Road Blaster (ロードブラスター) is an interactive movievideo game developed by Data East featuring animation by Toei Animation, originally released exclusively in Japan as a laserdisc-based arcade game in 1985. The player assumes the role of a vigilante who must avenge the death of his wife by pursuing the biker gang responsible for her death in a modified sports car. The game would later be ported to a variety of home formats such as the MSX and Sharp X1 (VHD format), Sega CD (under the title of Road Blaster FX), LaserActive (in Mega-LD format), PlayStation and Sega Saturn (in a compilation with Thunder Storm). The Sega CD and Mega-LD versions were released outside of Japan under titles of Road Avenger and Road Prosecutor respectively.
As with other laserdisc-based arcade games from the same time, the gameplay consists of on-screen instructions overlaid over pre-recorded full motion video animated footage of high-speed chases and vehicular combat. The player controls the crosshair to steer their car toward the correct directions according to the green arrows flashing and beeping beside it, while controlling the gas pedal, brake and booster whenever they light up.
The game has nine stages. Upon successfully completing a level, the player is graded on the reaction time. Different difficulty levels can be selected. In Normal Mode, pop-up icons and audio tones signal when to turn left or right, brake, hit turbo, or hit other cars. In Hard Mode, there are no on-screen icons to guide the player.[10]
Plot
The story of Road Blaster is inspired by revenge thriller films such as Mad Max.[11] In the late 1990s United States, the player assumes the role of a vigilante who drives a customized sports car in order to get revenge on a biker gang responsible for his wife's death on their honeymoon. After recovering from his own injuries, he upgrades his car and goes on a rampage through nine areas. His goal is to seek out the gang's female boss and complete his vengeance.
Road Blaster was originally released in 1985 as a laserdisc-based arcade game. Various ports were released throughout history, including versions for the MSX, X1 (both in VHD format), Mega CD/Sega CD, LaserActive (in Mega LD format), Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (prototyped as Turbo Blaster). However, only the Sega CD and Mega LD versions were released outside Japan, under the titles Road Avenger and Road Prosecutor, respectively. The titles were possibly changed to avoid confusion with the similarly titled arcade game RoadBlasters by Atari Games, which was ported to the Mega Drive around the same time.[14]Road Blaster was also released for the Sharp X68000[7] and for Windows in 2011, exclusively in Japan.[15]Cobra Command and Road Blaster were ported to iOS by Revolutionary Concepts in 2010 and 2011, respectively. In 2018, a port for the Amiga (OCS and AGA) and the CD32 was also released unofficially.[16]
Other variations included one-shot reproductions for VHS cassette players such as Takara's Video Challenger which was a limited interactive port of the Road Blaster arcade game. The Sega Saturn and PlayStation ports were compilations of Road Blaster and another laserdisc arcade game developed by the same team titled Thunder Storm (known outside Japan as Cobra Command).
In Japan, Game Machine listed Road Blaster on their January 15, 1986 issue as being the fourteenth most-successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of the month.[23]
Dragon reviewers gave the Sega CD version of the game 4 out of 5 stars in 1993.[18]GameFan noted it has greater interaction compared to Time Gal and Thunderstorm, and praised the "non-stop control of the vehicle," graphics, smooth animation, and "andrenaline rush" experience.[3]GamePro praised the highly detailed animation and stereo CD sound, and called it a "masterpiece" that is "like participating in an intense, action-packed, animated movie."[10]
On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Sega Saturn version a 25 out of 40, and the PlayStation version a 23 out of 40.[19]Famitsu would later give the Mega CD version a score of 32 out of 40,[4] while MEGA rated it at 86%.[24] The iOS port was released to generally favourable reviews,[8] including the scores of 8 out of 10 from IGN[20] and 7 out of 10 from Pocket Gamer.[22]
Legacy
A novelization of the game was announced in 2009.[25][26] The project was officially authorized by G-Mode of Japan (the rights holder to most of Data East's catalog) to be written by Mary Margaret Park.
References
^. Data East. Archived from the original on 2001-04-23.
^"Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 276. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1986. p. 21.
