of this game and was searching for it for years with not much luck with references until now and a big thank you for posting this video. Did not know this game was not that popular, but I personally remember this game as one of my favourites a young boy of 11 in 1981 along with space invaders, centipede, defender, moon crest, phoenix, galaxian, was not too hip to pack man or donkey kong as i was always rubbish at those games . There was a small arcade down the road from my school in East London that used to open early before school so the kids would go in and spend their money, the parents a few years later got it closed down as kids were spending there lunch money in there and not spending it on food ( and yes I was one that did that a few times) good days.
Great video. Thanks for posting. Astroblaster was my favorite game from the 80s. Got through the final level once and stopped playing it, so i could go out on top.
Thanx for uploading,brings back great memories. I went on a camping holiday with my step gran and grandad and there youngest son and we stumbled on this very machine,it was at this place not far from the camping site,me and there youngest son got so hooked on it,we ended up spending more time playing this Astro Blaster than spending time on the camping site. :-P The synthesized speech was great and made the game even more enjoyable. :-)
My List Of The Top Games Of The 80's: Donkey Kong & Donkey Kong Jr. - Amazing Game Play & Super Popular Pac-Man, Super & Plus & Ms. - All Amazing Game Play & Super Popular Joust - Challenging Centipede - Amazing Concept Phoenix - Keeps you Entertained For A Long Time. Tron - Amazing Cabinet Graphics & Controls( Same as Gorf) Tempest - Amazing , Challenging GamePlay With Extreme Levels. Robotron - Intense & Very Challenging Burgertime - Fun, Goofy Game. Galaga & Galaxian - Popular Just like Pac-Man GORF - Amazing Controls ( Same as Tron) & Game Play Pole Position - Best Driving Game For its Time. Dig Dug - Always a Line To Play This One. Frogger - Huge Popular Game With Amazing Game Play Defender & Stargate - Both Challenging q-Bert - Amazing Concept & Very Popular Battlezone - Amazing Visual Game Play For its Time. Controls Are Incredible. and last but not least ASTRO BLASTER - Should Be At The Top Of This List. One More Honorable Mention Would Have To Be Popeye.
I'm shocked that this game was not a big hit. It came out when I was 6, and I've never played it. In fact, this is the first time I've seen it played. Now I want one!!!
Just saw your cabaret video on this game and now know why you didn't do any game play on that video since you have this one. This game and Space Firebird were great games I had never seen. Very nice.
When I was a kid I used to play this game but the owner had the volume cranked up so high you could hear it in the parking lot. Nobody could hear after they ran out of quarters.
Because the game was a bust as you describe, the only place I saw and played it was in a small arcade room at a hotel in Orlando FL in the early 80's. Not sure why it was such a bust. I loved it, and thought it was fun. It quickly became the only game I played the two weeks we were there. Thanks for sharing, this really took me back.
Loved this game back in the day - I remember the cab shaking during the meteor wave because of the woofer. But the cab I remember had the screen sitting vertically and quite high up that made it spectator friendly....maybe my memory is failing me! (Would love something like this at home but I live in N.Ireland - the delivery costs would be crippling)
I know of only this one upright...there is a cabaret with a smaller screen though....a video for this perhaps end of summer! The 6 X 9 woofer did provide plenty of deep bass for sure...a terrific sound system!
Just had a quick look in the schematics contained in the service manual - The different sounds are all discretely built! If someone would like to recreate a sound from the game (not speech) , it's all right there!
Fantastic video, love it. Love how you really went into the machine's history. Great stuff. I'm trying to re-create these using emulation, modern shaders, and multi-layer overlays. They obviously don't look as good as the real thing, but a lot more affordable ;-).
+TNT Amusements Inc Hope you don't mind me asking but, do you have/keep/take any good resolution images of your machines ? Most images online are taken with a mobile phone camera and lack definition, plus add lots of unwanted noise. Thanks for your time.
