Note: This post is aimed primarily at fans of obscure, retro Sonic the Hedgehog stuff. If you aren't interested in gaming or Sonic, then definitely skip this one: it'll be of no interest to you whatsoever.
Despite the popularity of my Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car videos, I was never quite happy with the play-through I did. Partially this is because I looked awfully silly playing it by myself, and also because I talked over most of the game-play. My solution was to go back and record it again, this time with my good friend Rainer Wessels in tow to hold the camera while I focussed on just playing the game.
You can watch the second play-through here:
For the sake of archiving for the Sonic community, I also took a number of photographs of the machine itself and the game in action, and have decided to include a small gameplay breakdown for those interested in how the game actually plays.
Note that the gameplay pics were a little tricky to capture, and are at fairly strange angles. This is because of the movement of the cabinet, and the difficulty of trying to play the game and capture shots at the same time. Apologies for the wobbly-ness!
Note that the gameplay pics were a little tricky to capture, and are at fairly strange angles. This is because of the movement of the cabinet, and the difficulty of trying to play the game and capture shots at the same time. Apologies for the wobbly-ness!
The Cabinet
The cabinet found was in fairly good condition, although dirt had obviously accumulated and a few scratches were evident. The paintwork and labels were still vibrant, although one of the light-bulbs had gone out. I'm pretty sure most of the cabinets still around today would have the same level of wear and tear.
The Controls
Steering Wheel: Pretty standard stuff. It's very light, though, and feels very loose in relation to the movement on screen.
Indicator: Quite a nice little feature. By moving the indicator up and down, you can indicate which lane of traffic you're planning to move in to, which will show up with the flashing lights in game. Just like a real car! It seems the other cars in the game do respond to this, and will move accordingly.
Accelerator: Press to accelerate the car with your foot. However, the car moves constantly anyway, so this is pretty unnecessary. No brake included (or a clutch - presumably Sonic likes to drive automatic).
"Spin Jump": Basically Sonic's spin attack! I was pretty surprised to see this included in the game. Sonic will jump out of the car and do his trademark move, although it's totally useless until Eggman shows up towards the end of the game. Using the spin attack is the only way to attack Eggman. It works in a similar way to the homing attack in later Sonic games: if close enough, Sonic will automatically move towards and hit Eggman without needing to be directed with the steering wheel.
"Turbo": Unleashes a turbo boost for the car, complete with fire / smoke coming from the exhaust. However, there's no reason to use it other than for fun, as it has no practical application within the game.
"Siren Switch": Pressing this button causes the police car to flash it's siren, which occurs both in game and on the lights of the cabinet unit. Again, there doesn't seem to be any practical in-game use, but maybe I just haven't discovered it.
Title Screen
Fading in from black, Sonic drives his car in from the right of the screen and jumps to the centre. After addressing the player, he jumps back into the car and spins around a sign which rises in the middle, asking for 100 yen to play.
After a cycle, Sonic drives his car off to the right of the screen, which fades to black again.
Gameplay
Sonic begins the game by jumping out of the doorway of police headquarters.
Sonic jumps into his police car, and away we go. This sequence can't be skipped.
Sonic moves out into the traffic. The aim is simply to move among the cars and avoid crashing into them.
If you hit the side of the screen, Sonic will spin out of control (with a forward momentum), and the player will lose control of the car temporarily.
Sonic automatically slows down at a crossing, while animals from the first Sonic game walk across the road. Again, this can't be skipped (and you can't chase after the animals GTA-style).
When the lights go green, the player can move again.
After another small journey forward, Eggman shows up for a boss fight. He knocks all the other cars off the road, before trash-talking Sonic.
Eggman throws bombs at Sonic which must be avoided. If they hit, the car will spin out of control.
The fight can be won fairly easily, just by hitting him with the spin attack / homing attack at least once. The car must be relatively near Eggman to hit him, at which point Sonic will automatically move towards Eggman for a direct hit. If Sonic is positioned too far away, he will simply do a spin attack directly forward and miss.
After a set period of time, the fight ends. If Sonic has managed to hit Eggman, then Eggman's car will explode and he'll run away on foot. However, if no hits have landed, then Eggman's car will simply drive away intact.
Sonic turns left into what appears to be the same police station he started from (although how the geography on that works out is anyone's guess). He drives his car in and stops at the entrance, giving a thumbs up to the player. As the music fades, he clearly says "Thank you!" to the player.
Ranking Screen
Following the game, players are given a ranking on their performance in a star system. I've only ever managed to achieve three stars, but there appears to be room for five. I'm not sure what additional qualifications would be required to get more than three, as I've been able to play the game without any traffic collisions or notable mistakes.
Following this, it's back to the title screen.
Verdict
Well, it's meant for kids. And very young ones, at that. I'm in no way the target demographic for this (and I certainly felt pretty self-conscious giving it a go).
It's a very easy game, and - given that it's rigged so that it's impossible to lose - there isn't much challenge involved, other than trying to avoid the other cars on the road. It definitely would do it's intended job for young children well enough, as I'm sure they'd love this style of simple gameplay.
Despite the strange brand fusion (Sonic the Hedgehog and... highway patrol?), it's surprising how well the Sonic franchise is utilised. In addition to using Sonic and Eggman (as well as cameoing the cast of animals seen in the first game), the use of iconic music from the original Mega Drive/Genesis game sets off all kinds of happy childhood memories. It raises a smile for nostalgia's sake, and for that, I can't help but be fond of it.
Farewell
The cabinet was situated in this second hand book store at Aeon Takamatsu, Kozai, in Takamatsu City, Kagawa prefecture, Japan.
Sadly, at time of writing, this store has now been converted into a furniture and home-ware store, and the Waku Waku machine inside is no where to be found. Whatever happened to it is unknown. Unless it was sold, its either sitting in a warehouse somewhere, or perhaps in a scrap heap. Who knows.
Still, it was fun to be able to have stumbled upon this little bit of hidden and obscure Sonic the Hedgehog history. If anyone finds any more of these machines I'd be curious to hear about them, as they appear to have been all-but forgotten about by SEGA. Maybe one day they'll show up on a Sonic anthology collection, but that's probably unlikely. It's by no means a challenging game (or even that enjoyable, really), but it's one of the earliest attempts of expanding Sonic as a franchise back in the early 90s, and I think its notable for that reason.
Who knows how many more of these cabinets are still scattered around Japan? Certainly not me, but if you do happen to find one, give it a go for 100 yen. It's a fun little step back in time to the early 90s, right at the beginning of the popularity of one of gaming's most revered and iconic characters.