^"Out-of-Print Archive • Mega Drive reviews • Road Blasters FX (Mega CD)". Outofprintarchive.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
^"The Road Avenger Novel, First Public Demo Debut". Reuters.com. 2009-08-26. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
^. Reuters .com. 2009-01-13. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
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Not to be confused with RoadBlasters This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article May 2015 Road Blaster ロードブラスター is an interactive movie video game developed by Data East featuring animation by Toei Animation originally released exclusively in Japan as a laserdisc based arcade game in 1985 The player assumes the role of a vigilante who must avenge the death of his wife by pursuing the biker gang responsible for her death in a modified sports car The game would later be ported to a variety of home formats such as the MSX and Sharp X1 VHD format Sega CD under the title of Road Blaster FX LaserActive in Mega LD format PlayStation and Sega Saturn in a compilation with Thunder Storm The Sega CD and Mega LD versions were released outside of Japan under titles of Road Avenger and Road Prosecutor respectively Road BlasterJapanese arcade flyerDeveloper s Data East Victor Musical Industries MSX X1 Telenet Japan Wolf Team Mega CD Ecseco Saturn PS1 Revolutionary Concepts iOS Publisher s Data East Wolf Team Renovation Sega Mega CD Ecseco Saturn PS1 Director s Yoshihisa Kishimoto 9 Kazuyasu Yokō Sega CD Producer s Joe Asanuma Masaaki Uno Sega CD Programmer s Shintaro KumagaiTakatoshi KatoJunichi NabeHironobu Mohre amp Masa Yoshihara sound Shinji Hirachi amp Chikaaki Tokuhiro Sega CD Artist s Hideki TakayamaYoshinobu InanoNobuo Kanuma Kiyoka Tajima Masayuki Matsushima Tadashi Hamada Sega CD Composer s Michael K NakamuraMotoi Sakuraba Sega CD Platform s Arcade MSX Sharp X1 Video Challenger Sega Mega CD LaserActive Sega Saturn PlayStation 3DO VHS iOS Sharp X68000 Windows Amiga CD32ReleaseAugust 1985 Arcade WW August 1985 1 MSX JP 1986 2 Sega CD JP December 18 1992 4 NA March 1993 3 EU 1993 LaserActive JP January 25 1995NA 1995 Saturn amp PlayStation JP October 20 1995 5 6 X68000 amp Windows JP May 4 2009 7 iOS January 15 2011 8 Genre s Interactive movie Vehicular combatMode s Single player multiplayer Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 4 Releases 5 Reception 6 Legacy 7 References 8 External linksGameplay EditAs with other laserdisc based arcade games from the same time the gameplay consists of on screen instructions overlaid over pre recorded full motion video animated footage of high speed chases and vehicular combat The player controls the crosshair to steer their car toward the correct directions according to the green arrows flashing and beeping beside it while controlling the gas pedal brake and booster whenever they light up The game has nine stages Upon successfully completing a level the player is graded on the reaction time Different difficulty levels can be selected In Normal Mode pop up icons and audio tones signal when to turn left or right brake hit turbo or hit other cars In Hard Mode there are no on screen icons to guide the player 10 Plot EditThe story of Road Blaster is inspired by revenge thriller films such as Mad Max 11 In the late 1990s United States the player assumes the role of a vigilante who drives a customized sports car in order to get revenge on a biker gang responsible for his wife s death on their honeymoon After recovering from his own injuries he upgrades his car and goes on a rampage through nine areas His goal is to seek out the gang s female boss and complete his vengeance Development EditRoad Blaster uses animation provided by the anime studio Toei Animation 12 It was animated under the guidance of Yoshinobu Inano who also directed or key animated such films such as Gundam Char s Counter Attack Macross Do You Remember Love and The Transformers The Movie 13 It was animated using 15 000 hand painted cels to produce over 30 minutes of animation 10 Game director Yoshihisa Kishimoto who previously worked on Cobra Command later directed the arcade version of Double Dragon where the car from Road Blaster can be seen inside the Lee brothers garage at the start of the game The chopper from Cobra Command Thunder Storm can also be seen at the beginning of Road Blaster Releases EditRoad Blaster was originally released in 1985 as a laserdisc based arcade game Various ports were released throughout history including versions for the MSX X1 both in VHD format Mega CD Sega CD LaserActive in Mega LD format Sega Saturn PlayStation and 3DO Interactive Multiplayer prototyped as Turbo Blaster However only the Sega CD and Mega LD versions were released outside Japan under the titles Road Avenger and Road Prosecutor respectively The titles were possibly changed to avoid confusion with the similarly titled arcade game RoadBlasters by Atari Games which was