Make Trax
| Make Trax | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Alpha Denshi |
| Publisher(s) | Kural Samno (Japan) Williams (North America) Karateco / Exidy (Europe) |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Famicom, Neo Geo Pocket Color |
| Release date(s) | 1981 |
| Genre(s) | Maze game |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Cabinet | Upright and cocktail |
| Display | Raster, standard resolution, vertical orientation |
Make Trax, known in Japan as Crush Roller (クラッシュローラー Kurasshu Rōrā) is a 1981 arcade game originally developed by Alpha Denshi and published by Kural Samno in Japan. It was later licensed for North American release to Williams, and in Europe to Karateco and Exidy.
Gameplay
Make Trax is a maze game similar to Sega's Head On and Namco's Pac-Man, in which the player controls a paintbrush and must paint the entire layout in order to advance to the next stage. Two fish — one yellow, the other light blue — emerge from separate aquariums to pursue the paintbrush around the board, and if either of the fish succeeds in making contact with the paintbrush, the player loses one of three lives.
The player may use two "rollers" to attack the fish. The rollers are located on two overpasses, one vertical in its orientation, the other horizontal. To use a roller, the player positions the paintbrush on the forward end of the roller, waits for either or both of the fish to approach, then pushes the paintbrush along the roller, attacking the fish. The fish is removed from the maze for a few seconds, then returns to one of the aquariums and resumes its pursuit of the paintbrush. Killing fish in this manner scores bonus points.
A third character, appearing to be an animal or human figure depending on the level, may enter the maze and leave tracks that must be painted over in order for the board to be completed. The player can limit the damage by running over the figure, which not only stops further tracks from being left but also awards the player a score, which progressively increases as more boards are cleared.
History
Some time after the release of the original game, a "speedup chip" allowing the paintbrush (but not the fish) to move faster was added. The variant of the game containing this chip was accorded the name Make Trax Turbo.[1]
A Neo Geo Pocket Color remake of the game was always developed by ADK, and released worldwide by SNK under its Japanese name Crush Roller in 1999. Additionally, it was ported to the Famicom system by Hwang Shinwei as Brush Roller, although this port was not licensed by either Nintendo or the creators of the game; the same port was also hacked in 1991 by NTDEC as Bookyman, and then included in their 1992's multicart Caltron 6-in-1. Finally, a port for Pelican VG Pocket was cloned by Jungletac under the name Paint Master.
References
- ↑ "Make Trax Turbo". Arcadecollecting.com. Retrieved 2012-03-16.