Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Arcade Game
Produced by: Atari,
Centuri,
Cinematronics, and
SNK
Model Number:CX2669 (2600) and CX5216 (5200)
Rarity: 2 Common
Year of Release: 1980 (arcade),
1982 (2600), and
1983 (5200)
Programmer: Unknown
Strap yourself in Space Cowboys, this is the Vanguard expedition, and we are off to find the lost city.
Vanguard is a classic arcade game (also ported to Atari 2600 and Atari 5200). There are some minor differences between versions. But they are close enough that I can treat them as identical for purposes of this node (the only major differences are in the controls).
This is a scrolling space shooter (some levels are horizontal, some are vertical). Shoot down enemies with your laser (the arcade version has 4-Way directional fire). Keep a close eye on your ever decreasing fuel gauge (you are toast if it runs out), luckily each enemy that you destroy will add to your remaining fuel. Find the energy pods to be temporarily invulnerable (this last for several seconds, but the timer resets itself everytime you bash into an enemy, making it possible to stay invincible for quite a while), the energy pods will also increase your fuel level.
At the end of each level you must defeat a boss that is guarded by two moving force fields with holes in them (if I was an evil enemy, I would not have holes in my force field, but hey, thats just me). The computer will then announce the name of the next zone using some nifty early 80's synthesized speech (arcade version only). The different levels include Mountain Zone, Rainbow Zone, Styx Zone, Rainbow Zone 2, Stripe Zone, Rainbow Zone 3, Bleak Zone, and the City of Mystery.
This game is emulated in MAME. The Atari formats have also been emulated (but the original is best).
Scoring Information (from the Atari 5200 manual)
- Mist Ship -- 70 Points
- Harley Rocket -- 50 Points
- Helm Balloon -- 80 Points
- Ammo Balloon -- 100 Points
- Base -- 100 - 400 Points
- Garime Monster -- 100 - 400 Points
- Barrier -- 800 points
- Floating Payne -- Invincible
- Kemius Snake -- 100 - 400 Points
- Romeda Ship -- 100 Points
From the instruction manual (Atari 2600 version)
"Whoowhee! If the folks back home could see me now! When I joined the
Vanguard expedition I never thought I'd be flying through the tunnels of
Aterria looking for a mythical City of Mystery."
"It might not be a myth."
"Captain, do you mean to tell me you really believe there is such a city,
paved with silver and ruled by a giant called Gond?"
"Why not? It's right here in the flight log book we found in the Aterria
excavations. That's pretty convincing."
"But that book's dated 1983. People believed in all sorts of weird
things back then...flying reindeer, egg-laying rabbits..."
"When you've been on as many expeditions as I have, you'll believe
anything can exist. This whole planet is pretty unreal. Take these
tunnel walls, for instance...every color of the rainbow! I'd swear I was
in heaven if it weren't for the rocks...
"Hey! Watch out! You almost speared us on that stalagmite. I know our
spaceship has five lives, but we still have a long way to go and we're
going to need all the lives we've got. If this log book is telling the
truth, these tunnels are full of dangerous flying objects: hovering
Mist ships, Harley rockets, Helm balloons."
"Yeah. Garimes waiting to tear us with their tentacles and that other
cozy customer, the flying Kemlus snake."
"Seriously, what do you think the log book means by 'Watch out for the
rain of Romedas in the Bleak Zone'?"
"I think the pilot that kept that log book was out of his mind, that's
what I think. Probably bitten in the head by a Kemlus snake."
"Well, if there is anything in this tunnel, we should be sighting it
pretty soon. According to our tunnel map, we're entering the Mountain
Zone. How's the fuel supply holding out?"
"Getting low. We'd better infuse energy pretty quick or we'll crash."
"I certainly hope the log is right about energy pods growing in the
Mountain Zone. Pod energy is supposed to make us indestructible for 10
seconds. Why, if that's true, we won't need to fire out lasers."
"Oh sure, Just run headlong into an enemy ship and POW! down it goes.
Listen, I don't believe in pod power any more than I believe in Mist
ships. If there is anything like that on Aterria, I'll eat it."
"Well, I hope you have the stomach for it. Look what's coming!"
"Great Gonds! Mists as thick as hornets and twice as mad."
"And they're all yours. Fire at will...and while you're at it, keep an
eye out for energy pods."
"Roger! City of Mystery, here we come!"
Collectors Information
This game was originally designed by SNK but Centuri quickly licensed it. It is not known if any SNK branded cabinets were ever produced. Some of the earlier Centuri cabinets will show SNK as the producer on the title screen (later versions show Centuri). Cinematronics also licensed this game, producing a cocktail version. A Vanguard machine in a dedicated cabinet will have sideart of a spaceship being attacked by giant laser shooting snakes (gotta love that 80's sideart). This game spawned a sequel, in a total show of originality it was named Vanguard II.
The arcade version of this game is powered by a Z80 CPU and a sound board with a SN76477 chip (which allows for all that nifty speech, and the Star Trek inspired theme music).
The Atari 2600 version of this title is worth about $2 USD. While the Atari 5200 version is worth about $5 USD. I am sure all of you little Atari fans out there already know that "games with boxes and manuals are worth more".