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Moon Patrol
U.S. arcade flyer of Moon Patrol.
Developer(s)	Irem
Publisher(s)	Irem, Williams Electronics
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release date(s)	1982
Genre(s)	Run and gun/Vehicular combat game
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Input methods	Joystick (2-way); 2 buttons
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Irem M-52 hardware Main CPU: Z80 (@ 3.072 MHz) Sound CPU: M6803 (@ 894.886 kHz) Sound Chips: (2x) AY8910 (@ 894.886 kHz), (2x) MSM5205 (@ 384 kHz)

Moon Patrol (ムーンパトロール ^?) is a classic arcade game by Irem that was first released in 1982. It was licensed to Williams for U.S. distribution.

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 buggy is also attacked by UFOs from above and tanks on the ground. Moon Patrol was one of the earliest linear side-scrolling shoot'em ups and the first arcade game to feature parallax scrolling.^[1]

Story

The player takes the role of a Luna City police officer assigned to Sector Nine, the home of the "toughest thugs in the galaxy."

Gameplay

The top portion of the screen shows a timeline-style map of the current course, and three indicator lights. The top light indicates upcoming enemy aerial attacks, the middle one indicates an upcoming minefield, and the bottom one indicates enemies approaching from behind.

The map shows five different checkpoints labeled E, J, O, T and Z. Similar to racing games, the time spent during between each checkpoint is compared to the average which determines the amount of bonus points allocated to the player. The game contains two courses, the regular and champion course; after completing the first course your buggy's color changes from pink to red and the game continues on.

Ports

There have been many ports of Moon Patrol to home computers and console game systems, including:

• Apple II
• Atari 800
• Atari 2600
• Atari 5200
• Atari ST*
• ColecoVision (in prototype form; never released to the public)
• Commodore 64
• Commodore VIC-20
• Mobile (Moon Patrol EX)
• MSX
• Game Boy Color (Arcade Hits: Moon Patrol & Spy Hunter)
• PC booter
• Dreamcast (included in Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Volume 2)
• PlayStation (included in Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits - The Midway Collection 2)
• Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
• TRS-80 Color Computer
• ZX Spectrum (completed but never released)

Clones

• A bootleg version called Moon Ranger was released in the arcades the same year.^[2]

References

External links

• Moon Patrol at the Killer List of Videogames
• Moon Patrol guide at StrategyWiki
• Moon Patrol at MobyGames
• Video from the C64 Version on archive.org

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Moon Patrol
Developer(s)	Irem
Publisher(s)	Irem (Japan), Williams (USA)
Release date(s)	1982
Genre(s)	Action
System(s)	Arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Apple II, ColecoVision, Commodore 64/128, Commodore VIC-20, MSX, MS-DOS, TI-99/4A, Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Players	1-2

Wikipedia has an article about:

Moon Patrol

Moon Patrol is a unique side scrolling shooter game in which you piloted a moon buggy that had to cross the rocky and pitted terrain of the moon while avoiding attacks from over head alien crafts. The moon buggy can fire both forward and up simultaneously and it can jump. It can be directed to drive faster or slower.

Moon Patrol's stages were labeled A through Z, and broken up into five sections, through which you were timed. As you proceeded across the surface of the moon, several layers of the background scroll by independently, making Moon Patrol the first game that featured parallax scrolling. And while you play, a catchy bass line is heard in the background.

Moon Patrol was developed in Japan by Irem, but it took off in America thanks to the distribution of Williams. Atari saw the game as a hot title to bring home and bought the rights to release it for home systems. They released it on several of their own platforms, and developed the title for other platforms through the Atarisoft label. It has since been included on several classic Midway collections.

Story

Title screen

Take the role of a Luna City police officer assigned to Sector Nine, the home of the "toughest thugs in the galaxy."

Table of Contents

• How to play
• Walkthrough
• Home Version Comparison

Gameplay summary

• You control the Moon Buggy. You can direct it to go faster, or slower, or travel at normal speed.
• You can fire forward and upward at the same time, or you can jump.
• You must avoid getting shot, hitting a rock, or falling into a pit, or you will lose a life.
• You can fire at alien space craft overhead, or at rocks and boulder that approach from the front.
• When you clear five letter sections (six at the end), your time is compared to the par and bonus points may be given.
• After reaching letter Z of the practice course, the game starts over on the challenge course.

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

Moon Patrol
Developer(s)	Irem
Publisher(s)	Williams Electronics Arcade Atari Atari 2600 Midway Gameboy Color
Release date	Arcade: 1982 (NA) Atari 2600: 1983 (NA)
Genre	Run and Gun
Mode(s)	Single player
Age rating(s)	N/A Arcade Atari 2600
Platform(s)	Arcade Atari 2600 Atari 5200 Apple II Atari 8 Bit Atari ST Commodore 64 Game Boy Color (As part of Arcade Hits: Moon Patrol & Spy Hunter)
Input	Atari 2600 Joystick Atari 5200 Controller
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

Moon Patrol is an arcade game released in 1982. It has been ported to the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200, and home computers.

Gameplay

You control a moon buggy that's armed with forward and upward lasers. You must safely guide the buggy to certain checkpoints in the course while shooting rocks in your path and jumping over craters. Meanwhile, you must watch out for alien ships that will drop bombs on you, some of which will create new craters. Make it the checkpoint within a certain time limit and you'll gain bonus points.

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