ported to the Mega Drive around the same time 14 Road Blaster was also released for the Sharp X68000 7 and for Windows in 2011 exclusively in Japan 15 Cobra Command and Road Blaster were ported to iOS by Revolutionary Concepts in 2010 and 2011 respectively In 2018 a port for the Amiga OCS and AGA and the CD32 was also released unofficially 16 Other variations included one shot reproductions for VHS cassette players such as Takara s Video Challenger which was a limited interactive port of the Road Blaster arcade game The Sega Saturn and PlayStation ports were compilations of Road Blaster and another laserdisc arcade game developed by the same team titled Thunder Storm known outside Japan as Cobra Command Reception EditReceptionAggregate scoresAggregatorScoreGameRankingsSega CD 90 17 MetacriticiOS 78 8 Review scoresPublicationScoreDragonSega CD 18 FamitsuMega CD 32 40 4 Saturn 25 40 19 PS1 23 40 19 GameFanSega CD 383 400 3 GameProSega CD 5 5 10 IGNiOS 8 10 20 Electronic GamesSega CD 86 21 Pocket GameriOS 7 10 22 AwardPublicationAwardFamitsuGold Award 4 In Japan Game Machine listed Road Blaster on their January 15 1986 issue as being the fourteenth most successful upright cockpit arcade unit of the month 23 Dragon reviewers gave the Sega CD version of the game 4 out of 5 stars in 1993 18 GameFan noted it has greater interaction compared to Time Gal and Thunderstorm and praised the non stop control of the vehicle graphics smooth animation and andrenaline rush experience 3 GamePro praised the highly detailed animation and stereo CD sound and called it a masterpiece that is like participating in an intense action packed animated movie 10 On release Famicom Tsushin scored the Sega Saturn version a 25 out of 40 and the PlayStation version a 23 out of 40 19 Famitsu would later give the Mega CD version a score of 32 out of 40 4 while MEGA rated it at 86 24 The iOS port was released to generally favourable reviews 8 including the scores of 8 out of 10 from IGN 20 and 7 out of 10 from Pocket Gamer 22 Legacy EditA novelization of the game was announced in 2009 25 26 The project was officially authorized by G Mode of Japan the rights holder to most of Data East s catalog to be written by Mary Margaret Park References Edit ライセンス一覧表 Data East Archived from the original on 2001 04 23 ロードブラスター まとめ MSX ファミ通 com Famitsu com 2014 11 27 Retrieved 2015 11 12 a b c GameFan volume 1 issue 3 January 1993 pages 11 amp 26 27 a b c d ロードブラスターFX まとめ メガドライブ ファミ通 com Famitsu com 2014 11 27 Retrieved 2015 11 12 サンダーストーム ロードブラスター まとめ セガサターン ファミ通 com Famitsu com 2014 11 27 Retrieved 2015 11 12 サンダーストーム ロードブラスター まとめ PS ファミ通 com Famitsu com 2014 11 27 Retrieved 2015 11 12 a b X68対応ゲームが新発売 ロードブラスター 1985年発売 をWindows X68kに移植した同梱版を5月4日発売 4gamer net 2009 03 23 Retrieved 2015 05 21 a b c Road Blaster for iPhone iPad Reviews Metacritic com 2011 02 01 Retrieved 2015 05 21 Yoshihisa Kishimoto s website 熱血硬派 Yoshihisa Kishimoto Retrieved 2009 09 04 a b c d GamePro issue 45 April 1993 pages 52 53 Buchanan Levi 2010 08 12 Laser Craze Alert Road Blaster s Coming IGN IGN Retrieved 2015 05 21 Modern Review Road Blaster Apple iOS Devices RetroCollect com 2012 07 04 Retrieved 2015 05 21 VIDEO Toei Animated Road Blaster Offered on iOS Crunchyroll com 2011 10 09 Retrieved 2015 05 21 Road Avenger Now this is a special game Planetarbitrary com 2013 02 01 Archived from the original on 2015 12 27 Retrieved 2015 05 21 Windows版 ロードブラスター のアップデータ兼体験版を4GamerにUp モンスターマシンを乗りこなし 復讐を遂げろ 4gamer net 2011 07 01 Retrieved 2015 05 21 Road Blasters Hall of Light the database of Amiga games Road Avenger for Sega CD GameRankings Retrieved 2015 11 12 a b Lesser Hartley Lesser Patricia amp Lesser Kirk July 1993 The Role of Computers Dragon 195 5764 a b c NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW サンダーストーム amp ロードブラスター Weekly Famicom Tsushin No 358 Pg 31 27 October 1995 a b Road Blaster iPhone Review IGN Uk ign com 18 January 2011 Retrieved 2015 05 21 Electronic Games volume 1 issue 9 June 1993 page 84 a b Road Blaster review iPhone reviews Pocketgamer co uk 2011 01 18 Retrieved 2015 05 21 Game Machine s Best Hit Games 25 アップライト コックピット型TVゲーム機 Upright Cockpit Videos Game Machine in Japanese No 276 Amusement Press Inc 15 January 1986 p 21 Out of Print Archive Mega Drive reviews Road Blasters FX Mega CD Outofprintarchive com Retrieved 2015 11 12 The Road Avenger Novel First Public Demo Debut Reuters com 2009 08 26 Archived from the original on 2012 09 11 Retrieved 2015 05 21 Green Light Received for The Road Avenger Novel Road Blaster Roars Into 2009 in MMP Publishing s Novelization of Reuters com 2009 01 13 Archived from the original on 2009 01 20 Retrieved 2015 05 21 External links EditRoad Blaster at the Killer List of Videogames Road Blaster at Arcade History Road Blaster at Dragon s Lair Project MSX version at Generation MSX Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Road Blaster amp oldid 1141857816, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
