Cameltry (US, YM2610)

Arcade Video game published 34 years ago:

Cameltry (c) 1990 Taito Corp.

The player must guide a ball through a number of mazes, rotating the maze through 180 degrees to get the ball to move in the desired direction - much like the special stages in the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive title, "Sonic the Hedgehog". Each maze must be completed within a tight time limit, and a number of traps and obstacles litter the mazes to slow players down.

There are, however, a number of positive targets to be hit, and bonuses - such as additional time - can be found hidden away within the mazes. When the ball is stuck or the player would like to speed up, the JUMP button can be used. If the player runs out of time before reaching the goal, a random matching game is run to allow the player more time to complete the maze. This challenge, however, is very difficult to win.

- TECHNICAL -

Runs on the "Taito F2 System" hardware. It used a graphics extension on the board, the so called Taito F2 Expanded System.

Prom Stickers : C38

Players : 2
Control : Spinner
Buttons : 1

- TRIVIA -

Even if the title screen says 1989, Cameltry was released in April 1990.

This game uses inertia and gravity to simulate how an actual ball in a maze would roll, under real-life conditions. This is what makes this game fun to play.

Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Cameltry, Cadash - PCCB-00043) on October 21, 1990.

Zuntata Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Zuntata History L'ab-normal 1st - ZTTL-0038) on April 1, 1999.

- TIPS AND TRICKS -

* Obtain a very high time and you can gain 1000 points, featuring Tiki (the Kiwi Bird of "The New Zealand Story" game) or another character of Taito.

* If you complete a stage with less than 10 seconds remaining, a slot machine appears. The numbers on all 3 reels will be added as a bonus time. This does not happen on the special courses.

* Round Select : Hold Service Switch at boot.
Input : Start(x3), Service Switch, Start on Service Switch Error message screen. This code (Taito Command) is used in many Taito games, G-Darius, Rastan Saga II, Gunlock/Ray Force etc.

* Ball Selection : If you hold down the START button while selecting a course (except the training course) you can change the appearance of the ball.

* Secret Bonus : If the 3 digits on the timer is the same at goal (eg 11.1, 22.2, 33.3, etc), secret bonus is added.

* Staff Credits : When seeing the ending, hold the JUMP button. NOTE : It's disabled when you select Training course.

- SERIES -

1) Cameltry (1990)
2) Mawashite Koron (2006, Nintendo DS JAP) / Labyrinth (2007, Nintendo DS EUR/USA)

- STAFF -

Produce & Game Designer: PPR Kaito
Software Programming: Magician Kaz, Teddy Koike, Tack Karube
Bit Graphics: Zak Munn, Zenzy Miya, PPR Kaito
Hardware: K. Fujimoto, M. Yamaguchi
Sound (Zuntata): Hisayoshi Ogura, Yasuhisa Watanabe
Cabinet Decoration: Hiroyasu Nagai (Super Star Nagai)

- PORTS -

* CONSOLES:
[JP] Nintendo Super Famicom (1992) "Cameltry [Model SHVC-CT]"
[US] Nintendo SNES (nov.1992) "On the Ball [Model SNS-CT-USA]"
[EU] Nintendo SNES (1993) "On the Ball [Model SNSP-CT-EUR]"
[JP] Sony PS2 (jul.28, 2005) "Taito Memories Joukan [Model SLPM-66057]"
Sony PlayStation 2 [AU] (mar.30, 2006) "Taito Legends 2 [Model SLES-53852]"
[EU] Microsoft XBOX (mar.31, 2006) "Taito Legends 2"
[EU] Sony PS2 (mar.31, 2006) "Taito Legends 2 [Model SLES-53852]"
[US] Sony PS2 (may.16, 2007) "Taito Legends 2 [Model SLUS-21349]"

* HANDHELDS:
Sony PSP [AS] (jan.3, 2006) "Taito Memories Pocket [Model UCAS-40040]"
[JP] Sony PSP (jan.5, 2006) "Taito Memories Pocket [Model ULJM-50706]"
Sony PSP [KO] (feb.10, 2006) "Taito Memories Pocket"
[EU] Sony PSP (oct.6, 2006) "Taito Legends Power-Up [Model ULES-00473]"
[AU] Sony PSP (nov.9, 2006) "Taito Legends Power-Up [Model ULES-00473]"
[US] Sony PSP (may.17, 2007) "Taito Legends Power-Up [Model ULUS-10208]"

* COMPUTERS:
[JP] Sharp X68000 (sept.25, 1991)
FM Towns PC [JP] (1993)
[EU] PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (mar.31, 2006) "Taito Legends 2"
[US] PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (jul.10, 2007) "Taito Legends 2"

* OTHERS:
[US] Nokia N-Gage "Taito Memories" : Release cancelled