Sly Spy
Encyclopedia
Sly Spy, known in Japan
as and known in Europe as Sly Spy: Secret Agent, is an arcade game developed and published by Data East
in 1989. After Data East became defunct due to their bankruptcy back in 2003, G-Mode
bought the intellectual rights to the arcade game as well as most other Data East games and licenses them globally.
and takes place in the U.S.. During the beginning, the president and his wife wave at the crowd next to a limousine
at the White House
in Washington D.C., while terrorists (some flying in using jetpacks) approach the president and his wife armed and dangerous while the screen turns red and black. Later, a secret agent
known as Sly Spy flies in a plane towards Washington D.C. to prevent the terrorists from infiltrating the city, and must also prevent a nuclear missile from launching.
Players control the secret agent name Sly Spy through eight different stages. Some stages have their own gameplay. In the first part of the first stage, players shoot enemies horizontally while sky-diving. The second half of the first, third, fifth, sixth and eighth stages are played in a run and gun format similar to Namco
's Rolling Thunder
and its sequels, but it lacks the ability to jump between the top and bottom floors while grabbing rails. Also, when out of ammo or attacked by a boss with one hit, Sly Spy drops his firearm while the game becomes a beat'em up in 2D
platform manner, much like Shinobi
, or Data East's own Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja. Players can't make Sly Spy do punches, but can only make him do three different kicks: high kicks, low kicks and jump kicks. The second stage shows Sly Spy riding on his motorcycle with a built-in machine gun, which makes this stage a combination of run-and-gun and vehicular combat game
formats, much like Moon Patrol
. The fourth and seventh stages are in marine-based, side-scrolling shooter format. Minor enemies will drop several different items when defeated, such as extra ammo, cans of Coca-Cola
-esque soda and machine guns. Sometimes enemies will drop a jetpack when on land or a DPV
when underwater to make transportation easier.
and the film
titled The Man with the Golden Gun
; however, instead of shooting Golden Bullets like in the James Bond series, Sly Spys version functions nearly the same way as the Cobra Gun in Data East's 1988 RoboCop arcade game and the Heavy Barrel energy cannon from the arcade game of the same name
. It is also shaped like a rifle
instead of a pistol
; however, when the Golden Gun is equipped along with either the motorcycle or a DPV, their built-in firearms will shoot the same energy bolts shot from the Golden Gun itself.
Besides the protagonist and the Golden Gun being references of the James Bond series, several bosses and stages in the game are based on villains and settings in the James Bond series. The second boss is based on Jaws from the films titled The Spy Who Loved Me
and Moonraker
, the third boss is based on Oddjob from the film titled Goldfinger
, and the ninth and final stage is based on the launch base seen in the Moonraker film.
to several home systems for personal use. Data East ported it to the Commodore C64 and released it in Europe and North America in 1989
, while Ocean Software
ported it to the Amiga
(with completely different background music
), Amstrad CPC
, Atari ST
and Sinclair ZX Spectrum in 1990
exclusively in Europe. In 2010, G-Mode added the arcade game to Data East Arcade Classics
as "Secret Agent".
Several references from Data East's other arcade games made cameo appearances in Sly Spy. A poster showing Chelnov
(a.k.a. Atomic Runner) can be seen at the beginning of Stage 3, the logo for the aforementioned Bad Dudes can be seen at the end of Stage 3, and a poster showing Karnov
can be seen at the beginning of Stage 5. In the 1990 movie RoboCop 2
, Officer Duffy gets pushed by RoboCop into a Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja arcade cabinet (also by Data East), but with Sly Spy, another Data East arcade game, built into it. Along with a few other Data East arcade games, they appeared in the film due to licensing and advertising agreements between Orion Pictures
, Data East and Ocean Software
after the release of two video games based on the RoboCop property.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as and known in Europe as Sly Spy: Secret Agent, is an arcade game developed and published by Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
in 1989. After Data East became defunct due to their bankruptcy back in 2003, G-Mode
G-Mode
is a Japanese company that provides mobile network game contents that specialize in Java game software in Japan. It develops and distributes games for Java-compatible mobile phones. The company also licenses contents for mobile telecommunications operators, as well as involves in the original...
bought the intellectual rights to the arcade game as well as most other Data East games and licenses them globally.
Plot
The plot resembles the James Bond seriesJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
and takes place in the U.S.. During the beginning, the president and his wife wave at the crowd next to a limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in Washington D.C., while terrorists (some flying in using jetpacks) approach the president and his wife armed and dangerous while the screen turns red and black. Later, a secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
known as Sly Spy flies in a plane towards Washington D.C. to prevent the terrorists from infiltrating the city, and must also prevent a nuclear missile from launching.
Gameplay
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...
