Arcade Video game published 35 years ago:
Hyper Sports (c) 1984 Konami
Hyper Sports is a multi-event sports game and is the sequel to 1983's seminal "Track and Field". As with "Track and Field", the game supports up to four players and is controlled by two RUN buttons (renamed GO for this sequel) and one action - or UP - button.
Tap GO and player will accelerate, shoot or lift. Push UP and player will jump or shoot. The game offers seven different Olympic-based events, and players must achieve qualification in each event in order to progress to the next. Game is over if you fail to qualify in an event.
The seven events are :
1) Swimming-100M Freestyle : Use GO and UP buttons to regulate the speed and breath of swimmer. Tap GO button(s) to accelerate swimmer. Press UP button to allow swimmer to breath when 'breath' display appears on the screen. Swimmer will submerge if UP button is pressed any other time. Equal the computer's time for 3000 point bonus.
2) Skeet Shooting : Push either GO button to shoot. Shooting direction, left or right, coincide with GO button. Shoot clay within the red window to score. Consecutive hits expand the window, in single increments, to maximum. A miss will reduce the window to the smallest shape. 500-point clay appears after nine (9) consecutive hits. 1000 point clay appears after 19 consecutive hits. Hit all clays for a 'perfect' score.
3) Long Horse : Press and release either GO button to accelerate player, push UP button at a proper position on the ramp to jump to the horse and again to lift from the horse. While in the air, tap GO button(s) to control rolls and dismount pose. Points are decided on the number of rolls and dismount pose.
4) Archery : Press either GO button to randomly stop wind reel. Reel will automatically stop at random if GO button is not pressed, wind reel displays wind direction and velocity (0 through 7 mph). Push UP button to shoot and hold to control angle.
5) Triple Jump : Tap GO button(s) to accelerate player. Press UP button at a proper position to hop, step and jump.
6) Weight Lifting : Push GO button, each time, to advance to the next heaviest class, once advanced, backing up to a lighter class can not be made. Press UP button to elect weight class. Tap GO button(s) to lift the weight, press UP button when bar bell flashes and continue tapping GO button(s) until the three judge indicators light up.
7) Pole Vault : Push either GO button and release. Press UP button to vault and release at proper position to clear the bar.
- TECHNICAL -
Game ID : GX330
Main CPU : Motorola M6809 (@ 2.048 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Zilog Z80 (@ 3.579545 Mhz)
Sound Chips : DAC, SN76496 (@ 1.789772 Mhz), Sanyo VLM5030 (@ 3.58 Mhz)
Players : 4
Buttons : 3
= > [1] GO (LEFT), [2] UP, [3] GO (RIGHT)
- TRIVIA -
Hyper Sports was released in July 1984 by Centuri in the US, under license from Konami.
While not quite achieving the commercial and critical success of "Track and Field", Hyper Sports still proved to be very popular among gamers and, like its prequel, really came into its own as a highly addictive multi-player experience.
This game is known in Japan as "Hyper Olympic '84".
This game is a resounding success, especially amongst real-life athletes who live to take out their aggression on animate or inanimate objects. The game inspires an all-new level of two-player competition in arcades.
Kelly Kobashigawa holds the official record for this game with 538340 points.
* BUG : If you 'get a mole' on the pole vault, but the jump qualifies as a world record, you will not be awarded your bonus points.
* BUG 2 : The game lists 'Today's Top 10', but these are actually the 4th to 13th inclusive highest scores ever. The 14th to 20th highest scores ever are also stored, but never displayed - this is why the first game after switching on a well-used machine generally gets ranked 21st. The 1st to 3rd highest scores ever are displayed on a separate screen labelled 'Hyper Medalist'.
* Oddity : If your time runs out on a weight lift and you have one red and two white lights displayed, the lift will be counted as successful. This is in accordance with actual competition weight lifting rules.
- TIPS AND TRICKS -
SWIMMING-100M FREESTYLE :
* After a few seconds of swimming, 'breath' will appear, press the UP button to take a breath and continue swimming. To swim better, try to predict when you will need to take a breath, this is approximately every 2-3 seconds.