Very interesting game for Sega fans. I've never, ever actually seen one of these in person. They must not have lasted long on location. Sega really started releasing hits a few years later, once Yu Suzuki started making games there, so Astro Blaster represents their early days when they were still finding their footing.
+TNT Amusements Inc Todd have you ever thought of making a video about how things were being an operator and vendor? It would be interesting to hear your stories. I like how in depth your videos are about these games and the technical side of them. Apparently most games were losers money wise from what I can gather.
Never heard of it. When your competition is Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Asteroids... etc. it's no wonder it didn't take in more quarters. Talk about stiff competition. I'm also guessing those things were beasts to maintain and suffered from lots of mechanical issues. These were the days of 13 year old kids working on them while smoking a Marlboro & sipping on an Oly, LOL.
One of my favourite all time classics! The bonus features are great too. One thing I've noticed is that you like the yellow rubber (can't remember what it's called, is it striping?) for your machines :)
I was never that good at this game either. But now that I've learned a few tips I did not know about, I am ready to try again. My highest score so far on "Astro-Blaster" is 16,760. Since you said this is one of your all-time favorite games, what is your highest score so far Todd? Thanks for the tips :)
Great vid. I loved this game so much back in the day I picked up one of my own recently. My question is - I always see this mentioned as released in 1981 (as referenced on the flyer) but the date on my marquee says 1980 (which you also mentioned) - so when was it released? 1980 or 1981?
I had two favorite arcade games when I was a kid - Astro Blaster and Tempest. Both games are so freaking hard, and so much different than anything out there at the time. I succeeded at Tempest much more than I did at Astro Blaster, but that didn't take away for my love for playing Astro Blaster. I'm so glad I can play both games from time to time via an emulator. Thanks for this video. It brought back a lot of fun memories.
They each do their own thing. I had debated what to do with those Mega and Threshold and I figured I would at least do one of them for Port week, because it is like Astro Blaster. Sometimes games get the worst of timing when they come out.
I'd suggested (even if dad says I look like an idiot) a headlight. preferably Cree so you know what your aiming at. it is rather bright , no I hope you don't look like a miner but except outside (bugs) when your working in dark corners headlamps come in handy in dark places. Just a suggestion. most of mine come from meritline.com although I think they design them for heads smaller than ours :( most of them run off li ion batteries. the type that come out of laptop batteries 18650 style
TNT Amusements Inc on your way through try to get ahold of me I've been looking I've been looking to pajama board cabinet is 60 + 1 so my son can play with me everything when I was young I take him to the one major arcade in town that has all the old school games in it
Different company. Sega sold their US operations under the Gremlin label to Bally during the crash, and they closed the doors shortly afterwards. Was never British based like the excellent Gremlin Graphics were.
This was the very first video arcade game I played as a teen. It interested me because it 'talked' and I had never seen an arcade game talk before and I was always a fan of Star Wars, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica.... so this game, unlike others at the time, really interested me with full color as well (unlike asteroids or space invaders at the time)
One of my first if not the first too. Very cool game
The anxiety this game gave me as a pre-teen in the early 80s was immense with its booming sound and synth speech truly intrigued me. I usually watched others play it more than I did as the player experience overwhelmed me a bit as a young kid. Hearing it again is a true blast from the past. Truly awesome. Everyone should experience this game at least once!
LOVED THIS GAME. I'll never forget when my father took us to an arcade on Sundays. After four hours of game play, I'd walk out shaking, jittery, like an addict. May explain why I'm a little screwed up.
Severely underrated game! I managed to roll the score not too long ago, 100,940. So much fun! Looks like you have Revision 2 there
This video brought a smile to my face.
I frequented an arcade in the early eighties.
Never understood why more gamers didn't play Astro Blaster.
The overheating weapon was a unique component which added to the challenge.
Laser Temperature Critical. Loved this game when it first came out.
This game holds up well to this day!
