Front Line (video game)

Front Line
American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)Taito
Designer(s)Tetsuya Sasaki
Platform(s)Arcade, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, FM-7, MSX, NES/Famicom, PC-6001, PC-8801, PC-9801, Sharp X1
ReleaseArcade
ColecoVision
PC-8801
Sharp X1
Atari 2600
MSX
FM-7
Famicom
Genre(s)Run and gun
Mode(s)1-2 players alternating turns
Arcade systemTaito SJ System[2]

Front Line[a] is a military-themed run and gun video game released by Taito for arcades in November 1982.[4] It was one of the first overhead run and gun games, a precursor to many similarly-themed games of the mid-to-late 1980s. Front Line is controlled with a joystick, a single button, and a rotary dial that can be pushed in like a button. The single button is used to throw grenades and to enter and exit tanks, while the rotary dial aims and fires the player's gun.

The game was created by Tetsuya Sasaki. It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the seventh highest-grossing arcade game of 1982. However, it received a mixed critical and commercial reception in Western markets, with praise for its originality but criticism for its difficulty. The game's overhead run and gun formula preceded Capcom's Commando (1985) by several years. The SNK shooters TNK III (1985) and Ikari Warriors (1986) follow conventions established by Front Line, including the vertically scrolling levels, entering/exiting tanks, and not dying when an occupied tank is destroyed.

  1. ^ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 136. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Front Line arcade video game pcb by Taito (1982)". www.arcade-history.com.
  3. ^ "Front Line (Registration Number PA0000161353)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Front Line Advert (Japanese, top-left)". Game Machine Magazine 15th Nov. '82. Amusement Press Inc., Osaka, Japan. 15 November 1982. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference CV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference A2600 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "フロントライン [MSX] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com.
  8. ^ "フロントライン [ファミコン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com.


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