* If the two middle swimmers achieve a dead-heat, a frog appears and a 3,000 points bonus is awarded.
SKEET SHOOTING :
* Use GO (LEFT and RIGHT) buttons to shoot either the left or right target respectively. Try to hit an many consecutive targets as possible : If the player hits everything perfect then a bird will fly past. Hit that and the player is awarded a 3,000 point bonus.
* Shoot the final object with the left hand side target and a parrot will fly from right to left. This can be hit repeatedly for 1,000 points.
LONG HORSE :
* Press UP when you are at the end of the spring board, you will then spring onto the horse. Wait until you are in a fully upright handstand then press UP again to leap off the horse. Once in the air, hit the GO buttons repeatedly to spin. Ensure that your feet are facing the ground as you land.
* After launching from the horse, tap a RUN button to rotate so you land on your head. An object falls from the sky and a 3,000 points bonus is awarded.
ARCHERY :
* First, hit GO (LEFT and RIGHT) buttons to set the wind. Then hold the UP button until the angle gets to about 5.0', release the button and hope it hits the middle of the board. A 'nice' is achieved if a bullseye is made. If you get 8 nices, in the first or second round, you will move onto the next round where you can earn more points. There is a point bonus for getting all 'nices'; in the first round it is 3,000 points, in the second round it is 4,000 points and in the third round it is 6,000 points. If you get all 'nices', the moving target will be replaced by an apple, which can be hit for an increasing number of bonus points. When the apples appear, there is no angle factor, you just have to hit the button to fire the arrow.
TRIPLE JUMP :
* Press GO (LEFT and RIGHT) buttons repeatedly to gain speed. Then hold UP to get an angle of 45'; when you land you will take one step forward, press UP only when you have taken a step, then try to get a 45' angle again. Repeat for the final jump. If you hold UP just as your foot hits the board, you will get a distance boost.
* If your jump starts right on the line and also has the angles of 35, 41, and then 45 degrees, a rocket flies past and a 3,000 point bonus is awarded. Note that this bonus is not seen if the jump sets a new world record.
WEIGHT LIFTING :
* Press GO (LEFT and RIGHT) buttons repeatedly to build up the weight-lifter's power. When he has enough power, he will lift up the weights and they will flash. Then whilst it is flashing, press UP. He will then stretch out his arms and you will have to keep pressing GO (LEFT and RIGHT) for him to keep it held above his head for 3 Beeps. When the 3 Beeps are over, you've qualified.
* Following a successful lift, pressing both run buttons the instant the dropped weights hit the floor causes 3 girls to be displayed, holding a '1000' sign. A 1,000 points bonus is awarded.
POLE VAULT :
* This is by far the trickiest event of the game. Press GO buttons to start the run. Then as you near the silver pole trap, hold UP and the pole will lower towards the trap (the closer it is, the more power you will get for the next part). Keep holding UP until you reach the top of the bar, then release. You will then let go of the pole and vault over. Hold UP just as you get half way over the bar and you will 'drift' to the right and hopefully over the bar itself. Once your character has let go of the pole, hitting the GO buttons can increase the height of the vault.
- SERIES -
1. Track & Field [Model GX361] (1983, ARC)
2. Hyper Sports [Model GX330] (1984, ARC)
3. '88 Games [Model GX861] (1988, ARC)
4. Hyper Athlete [Model GV021] (1996, ARC)
5. Nagano Winter Olympics '98 [Model GX720] (1998, ARC)
6. International Track & Field 2000 (2000, PS)
7. International Track & Field Summer Games (2000, N64)
8. New International Track & Field (2008, DS)
9. Hyper Sports Winter (2010 iPhone)
10. Hyper Sports Track & Field (2010 iPhone)
- PORTS -
* COMPUTERS:
BBC Micro [EU] (1984)
MSX [EU] (1984) "Hyper Sports 1 [Model RC715]"
MSX [EU] (1984) "Hyper Sports 2 [Model RC717]"
MSX [EU] (1985) "Hyper Sports 3 [Model RC733]"
[US] Commodore C64 [EU] (1985)
[EU] Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1985)
[EU] Amstrad CPC (1986)
- CONTRIBUTE -
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