I love watching these videos and the sounds on this game take me right back to 1980. Great stuff.
Glad you like the videos!
Hey, THANKS for the memories! Astro Blaster was the most popular game at the bar I frequented back in the early 80's, and I loved it even though it was very addictive. I easily stuck a few thousand dollars ito the machine. The alien spacecraft had certain rhythms in the way they moved back and forth, but eventually you would figure the rhythm out and mimic the movement and do okay... I managed to get into the 4th Sector twice (I BOLDLY went where no man had gone before...LOL!) The first time, though, I was so excited about getting that far into the game that I wiped out almost immediately, but the second time I almost made it completely through the Sector before losing it.... Astro Blaster was a great game and lots of fun!
Hmm? Come to think about it, I believe it was the 5th Sector that I finally made it into... It was such a lonnnnnng time ago. :-)
InfoMan Us I still love this game....so well done...both the terrific sound and sharp clear graphics.
Loved this game, it took most of my pocket money back in the day
Could never remember the name of this game and was searching for it for years with not much luck with references until now and a big thank you for posting this video. Did not know this game was not that popular, but I personally remember this game as one of my favourites a young boy of 11 in 1981 along with space invaders, centipede, defender, moon crest, phoenix, galaxian, was not too hip to pack man or donkey kong as i was always rubbish at those games . There was a small arcade down the road from my school in East London that used to open early before school so the kids would go in and spend their money, the parents a few years later got it closed down as kids were spending there lunch money in there and not spending it on food ( and yes I was one that did that a few times) good days.
glad you enjoyed it and it helped you remember!
Great video. Thanks for posting. Astroblaster was my favorite game from the 80s. Got through the final level once and stopped playing it, so i could go out on top.
I loved this game. I remember when it came out. Thanks for the video.
I have to say I really like this type of video where you actually showcase the game and it's scoring mechanics instead of just hardware work. Great!.
+neontetra1000 We try different things....the original purpose of these videos was to show the new owner the game BEFORE we delivered it!!
Thanx for uploading,brings back great memories.
I went on a camping holiday with my step gran and grandad and there youngest son and we stumbled on this very machine,it was at this place not far from the camping site,me and there youngest son got so hooked on it,we ended up spending more time playing this Astro Blaster than spending time on the camping site. :-P
The synthesized speech was great and made the game even more enjoyable. :-)
goodolt70s Ahhh...what great memories!! I wonder how many of the secret bonuses you discovered on that trip!
goodolt70s That voice does sound like him!!
This looks like an awesome gem of a space shooter.
Great game, brings back memories....
I forgot this game, and I fed quite a few into one. Thanks!
Ahead of its time!
My List Of The Top Games Of The 80's:
Donkey Kong & Donkey Kong Jr. - Amazing Game Play & Super Popular
Pac-Man, Super & Plus & Ms. - All Amazing Game Play & Super Popular
Joust - Challenging
Centipede - Amazing Concept
Phoenix - Keeps you Entertained For A Long Time.
Tron - Amazing Cabinet Graphics & Controls( Same as Gorf)
Tempest - Amazing , Challenging GamePlay With Extreme Levels.
Robotron - Intense & Very Challenging
Burgertime - Fun, Goofy Game.
Galaga & Galaxian - Popular Just like Pac-Man
GORF - Amazing Controls ( Same as Tron) & Game Play
Pole Position - Best Driving Game For its Time.
Dig Dug - Always a Line To Play This One.
Frogger - Huge Popular Game With Amazing Game Play
Defender & Stargate - Both Challenging
q-Bert - Amazing Concept & Very Popular
Battlezone - Amazing Visual Game Play For its Time. Controls Are Incredible.
and last but not least ASTRO BLASTER - Should Be At The Top Of This List.
One More Honorable Mention Would Have To Be Popeye.
good list!
@@tntamusements I wish these were all on 1 unit. I would be in heaven.
