Scramble
Promotional flyer for Scramble
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Stern (North America) Compu-Games A/S (Europe) Artic (Asia)
Platform(s)	Arcade, Commodore 64, Tomy Tutor, Vectrex, VIC-20, Xbox 360 (XBLA)
Release	JPN March, 1981 NA 1981 EU 1981
Genre(s)	Horizontal scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns

Scramble is a 1981 horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up, arcade game. It was developed by Konami, and manufactured and distributed by Stern in North America. It was the first side-scrolling shooter with forced scrolling and multiple distinct levels.^[1] It is also an early example of dual-core processing, using two Zilog Z80 microprocessors for the central processing unit in addition to two AY-3-8910 sound chips for the sound.^[2]

Gameplay

The player controls an aircraft, referred to in the game as a "Jet," and has to guide it across a scrolling terrain, battling obstacles along the way. The ship is armed with a forward-firing weapon, and bombs; each weapon has its own button. The player must avoid colliding with the terrain and other enemies, while simultaneously maintaining its limited fuel supply, which diminishes over time. More fuel can be acquired by destroying fuel tanks in the game.

The game is divided into six sections, each with a different style of terrain and different obstacles. There is no intermission between each section; the game simply scrolls into the new terrain. Points are awarded based upon the number of seconds of being alive, and on destroying enemies and fuel tanks. In the final section, the player must destroy a "base". Once this has been accomplished, a flag denoting a completed mission is posted at the bottom right of the screen. The game then continues by returning you to the first section once more, with a slight increase in difficulty.

Legacy

The direct sequel to Scramble was the helicopter arcade game Super Cobra. Unlike Scramble, Super Cobra was widely ported to video game systems and home computers of the time.

An updated version of Scramble is available in Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced by inputting the Konami Code in the game's title screen. This version allows three different ships to be chosen: the Renegade, the Shori, and the Gunslinger. The only difference between the ships besides their appearance are the shots they fire. The Renegade's shots are the same as in the original Scramble, the Shori has rapid-fire capabilities triggered by holding down the fire button, and the Gunslinger's shots can pierce through enemies, meaning they can be used for multiple hits with a single shot.

According to the Nintendo Game Boy Advance Gradius Galaxies intro and the Gradius Breakdown DVD included with Gradius V, Scramble is considered the first in the "Gradius" series.

However, the Gradius Portable guidebook issued a few years after by Konami, lists Scramble as part of their shooting history, and the Gradius games are now listed separately

Scramble was included on Konami Arcade Classics in 1999.

Scramble joined the Xbox Live Arcade library for the Xbox 360 on September 13, 2006, its release having been delayed from September 6, 2006 due to bugs.

Scramble made the list of Top 100 arcade games in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition

Scramble was made available on Microsoft's Game Room service for its Xbox 360 console and for Windows-based PCs on March 24, 2010.

Legal history

Scramble was the subject of an important court case in the field of Intellectual Property, specifically copyrights. In Stern Electronics, Inc. v. Kaufman, 669 F.2d 852, the Second Circuit held that Stern could copyright the images and sounds in the game, not just the source code that produced them.^[3]

Notes and references

See also

• Cosmic Avenger

External links

• Scramble at the Arcade History Database
• Scramble at the Killer List of Videogames