Ozma Wars (set 1) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 45 years ago:

Ozma Wars © 1979 SNK.

A great and pioneer fixed vertical space shoot'em up game.

The Ozma wars has begun, and the player controls a spacecraft which must fend off UFOs, spaceships meteors, and comets in a varied of space levels. Instead of lives, the player is given an energy reserve that is constantly diminishing; getting hit by the enemy causes gameplay to stop momentarily and a large amount of energy is depleted. Every so often, a mothership will appear and dock with the player's spacecraft, allowing the energy to be refilled. There are 3-4 recognizable stages as the game progresses and new enemies begin to appear. After these, the mothership will appear, and the cycle starts over; this continues indefinitely until the energy reaches zero.

TECHNICAL
CPU Board Number: AA017757
Audio/IO Board Number: CV070005
ROM Board Number: AA017756A

Main CPU: Intel 8080 (@ 1.9968 Mhz)
Sound Chips: SN76477 (@ 1.9968 Mhz), discrete circuitry

Screen orientation: Vertical
Video resolution: 224 x 260 pixels
Screen refresh: 59.54 Hz
Palette colors: 2

Players: 2
Control: 2-way joystick
Buttons: 1

TRIVIA
Ozma Wars was released in December 1979. This is the first game manufactured by SNK (Shin Nihon Kikaku).

This game is also known as the second ever vertical shoot 'em up game, after Taito's "Space Invaders" (which ran on the same arcade hardware), but is also additionally known as the first game with disparate levels. The game is also notable for being the first action game to feature a supply of energy, resembling a life bar, a game mechanic that has now become common in the majority of modern action games.

A copy of this game is known as "Space Phantoms".

A bootleg is known as "Solar Fight".

CONTRIBUTE
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