I'm shocked that this game was not a big hit. It came out when I was 6, and I've never played it. In fact, this is the first time I've seen it played. Now I want one!!!
Loaded with great visuals and sound....
Just saw your cabaret video on this game and now know why you didn't do any game play on that video since you have this one. This game and Space Firebird were great games I had never seen. Very nice.
TONS more cabaret videos coming...wait until you see whats coming!
When I was a kid I used to play this game but the owner had the volume cranked up so high you could hear it in the parking lot. Nobody could hear after they ran out of quarters.
You folks rock. I love this game.
Thanks Bernie for the compliment!!
Because the game was a bust as you describe, the only place I saw and played it was in a small arcade room at a hotel in Orlando FL in the early 80's. Not sure why it was such a bust. I loved it, and thought it was fun. It quickly became the only game I played the two weeks we were there. Thanks for sharing, this really took me back.
Glad it brought back good memories...yes we were surprised this game did not catch on...but its a lost classic now
Loved this game back in the day - I remember the cab shaking during the meteor wave because of the woofer. But the cab I remember had the screen sitting vertically and quite high up that made it spectator friendly....maybe my memory is failing me! (Would love something like this at home but I live in N.Ireland - the delivery costs would be crippling)
I know of only this one upright...there is a cabaret with a smaller screen though....a video for this perhaps end of summer! The 6 X 9 woofer did provide plenty of deep bass for sure...a terrific sound system!
This game looks so great !
Thanks!!
Just had a quick look in the schematics contained in the service manual - The different sounds are all discretely built! If someone would like to recreate a sound from the game (not speech) , it's all right there!
Fantastic video, love it. Love how you really went into the machine's history. Great stuff.
I'm trying to re-create these using emulation, modern shaders, and multi-layer overlays. They obviously don't look as good as the real thing, but a lot more affordable ;-).
+DKTronics70 Glad you liked the video!
+TNT Amusements Inc Hope you don't mind me asking but, do you have/keep/take any good resolution images of your machines ? Most images online are taken with a mobile phone camera and lack definition, plus add lots of unwanted noise. Thanks for your time.
Very interesting game for Sega fans. I've never, ever actually seen one of these in person. They must not have lasted long on location. Sega really started releasing hits a few years later, once Yu Suzuki started making games there, so Astro Blaster represents their early days when they were still finding their footing.
Not many made...I have a cabaret---which is VERY rare...will show that one day!
I bought an Astro Blaster from TNT. My record on that game is 80,000 in sector 6. My all time is over 200,000.
+Doug Bailey Yes...one of these is your baby Doug...glad you are enjoying it!
+TNT Amusements Inc Todd have you ever thought of making a video about how things were being an operator and vendor? It would be interesting to hear your stories. I like how in depth your videos are about these games and the technical side of them. Apparently most games were losers money wise from what I can gather.
I just bought a mania challenge. It was an Astro Blaster 😳 love the vid Todd
Sadly, many classics met this fate! And to add insult to injury, Mania Challenge was a disater...it bombed terribly.
Awesome video.
Thanks!!
Never heard of it. When your competition is Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Asteroids... etc. it's no wonder it didn't take in more quarters. Talk about stiff competition. I'm also guessing those things were beasts to maintain and suffered from lots of mechanical issues. These were the days of 13 year old kids working on them while smoking a Marlboro & sipping on an Oly, LOL.
Brilliant !
Thank you!
Astro Blaster rocks!
One of my favourite all time classics! The bonus features are great too.
One thing I've noticed is that you like the yellow rubber (can't remember what it's called, is it striping?) for your machines :)
T molding...we try all colors...everyone has a different preference!
I wonder if they'll ever do an led one where you can change the colours? :)
Wow very science fiction wow this game is amazing
Yes...this game was really ahead of its time I think...Sega's most deep playing machine at the time.
