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Blast Off
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Designer(s)	Nak, Tak
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release date(s)	1989
Genre(s)	Vertical scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Input methods	8-way Joystick, 2 buttons
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Namco System 1
Display	Vertical orientation, 224 x 288 resolution

Blast Off (ブラストオフ) is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan. It is the sequel to Bosconian, which was released 8 years earlier.

Description

In Blast Off, the player controls a ship, facing the top of the screen, that can move freely while the background scrolls down, bringing enemies in to view. The player may destroy enemies for points.

There are two buttons used. One is used to fire circular lasers, while the second button is used to change the ship's firing pattern. The patterns are:

• Red: two lasers in a spiral pattern
• Blue: one laser straight ahead, one behind
• Yellow: one laser straight ahead, one left, and one right
• Green: two lasers diagonally forward (one to the left and one to the right), and one straight behind.

By holding down the button, the ship will fire more powerful, spherical lasers.

Even though the game is the sequel to Bosconian (which used a synthesized voice saying "Blast off!" at the beginning of every round), Blast Off had more in common gameplay-wise with Namco's own Dragon Spirit than with Bosconian. This is especially noticeable in the 3rd area of every world, where the player's ship becomes enormous. Despite the gameplay differences, the connection with Bosconian was emphasized in the marketing of the game, with the hexagonal space stations from Bosconian appearing in the title of the game cabinet and in Namco's press literature, and also making appearances in the game itself. The game is also worth noting for its use of Engrish phrases, such as "To push start only 1 player button", "Go next", "Congraturations" and "Entry your name".

The game ran on Namco System 1 hardware.

External links

• Blast Off at the Killer List of Videogames

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Blast Off
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Release date(s)	1989
Genre(s)	Vertical scrolling shooter
System(s)	Arcade
Players	1-2
Preceded by	Bosconian

Blast Off (ブラストオフ, Blast Off ^?) is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan. It runs on Namco System 1 hardware and is the sequel to Bosconian, which was released 8 years earlier.

As in the previous game, the player controls the Star Fighter. But this time, it is now always facing the top of the screen and moving forward, while the background scrolls down, bringing enemies into view. The player may destroy them for points.

The game has 2 buttons. One is used to fire shots at the enemies, while the other is used to change the Star Fighter's firing pattern. The patterns are as follows:

• Red: two shots in a spiral pattern.
• Blue: one shot straight ahead and one behind.
• Yellow: one shot straight ahead, one left, and one right
• Green: two shots diagonally forward (one to the left and one to the right), and one straight behind.

By pressing and holding down the button, the Star Fighter will fire more powerful shots.

Even though the game is a sequel to Bosconian, Blast Off had more in common with Namco's own Dragon Spirit than with its predecessor. This is especially noticeable in the third area of every world, where the Star Fighter increases in size. Despite the gameplay differences, the connection with Bosconian was emphasized by Namco in the marketing of the game, with the hexagonal space stations from Bosconian appearing on the title screen and on the game's flyer, and also making appearances in the game itself.

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