RollerGames (NES)

For the arcade game of the same name, see RollerGames (arcade).

RollerGames is a side-scrolling action game developed by Konami and published by its subsidiaries Ultra Games in North America and Palcom Software in the PAL Region for the Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1990.

Plot[]

Is nothing sacred? RollerGames, the 21st Century's most popular thrill sport, is the latest victim of V.I.P.E.R. (Vicious International Punks and Eternal Renegades). With their greedy eyes on RollerGames' mega prize money, they've corrupted three teams and kidnapped Emerson "Skeeter" Bankhead, the games' beloved commissioner.

You and your own three teams of righteous skate kings must stop V.I.P.E.R.'s criminal venom from infecting the entire city. So you've got to take the fight to the streets. And the sewers, and the junkyards, and the highways and the jungles... through 6 stages of dastardly traps of doom as you leap over open manholes, careening oil drums and treacherous landslides. Race around oil slicks and man-eating canines. And avoid ambush by combat copters, bomb-wielding goons and creeps like Captain Meat Hook and the Fish Face. But time is against you. And so are V.I.P.E.R.'s judo masters, skateboard thugs, motorcycle madmen and other assorted sinister scum.

If your multi-faceted fists can't punch you through, you'll need your special assault body blocks, jump kicks and double-whammy slams.

It's a bone-crunching skate-athon for your life, Skeeter's life, and for the good of RollerGames. So vanquish V.I.P.E.R. before they melt your ball-bearings into bullets.^[1]

Gameplay[]

RollerGames is a side-scrolling platform game that employs the likenesses of people used in the television show, but has nothing to do with the sport itself. Instead, a mysterious anonymous alien enemy assists the three teams of the Eastern Empire (Violators, Maniacs, Bad Attitude) and their managers (Skull, John "Guru" Drew, Ms. Georgia Hase) in a plot to sabotage the sport and hold Bill Griffiths hostage. The game begins with announcers Chuck Underwood and David Sams commenting about the commissioner (Griffiths) being taken hostage by the three rough teams, and he can only be rescued by the Western Alliance (T-Birds, Hot Flash, Rockers).

The game then has Shelley Jamison asking the player which of the three teams they would wish to join; the player can choose a different team for each stage. Once the choice is made, the stage begins.

The skaters the player can play as are as follows:

T-Birds: Robert Smith (the "Icebox")
Hot Flash: Vicki McEuen (the "Sly Fox")
Rockers: Mike Flannigan (the "California Kid")

Each odd-numbered stage has a course the player must navigate around within a specified time limit, all the while fighting off enemies (the skaters and goons of the Eastern Empire teams), culminating in a boss fight with either Ms. Georgia Hase, Guru Drew, or Skull. The player must defeat the boss before time expires. Falling down into a pit, losing all of the player's energy, or running out of time costs a life, and the game is over if all lives are lost.

The first two even numbered stages are transitional stages where the skater has to avoid all sorts of obstacles ranging from barrels to flamethrowers, and helicopters may also drop bombs to attempt to slow down or kill the skater. There is no time limit for these stages.

The sixth and final stage has a time limit which leads to a boss fight with the nameless villain. Succeeding at this stage wins the game, and the player is rewarded with images of the skaters with Bill Griffiths, and a congratulatory message from Wally George (who served as halftime commentator on the show).

Gallery[]

Promotional artwork[]

Miscellaneous[]

References[]

↑ Background description from the back cover of the NES box.
↑ Restored by Jefferson Taylor. @JTaylorPro at Twitter (January 15, 2023).

External links[]

[1] Background description from the back cover of the NES box.

[2] Restored by Jefferson Taylor. @JTaylorPro at Twitter (January 15, 2023).

[1]

[2]