Lost In Translation/Motos

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.

Motos
Manufacturer	Namco
Released	1985
Control Method	8-way Joystick 2 Button(s)
Main CPU	(3x) M6809 (@ 1.536 MHz) M6809 (@ 1.536 MHz)
Sound CPU	Mono Namco 15XX (@ 24.000 kHz)
Video Details	Raster (Vertical) 288 x 224 pixels 60.61 Hz 512 Palette colours
Screens	1
ROM Info	10 ROMs 78,624 bytes (76.78 KiB)
MAME ID	motos

About The Game

Motos is an arcade video game where the object is to bump your enemies - space bugs - off the solar base using Motos, your ship. When you bump all of them off, you move to the next base or round. If Motos is knocked off the base, you lose one life. The game is over when you lose all your lives.

You can collect power parts or jump parts lying on the solar base by simply having Motos touch them. The collected parts will be displayed in the lower left corner of the screen and you can use them in the next round. Motos can be outfitted with no more than 7 power parts; the more power parts added, the more powerful Motos is. However, Motos can only be outfitted with only 1 jump part per round. With a jump part, Motos can jump over two squares by moving the joystick in the desired direction and pressing the Jump button. One jump on a square cracks the square and a second jump in the same spot makes a hole in the solar base.

You can outfit Motos with these parts in the Power Parts or Jump Parts screen displayed at the beginning of each round. Select the number of parts you want by moving left and right with the joystick, and lock them in place by pressing the Jump button. You can use the selected parts for one round only; they will not be available in subsequent rounds.

Linger too long on the playing field and Shooting Stars will begin to fall periodically onto the solar base. The Stars are aimed at Motos, and when they miss they crack a square or break a hole in the solar base (like they do to the base behind the Motos logo in the attract mode's title sequence).

Trivia

The arcade version was released after the video game crash of 1983/84 and didn't get much attention, most likely appearing only in Japan. The only known U.S. appearances of this game are for home platforms (see Ports below).

Cast Of Characters

• Motos - This is you.
• Red Pupa (First appears in Round 1) - weighs in at 380 kg (836 lbs) and travels 20 km/h (12 mph).
• Blue Pupa (First appears in Round 2) - weighs in at 380 kg (836 lbs) and travels 20 km/h (12 mph).
• Polar (First appears in Round 2) - weighs in at 400 kg (880 lbs) and travels 20 km/h (12 mph).
• Spirus (First appears in Round 4) - weighs in at 2,900 kg (3.19 tons) and travels at 40 km/h (24 mph).
• Fire Bug (First appears in Round 7) - weighs in at 3,800 kg (4.18 tons) and travels at 45 km/h (27 mph).
• Mega (First appears in Round 9) - Weighs in at 7,500 kg (8.25 tons) and travels at 10 km/h (6 mph).
• Taitorian (First appears in Round 11) - weighs in at 4,100 kg (4.51 tons) and travels at 55 km/h (approximately 25 mph).
• Fire Bee (First appears in Round 13) - weighs in at 3,200 kg (3.52 tons) and travels at 70 km/h (42 mph).
• Lady Bug (First appears in Round 17) - weighs in at 5,120 kg (5.632 tons) and travels at 60 km/h (36 mph).
• Black Pupa (First appears in Round 18) - weighs in at 400 kg (880 lbs) and travels 20 km/h (12 mph).
• Beetle (First appears in Round 18) - weighs in at 5,800 kg (6.38 tons) and travels at 55 km/h (25 mph).
• Giga (First appears in Round 29) - The heaviest of all enemies, weighing in at 13,400 kg (14.74 tons); travels at 20 km/h (12 mph).
• Beecon (First appears in Round 2) - Scores you points whether Motos or an enemy bug bumps it off the solar base.
• Nabicon (First appears in Round 3) - Most of these unleash Blue Pupa at regular intervals.

Shooting Stars

They fall periodically onto the solar base if you take too much time in a round. They are aimed at you and when they miss, they crack square or break a hole in the solar base.

The music that plays during game action in the attract mode also doubles up as the game's ending music (after clearing Round 62).

Scoring

You score points by bumping enemies off the solar base :

Enemy	Points
Red Pupa	300
Blue Pupa	300
Black Pupa	300
Polar	800
Spirus	1,000
Fire Bug	1,300
Fire Bee	1,500
Taitorian	2,000
Lady Bug	2,500
Beetle	3,000
Mega	3,500
Giga	5,000
Nabicon	50,000
(See Tips and Tricks below for how to destroy a Nabicon. Many Nabicon, however, are indestructible)
Beecon	1,000
(Scored whether Motos or an Enemy Bug bumps the Beecon off the solar base.)

Tips and tricks

• Make a hole in the middle of a Nabicon and Blue Pupa won't be able to come out of it.

• Some Nabicon can be destroyed when Motos is outfitted with five parts. You can tell this when the Nabicon shakes as Motos bumps it. Bump a Nabicon more than ten times and it is destroyed, scoring you an enormous number of points (see Scoring above).

Easter Egg

1. Enter service mode.
2. Set coin A to 1 Coin / 1 Credit, set coin B to 1 Coin / 4 Credits, set Freeze to On, set Lives to 1, set Difficulty to Rank C, set Demo Sounds to Off, set Level Select to Off, set Bonus Life to 10k.
3. Press the service switch to display the grid and press (all together) Right+Button1+Start2. '(c) NAMCO LTD. 1984' will appear on the screen.

Staff

Game Designer

T. Okadaman

Programmer

Kosei Matz

Music Composer

Norio Nakagata

Graphic Designer

Satoru Chan

Engineer

Sig-El

Debugger

M. Taguchin

Supervisor

Sing Kozima

Cabinet and Artwork

• 

  Motos flyer.

Ports

Consoles

Sony PlayStation (1998, "Namco Museum Encore") (Japanese only)

Sony PSP (2005, "Namco Museum Battle Collection")

Computers

Amstrad CPC (1987)

Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1987)

Commodore C64 (1987)

Sharp X68000 (1989)

PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (1998, "Microsoft Revenge of Arcade")

Soundtrack Releases

Album Name	Catalogue No.	Released	Publisher	Comments
Namco Video Game Graffiti	VDR-1165	1986-03-21	Victor	CD version.
Namco Game Music Vol.2	28XA-171	1987-08-25	Alfa Records	CD version.
Namco Game Music Vol.2	ALC-22914	1987-08-25	Alfa Records	Cassette version.
Namco Game Music Vol.2	ALR-22914	1987-08-25	Alfa Records	Vinyl version.
Namco Game Music Vol.2	SCDC-00234	2003-04-23	Scitron Digital Content Inc.	CD version.
Namco Video Game Graffiti	VCH-10334	1986-03-21	Victor	Cassette version.
Namco Video Game Graffiti	SJX-30291	1986-03-21	Victor	Vinyl version.

External Links

• Sinclair ZX Spectrum version of Motos at the World of Spectrum

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.