Articles about Donkey Kong

History of Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Characters
Donkey Kong Scoring Details
Shigeru Miyamoto Biography

Articles about Jumpman aka Mario | Radar Scope

History of Jumpman aka Mario
Nintendo´s Radar Scope

Radar Scope was available in 3 different dedicated cabinets

The upright cabinet was the same design used for the later Donkey Kong series. It was red in color and had sticker side-art of a spaceship. The monitor bezel and control panel were designed to mimic the view from inside the cockpit of a spaceship. While the marquee showed an image of a blue and red 'Radar Scope' logo on a field of stars. The cocktail version came in a white-topped cabinet and was only decorated with an instruction card underneath the glass. The final version was a big environmental unit that completely enclosed the player inside (to better hear all that 'Laser Sound'). All the Radar Scope advertisements showed the environmental version. It used the same side-art as the upright, and had a 'Radar Scope' logo silk-screened on the back window. All versions used a 'Nintendo Compatible' Sanyo monitor.

Released in November 1980. This was the first game that Shigeru Miyamoto worked on, and it did not sell very well. Of the 3,000 games made, roughly 2,000 were converted into "Donkey Kong". This lead to two variations of Donkey Kong cabinets: the harder to find red cabinet and the traditional blue cabinet.

Radar Scope Gameplay

As captain of the Sonic Spaceport, players must defend their station against enemy spaceships called Gamma Raiders, which attack with vengeance and swiftly retreat to formation. The object of the game is to destroy 48 enemy Gamma Raiders before there is total disintegration of all the Spaceports on the player's side.

Players can counterattack with the Rapid-Fire Laser Blaster which zooms the lasers over the three-dimensional-esque field of curving vectors, while it intercepts enemies. The lower on the radar screen that you destroy a Gamma Raider, the more points will be earned. If exploding decoys damage the Sonic Spaceport, the Laser Blaster's firing speed will reduce. The Laser Blaster's "Damage Meter" will light up as damage is incurred and when fully illuminated, will weaken the Laser Blaster's offensive powers. To reverse this, the players must attack and destroy all remaining Gamma Raiders.

Players are given a wide range of flexibility in controlling the difficulty levels of the game. Extra Spaceports are awarded at 7,000, 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 points, as determined by the players. The initial number of Spaceports may also be pre-programmed at 3, 4, 5 or 6. When the required number of spaceships is destroyed, players receive an extra point bonus.