Space Launcher

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Space Launcher
European arcade flyer of Space Launcher. Notice that the enemy spacecrafts on this poster resemble the TIE Fighters of the Star Wars series.
Developer(s)	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Ikegami Tsushinki
Platform(s)	Arcade game
Release date	^JPN 1979 ^EU 1980
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Input methods	2-way Joystick, 1 button
Cabinet	Standard
CPU	8080 @ 2.016 MHz, I8035 @ 6 MHz
Sound	DAC audio
Display	Raster (Vertical) standard resolution (Used: 224×256)

Space Launcher (スペースランチャー, Space Launcher^?) is a 1979 arcade game designed by Nintendo, developed by Ikegami Tsushinki and published by Nintendo.

[edit] Gameplay

Screenshot of Space Launcher.

The gameplay and layout is similar to Frogger, except it was released two years earlier. The object of the game is to fly the rocket up to any of the four ports to pick up treasures (points), fly back down to the starting point and repeat while avoiding enemies and projectiles. When the rocket flies near the enemies on top of the screen, the damaging shield on the tip of the rocket's nose turns on, allowing players to destroy enemies with it. Point values increase as players become more successful in destroying more than one enemy. Players have a limited amount of rockets to fly, and when all of them are destroyed, the game is over.