I was never that good at this game either. But now that I've learned a few tips I did not know about, I am ready to try again. My highest score so far on "Astro-Blaster" is 16,760. Since you said this is one of your all-time favorite games, what is your highest score so far Todd? Thanks for the tips :)
I'd be happy to pass along any tricks I know. dougneardc@winning.com
Ah...ok. Well as of right now, I am still at 16,760 points. By the way, have you ever had "Polybius" machine in your shop?
Lovely little video. I think this was the version 1, do you keep the ROM's to swap out if someone wants a version 3?
pigknickers I probably could!
Ok, great, good to know. Love your vids BTW, hopefully one day I'll be a customer.
Great vid. I loved this game so much back in the day I picked up one of my own recently. My question is - I always see this mentioned as released in 1981 (as referenced on the flyer) but the date on my marquee says 1980 (which you also mentioned) - so when was it released? 1980 or 1981?
MadPlanet69 It was probably copyrighted in 80...it came out same time as Pacman as I bought one of each...
I had two favorite arcade games when I was a kid - Astro Blaster and Tempest. Both games are so freaking hard, and so much different than anything out there at the time.
I succeeded at Tempest much more than I did at Astro Blaster, but that didn't take away for my love for playing Astro Blaster.
I'm so glad I can play both games from time to time via an emulator.
Thanks for this video. It brought back a lot of fun memories.
Have been looking for one of these for years! :/
Its a hard one to find!!
I am sure Astro Blaster is the influence of the home games Threshold and Megamania.
Classic Games Redefined (GamesByRich.com) You are probably right!
They each do their own thing. I had debated what to do with those Mega and Threshold and I figured I would at least do one of them for Port week, because it is like Astro Blaster. Sometimes games get the worst of timing when they come out.
well i have Astro Blaster on my Sega Genesis Collection for PSP
I'd suggested (even if dad says I look like an idiot) a headlight. preferably Cree so you know what your aiming at. it is rather bright , no I hope you don't look like a miner but except outside (bugs) when your working in dark corners headlamps come in handy in dark places. Just a suggestion. most of mine come from meritline.com although I think they design them for heads smaller than ours :( most of them run off li ion batteries. the type that come out of laptop batteries 18650 style
This guy kind of reminds me of the guy from Good Fellows that sold the wigs.
That was my absolute favorite game. It’s a shame they were cannibalized into other games.
I do not think so. I think that Gremlin was purchased by Sega and then became a Division of them.
RIP Gremlin
1/2 RIP SEGA
Wow in P.A im in Binghamton ny id love to come down!
not too far...driving to Buffalo the end of the month for my film show
TNT Amusements Inc on your way through try to get ahold of me I've been looking I've been looking to pajama board cabinet is 60 + 1 so my son can play with me everything when I was young I take him to the one major arcade in town that has all the old school games in it
I have this as a cocktail ...
I played Astro Blastr when I was young and it was in german language... I still cant find this version...
+gilo7171 Very soon, we have a treat...an upright and a cabaret side by side comparisons!
+TNT Amusements Inc Let me know - I want to hear that sounds again;)
That's a shame it's considered a loser game. I loved this game, big!
SuperDachshund There are some real fans of this game...including me!
I see it's 'Gremlin/Sega'... That wouldn't be the Gremlin that went on to do home computer games as 'Gremlin Graphics?'
Different company.
Sega sold their US operations under the Gremlin label to Bally during the crash, and they closed the doors shortly afterwards. Was never British based like the excellent Gremlin Graphics were.
Hard but incredibly fun and engaging game before Galaga was a reality. Sadly, Galaga shortened the lifespan of Astro Blaster.
All Galaga's should be destroyed!! :-)
Todd…I love all your videos but I gotta tell ya…this game looks WAY too hard! (For me anyway!)
Hey give Gremlin the credit they deserve.
Their name comes before Sega thus its likey that Sega had less involvement with the game
janmansde3dede On the next video!
TNT Amusements Inc
Hurray!