's Rolling Thunder
Rolling Thunder (arcade game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Namco originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game which ran on the Namco System 86 hardware. It was distributed internationally outside Japan by Atari Games. The player takes control of a secret agent who must rescue his female partner from a...
and its sequels, but it lacks the ability to jump between the top and bottom floors while grabbing rails. Also, when out of ammo or attacked by a boss with one hit, Sly Spy drops his firearm while the game becomes a beat'em up in 2D
Two-dimensional space
- Details :Bi-dimensional space is a geometric model of the planar projection of the physical universe in which we live.The two dimensions are commonly called length and width .Both directions lies in the same plane....
platform manner, much like Shinobi
Shinobi (arcade game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released for the arcades in . In Shinobi, the player controls a modern day ninja named Joe Musashi who goes on a mission to rescue his kidnapped students from a group of terrorists...
, or Data East's own Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja. Players can't make Sly Spy do punches, but can only make him do three different kicks: high kicks, low kicks and jump kicks. The second stage shows Sly Spy riding on his motorcycle with a built-in machine gun, which makes this stage a combination of run-and-gun and vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
formats, much like Moon Patrol
Moon Patrol
is a classic arcade game by Irem that was first released in 1982. It was licensed to Williams for distribution in North America.The player controls a moon buggy, viewing it from the side, that travels over the moon's surface. While driving it, obstacles such as craters and mines must be avoided....
. The fourth and seventh stages are in marine-based, side-scrolling shooter format. Minor enemies will drop several different items when defeated, such as extra ammo, cans of Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
-esque soda and machine guns. Sometimes enemies will drop a jetpack when on land or a DPV
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...
when underwater to make transportation easier.
James Bond references
Enemies also drop parts of the ultimate weapon in the game called the Golden Gun, which is based on the weapon of the same name from the novelThe Man with the Golden Gun (novel)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the twelfth novel of Ian Fleming's James Bond series of books. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The novel was not as detailed or polished as the others in the series, leading to poor but polite...
and the film
The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth spy film in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
titled The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun is the twelfth novel of Ian Fleming's James Bond series of books. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The novel was not as detailed or polished as the others in the series, leading to poor but polite...
; however, instead of shooting Golden Bullets like in the James Bond series, Sly Spys version functions nearly the same way as the Cobra Gun in Data East's 1988 RoboCop arcade game and the Heavy Barrel energy cannon from the arcade game of the same name
Heavy Barrel
is a 1987 overhead run and gun arcade game by Data East.-Gameplay:thumb|left|Arcade ScreenshotTerrorists have seized the underground control complex of a nuclear missile site, and it is up to the player to infiltrate the base and kill the enemy leader. Players begin armed with a laser gun with...
. It is also shaped like a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
instead of a pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
; however, when the Golden Gun is equipped along with either the motorcycle or a DPV, their built-in firearms will shoot the same energy bolts shot from the Golden Gun itself.
Besides the protagonist and the Golden Gun being references of the James Bond series, several bosses and stages in the game are based on villains and settings in the James Bond series. The second boss is based on Jaws from the films titled The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
and Moonraker
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
, the third boss is based on Oddjob from the film titled Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
, and the ninth and final stage is based on the launch base seen in the Moonraker film.
Ports and related releases
The game was portedPorting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to several home systems for personal use. Data East ported it to the Commodore C64 and released it in Europe and North America in 1989
1989 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* October 3, Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation....
, while Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
ported it to the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
(with completely different background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
), Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Sinclair ZX Spectrum in 1990
1990 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.*February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America...
exclusively in Europe. In 2010, G-Mode added the arcade game to Data East Arcade Classics
Data East Arcade Classics
Data East Arcade Classics is a compilation of video games created by the now-defunct Japanese video game company Data East. The collection disc is developed by G1M2 and published, and released by Majesco Entertainment for the Wii on February 19, 2010...
as "Secret Agent".
Several references from Data East's other arcade games made cameo appearances in Sly Spy. A poster showing Chelnov
Chelnov
, also known as Atomic Runner or fully titled as , is a Japanese side-scrolling action-arcade game developed and published by Data East in 1988...
(a.k.a. Atomic Runner) can be seen at the beginning of Stage 3, the logo for the aforementioned Bad Dudes can be seen at the end of Stage 3, and a poster showing Karnov
Karnov
is a 1987 platform arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is the debut of Data East's mascot of the same name. After Data East became defunct due to bankruptcy in 2003, Paon, a company comprised with former Data East staff, acquired the rights to Karnov, along with multiple other Data...
can be seen at the beginning of Stage 5. In the 1990 movie RoboCop 2
RoboCop 2
RoboCop 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bayer, Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon. Set in the near future in a dystopian metropolitan Detroit, Michigan...
, Officer Duffy gets pushed by RoboCop into a Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja arcade cabinet (also by Data East), but with Sly Spy, another Data East arcade game, built into it. Along with a few other Data East arcade games, they appeared in the film due to licensing and advertising agreements between Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion...
, Data East and Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
after the release of two video games based on the RoboCop property.
External links
- Official G-Mode webpage of Sly Spy
- Sly Spy at arcade-history