Bosconian
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Midway
Release date(s)	1981
Genre(s)	Multi-directional shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Platform(s)	Arcade
Input	8-way Joystick; 1 button
Arcade cabinet	Upright, cabaret, and cocktail
Arcade system(s)	Namco Galaga
Arcade display	Horizontal orientation, Raster

Bosconian is a multi-directional shooter arcade game that was made by Namco in 1981. It runs on Namco Galaga hardware but with a video system like that used in Rally-X. Screenshot from the arcade game Bosconian via MAME This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American video game publisher. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Galaga, a famous shoot-em-up from 1981. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Joystick elements: 1. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... An arcade system board is a standardized printed circuit board or group of printed circuit boards that are used as the basis for multiple arcade games with very similar hardware requirements. ... The Namco 8-bit Galaga arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1981. ... A computer display is an interface between the computer and the operator. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Galaga, a famous shoot-em-up from 1981. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Namco 8-bit Galaga arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1981. ... Rally-X is a maze arcade game that was released by Namco in 1980. ...

Description

In Bosconian, the player controls a small fighter ship that can move in eight directions. The ship fires both forward and backward. Each level consists of a number of green space stations that must all be destroyed to advance to the next level. All space stations are alike: Each one consists of six cannons arranged in a hexagon, surrounding a red core in the center (accessible either horizontally or vertically, depending on how the station was placed). A station is destroyed by either destroying all six cannons or shooting the core. In later levels, the core begins shooting missiles and can protect itself with a closing door. The fictional starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... The International Space Station in 2006 Computer-generated image of the completed International Space Station A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in outer space. ... A regular hexagon In geometry, a hexagon is a polygon with six edges and six vertices. ... Exocet missile in flight A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a projectile propelled as a weapon at a target. ...

Additionally, the player must avoid (or destroy) asteroids, Cosmo-Mines, and a variety of enemy missiles that attempt to collide with the player's ship. Enemies will occasionally launch formation attacks consisting of four enemies and a leader. Destroying the leader will cause all remaining enemies to break formation and run away. Destroying all ships in the formation scores extra bonus points. Also, a spy ship appears occasionally, and is worth a random bonus value. 253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. ... A land mine is a type of self-contained explosive device which is placed onto or into the ground, exploding when triggered by a vehicle, a person, or an animal. ...

The most notable feature of this game is its use of digitized voice samples, a relatively new feature at the time. The audible messages used in the game are:

• "Blast off!" — Start of a round
• "Alert! Alert!" — Enemies approaching
• "Battle Stations!" — A formation attack has been launched
• "Spy ship sighted!" — A spy ship is nearby, worth extra points
• "Condition Red!" — The player has taken too long. Enemies appear much more frequently.

Like almost all early arcade games, Bosconian does not have an ending. Being an 8-bit game it has 255 levels in all, but it is not known for certain what happens if a player successfully completes level 255; the game would either loop back to level 1 again at that point (a-la Mappy), or lock up and became unplayable (a-la Galaga). 8-bit refers to the number of bits used in the data bus of a computer. ... Mappy is a 1983 arcade game by Namco. ... Galaga is a fixed shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1981 (and also licensed to Midway). ...

Legacy

Bosconian was one of Namco's less successful games, which is why it was not initially ported to any consoles. It was ported to several computer systems, including the Sharp X68000, MSX, Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and later appeared in several of Namco's Namco Museum compilations for PlayStation and other consoles. A clone of Bosconian, named Draconian, was released for the TRS-80 Color Computer in 1984 by Tom Mix Software. A home computer sequel, Bosconian 87, was released in 1987 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. A sequel of sorts called Blast Off was released exclusively in Japan in 1989; it too was a commercial disappointment. Blast Off was a vertical-scrolling shooter, and had more in common gameplay-wise with Namco's own Dragon Spirit than with their Bosconian. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Console wars. ... A BlueGene supercomputer cabinet. ... The Sharp X68000, often referred to as the X68K, was a home computer released only in Japan. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... The Commodore 64 is the best selling single personal computer model of all time. ... Sinclair Research Ltd was a home computer company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge, England. ... The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ... 4k TRS-80 Color Computer from 1981, 26-3001 The Radio Shack TRS-80 color computer (also called Tandy Color Computer, or CoCo) was a home computer based around the Motorola 6809E processor and part of the TRS-80 line. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... The Commodore 64 is the best selling single personal computer model of all time. ... The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... Blast Off is a vertically-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989. ... Dragon Spirit is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1987. ...

Dedicated Bosconian arcade machines have become somewhat of a rarity for arcade collectors, because many of them were converted to other, more profitable games over the years. Galaga was the most common conversion choice, because it uses the same basic hardware platform and wiring harness as Bosconian. Galaga is a fixed shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1981 (and also licensed to Midway). ...

Some claim that Bosconian was the first game to allow players to insert more coins to continue a game from where they lost their last life. The concept of the continue, by this logic, comes from Bosconian. This distinction more properly belongs to Tempest. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Tempest is an arcade game by Atari, originally designed and programmed by David Theurer. ...

Trivia

In the game Ridge Racer, a car has this game as a sponsor. It is a white and red car named RT Bosconian. Its sister car, from another Namco game is a white and blue car named RT Nebulasray. They were used in Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer 2, Ridge Racer 64, and Ridge Racer DS. Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Ridge Racer is a series of arcade racing games developed and published by Namco for both the arcade and various consoles. ... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Ridge Racer is a series of arcade racing games developed and published by Namco for both the arcade and various consoles. ... Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Ridge Racer is the name of an arcade and home 3D racing game franchise developed and published by Namco. ... Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Ridge Racer is the name of an arcade and home 3D racing game franchise developed and published by Namco. ... Ridge Racer DS is a video game based on the Nintendo 64 version of Ridge Racer originally released by Namco in the year 2000. ...

The origin of the keywords in Bosconian is Lensman. The Lensman series is a serial science fiction space opera by E. E. Smith. ...

• Bosconian — Boskonian
• I-Type missile — Eich
• P-Type missile — Ploor
• E-Type misslle — Eddore

Series

• 1. Bosconian (1981)
• 2. Blast Off (1989)

Blast Off is a vertically-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989. ...

External links

• KLOV's page on Bosconian
• Bosconian 87 at MobyGames
• Bosconian 87 at World of Spectrum