Lost In Translation/King & Balloon

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This page is a stub for arcade games that are part of the Lost In Translation series using information based on MAME (version 0.113u2).
For an example of preferred content and layout please refer to Out Run or The Ninja Warriors.


King & Balloon
King & Balloon marquee.
No screen shot.
King & Balloon control panel.
Manufacturer Namco
Released 1980
Control
Method
2-way Joystick
1 Button(s)
Main CPU Z80 (@ 3.072 MHz)
Z80 (@ 2.500 MHz)
Sound CPU Mono
Discrete
DAC
RC Filter
Video
Details
Raster (Vertical)
256 x 224 pixels
60.61 Hz
98 Palette colours
Screens 1
ROM Info 10 ROMs
22,560 bytes (22.03 KiB)
MAME ID kingball · kingbalj

About The Game

King & Balloon is an arcade video game.

The player controls 2 green men (likely soldiers in the king's army) with an orange cannon that fires at squads of descending balloons. You must protect the king and prevent him from being captured and carried away by one of the balloons. Unlike most shooter games, the player's cannon can be hit and destroyed any number of times; it is the king that must be protected. The game ends when the king is carried away 3 times.

Trivia

Released in June 1980.

King & Balloon is the first game from Namco to feature voices.

Kevin Olkowski holds the official record for this game with 48,900 points.

Updates

The voices differed between Japanese and U.S. versions. In the Japanese version, the abducted king yelled 'Help! Help!', but with heavy Japanese pronunciation, sounding more like 'Herupuu!'. In the U.S. version, the voice was redone as a more English-sounding 'Help!'.

Scoring

On single balloons, first score is in formation, second score diving or rising, third score is rising with King in tow:

  • Red Balloons : 50, 100, 150
  • Orange Balloons : 40, 80, 120
  • Yellow Balloons : 30, 60, 90
  • White balloons : 20, 40, 60

On combination balloons, first score is first hit, second score is second hit, third score is third hit. First color is balloon color, second color is line/gondola color:

  • Red/White : 500, 1,000, 1,500
  • Orange/Yellow : 400, 600, 1,000
  • Yellow/Orange : 300, 500, 700
  • White/Red : 200, 300, 500

Cabinet and Artwork

Ports

Consoles
Sony PlayStation (1998, "Namco Museum Encore") (Japanese release only)
Sony PSP (2005, "Namco Museum Battle Collection")
Computers
MSX

Soundtrack Releases

Album Name Catalogue No. Released Publisher Comments
Namco Arcade 80's SCDC-00272[1] 2003-05-21 Scitron Discs CD version.

References

The contents of this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
The sources used include MAME (version 0.113u2) and history.dat (revision 1.28 - 2008-10-18).
Please see http://www.arcade-history.com for credits.