Chase H.Q.
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| Chase H.Q. | |
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| Developer(s) | Taito |
| Publisher(s) | Taito |
| Designer(s) | Hiroguki Sakou |
| Release date(s) | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Game Gear, MSX, Sega Master System, Super NES, TurboGrafx-16, ZX Spectrum |
| Input | Wheel, shifter, pedal |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright, sit-down |
Chase H.Q. (チェイスH.Q.?) is an arcade racing game, released in 1988 by Taito. In the game the player assumes the role of a Miami Vice inspired police officer in a black Porsche 928 chasing after a fleeing criminal.
At the start of each level the player is informed who they are pursuing, and are quite a distance from them: They must apprehend the criminal before their time limit expires. The criminal's car is constantly moving away, so if the player repeatedly crashes or drives too slowly, then the criminal will escape. At some point during the game the road splits, and the correct turn must be taken, otherwise it will take longer to catch the criminal.
When their vehicle is reached, the time limit is extended; the vehicle must be rammed a number of times until the criminal is forced to stop, and then arrested.
The game includes five levels. As both the initial time limit to reach the criminal and the time extension to ram the criminal are just 60 seconds the game is often criticised for being very short - a player who is able to finish the game on one credit will enjoy at most ten minutes of gameplay. (However, this criticism can be levelled at many other similar arcade games, including Outrun, which has a similar maximum playing time, although the latter game does not allow the player to insert another credit to continue.)
Although superficially similar in technology to Sega's Outrun, Chase HQ features significant technical advancements over that title in the presentation of perspective, hills and track splits.
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[edit] Sequels
Chase HQ has two arcade based sequels - the widely released Special Criminal Investigation from 1989 and the extremely rare Super Chase: Criminal Termination from 1992.
Special Criminal Investigation expands on the original with the addition of guns - the passenger can rise out of the T-top of his Nissan 300ZX Z32 and shoot at oncoming targets. To take advantage of this, enemies are placed through the level and will attempt to shoot at or ram the player as they attempt to pursue the main criminal. Deviating from the relatively realistic tracks on offer in the original, the sequel features pursuits through waterfalls and unfinished sections of elevated highway. Despite this the game was generally poorly received by critics.
Very little is recorded about Super Chase: Criminal Termination other than that it plays from a first person perspective rather than from behind the vehicle. The graphics engine is still sprite based.
[edit] Home versions
Ocean released versions of the game for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST in 1989. Most versions were received poorly, but the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC conversions received very high review scores and are generally recognised as the most accurate and most playable of the Ocean releases.
Taito released ports for the Nintendo Entertainment System (1989), Nintendo Gameboy (1990), Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear (both 1991), and TurboGrafx-16 (1992). It was released in Japan as Super HQ on the Sega Mega Drive with some minor changes, including alternative player vehicles.
In 1993, Taito released Super Chase HQ for the Super Nintendo. Unlike other home versions, it is played in first person perspective and may be based upon Super Chase: Criminal Termination rather than the original Chase HQ. Gameplay is modeled on the original with some aspects of SCI incorporated.
In 1996, Taito released an emulation of the arcade original for the Sega Saturn in Japan, bundled together with Special Criminal Investigation on one disc.
[edit] Gallery
 Super Nintendo - Super Chase HQ |
 ZX Spectrum |
 Commodore Amiga |
 Amstrad CPC |
[edit] Credited staff
Upon completion of the arcade version of Chase HQ, the player is presented with rolling credits that list the following individuals:
[edit] Game design
- Hiroyuki Sakou
[edit] Program
- Takeshi Ishizashi
- Takeshi Murata
- Kyousi Shimamoto
[edit] PCB Design
- Masahiro Yamaguchi
[edit] Character design
- Yoshihiko Wakita
- Sachiko Yamana
- Izumi Ishikawa
- Takeshi Ishizashi
[edit] Sound design
- Yoshio Imamura
- Naoto Yagishita
- Eikichi Takahashi
- Fumiaki Imaoko
[edit] Music composer
- Takami Asano
[edit] Cabinet design
- Nobuyuki Iwasaki
[edit] Proposer
- Yoshiharu Suzuki
[edit] Special thanks
- Junji Yarita
- Kazuya Mikata
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