King & Balloon
Encyclopedia
King & Balloon is a fixed shooter arcade game
that was released by Namco
in 1980. It was an early example of dual-core processing, running on Namco Galaxian
hardware, based on the Z80
microprocessor
, with an extra Z80 microprocessor to drive a DAC
for speech
; the King speaks when he is captured ("HELP!"), when he is rescued ("Thank you"), and when he is carried away ("BYE BYE!"). Additionally, the balloons make the same "droning" sound as the ships in Galaxian
, which was released the previous year. The player's shots also have the same sound effect as the player ship in said game.
The game was released in the United States by GamePlan. This version features a more "English" sounding voice for the King; in the original Japanese version, the king can be heard "Japanicizing
" the words, saying "herupu" ("help"), and "sankyuu" ("thank you").
It was later featured in Namco Museum
Encore for the original PlayStation
, which was a Japan only release. It made its North American console debut on Namco Museum Battle Collection
for the PSP, in which the player could choose the King's voice after unlocking the manic settings. It also appears in Namco Museum Virtual Arcade for the Xbox 360
.
.
The game only goes up to round 48. If the players completes round 48, the game will say the player is still on round 48. The level select in Namco Museum Battle Collection
still goes higher than 48. If Level 57 and higher is selected, the player is brought back to the attract mode, but gameplay music is heard, and the START button is active. The PSP version also have the glitch where the level number in the level select goes higher than the level that currently on.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
that was released by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
in 1980. It was an early example of dual-core processing, running on Namco Galaxian
Namco Galaxian
The Namco 8-bit Galaxian arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1979.-Namco Galaxian specifications:*Main CPU: Zilog Z80*Sound chips: Discrete*Video resolution: 256x224...
hardware, based on the Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
, with an extra Z80 microprocessor to drive a DAC
Digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
for speech
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
; the King speaks when he is captured ("HELP!"), when he is rescued ("Thank you"), and when he is carried away ("BYE BYE!"). Additionally, the balloons make the same "droning" sound as the ships in Galaxian
Galaxian
is an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...
, which was released the previous year. The player's shots also have the same sound effect as the player ship in said game.
The game was released in the United States by GamePlan. This version features a more "English" sounding voice for the King; in the original Japanese version, the king can be heard "Japanicizing
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
" the words, saying "herupu" ("help"), and "sankyuu" ("thank you").
It was later featured in Namco Museum
Namco Museum
Namco Museum refers to the series of video game compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s and early 1990s...
Encore for the original PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, which was a Japan only release. It made its North American console debut on Namco Museum Battle Collection
Namco Museum Battle Collection
Namco Museum Battle Collection is a collection of Namco arcade games such as Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Galaga. It was released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on February 25, 2005 and contained eleven classic games from Namco's game history. The game was developed by Namco Tales Studio Ltd...
for the PSP, in which the player could choose the King's voice after unlocking the manic settings. It also appears in Namco Museum Virtual Arcade for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
Gameplay
The player controls two 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 three or four times, depending on if the player won a 1-up1-up
1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
.
The game only goes up to round 48. If the players completes round 48, the game will say the player is still on round 48. The level select in Namco Museum Battle Collection
Namco Museum Battle Collection
Namco Museum Battle Collection is a collection of Namco arcade games such as Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Galaga. It was released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on February 25, 2005 and contained eleven classic games from Namco's game history. The game was developed by Namco Tales Studio Ltd...
still goes higher than 48. If Level 57 and higher is selected, the player is brought back to the attract mode, but gameplay music is heard, and the START button is active. The PSP version also have the glitch where the level number in the level select goes higher than the level that currently on.