1983 Eastern Micro Electronics
Platform: Arcade
Our next title Dinosaurs is entered into the archives, but was seemingly released in very limited numbers, and therefore is still at large. Currently you cannot play the game in the likes of MAME, and its a shame – as the game looks like it could be a lot of fun.
It feels almost like a clone of Dig Dug or Mr. Do when you look at the grainy screenshots, though according to one article in Video Games magazine, it is a bit more original than that.
However, Eastern Micro Electronics were offering Mr Do kits and were licenced by Universal to aid in marketing Mr Do! on the East Coast. When you compare the grid size of both Mr Do! and Dinosaurs, they are almost the same (Dinosaurs is about 1 row smaller). Could Dinosaurs have been using the same chipset?
As for the game itself – You must unearth bones of ancient dinosaurs, whilst avoiding different monsters and obscacles. Each level is divided into 100 squares that must be cleared away to see what is underneath. For each square dug up, you get 50 points, but when you join to another or a larger area, there are larger points to be gained.
With the enemies, you can either avoid, or shoot them with arrows. However, you cannot cross over the holes you have made, and fires lurk around the board to try and wipe you out. Instead, you must use a flying carpet for a limited amount of time to travel over gaps. As you do this, you can drop stones in the holes to uncover more dinosaur parts.
Overall, there are three different dinosaurs to unearth, each divided into four parts in total. After completing all three digs, you return to the start, with a higher level of difficulty.
There is only known to be one instance of the machine, with just a set of circuit boards and two marquees. The collector in question is looking for someone with a PCB, so it is assumed they are looking to get the game up and running. Hopefully something in the future will surface, so that this game can be saved.
If you know anything more about the game or can help find it – then please do get in touch.
With thanks to Karl Kuras for highlighting, Arcade Museum for the marque photo and Archive.org for the scans.
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