Paddle Fighter

n/a

Paddle Fighter

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Sega R&D 9

Supporting companies: T's Music (audio)

Genre: Sports

Number of players: 1-2

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP ▼ (Game Toshokan)	1991-03^[1]	SUBsub

Paddle Fighter (パドルファイター) is a sports game for the Sega Mega Drive, released exclusively in Japan via the Sega Game Toshokan service.

Gameplay

Paddle Fighter is an air hockey game. Matches take place on a vertically oriented table with no scrolling. Each player controls a round paddle and uses it to knock a red puck into the opposing player's goal as well as to defend their own goals. The first player defends the bottom goal, and the second (or computer) player defends the top goal. The match is won by whichever player is first to achieve seven goals. At one, two, and three minutes of game time, both goals grow slightly larger, making them harder to defend. In the single-player game, the player plays as the character Binbowie and faces seven progressively more difficult opponents. In two-player games, players can choose from eight different characters and compete in sets of 1, 3, or 5 matches.

The paddle is moved in any direction using the D-Pad and can only be moved inside the player's half of the table. Holding while moving the D-Pad moves the paddle faster. The puck ricochets away at a velocity dependent on the speed and angle of the paddle when hitting it. At the start of a match, the puck is placed in the center of the table. After a player scores, it is placed closer to the other player's goal to allow that player to serve; the puck starts to drift toward the other player's side of the table if the player does not serve it after a couple of seconds.

Each player has three Force points per match that can be used for special abilities. Every character can activate a force field by pressing , which costs one Force point and blocks that player's goal for ten seconds. Each character also has a unique special ability that is activated by pressing , which also costs one Force point. In the single-player game, each character offers to teach Binbowie their special ability after defeating them, which replaces his own.

Characters

The game has a science fiction theme and an unusual cast of characters including a horseman, an insectoid, and a cyborg. In two-player games, players must choose different characters.

	Binbowie
	This is the player's character in the single-player game. His special ability is magnetizing his paddle, which causes the paddle to become immobile while it pulls the puck toward it. Once the puck is attached to the paddle, the player can move around with it for a couple of seconds before it is shot out ahead.
	U=Mazler
	His special ability is causing four mirror images of the puck to shoot out from it in a fan pattern to confuse opponents. These mirror images cannot be hit and do not ricochet off surfaces, simply spreading out and disappearing once they leave the table.
	O=Imoko
	Her special ability is causing a hologram of herself to appear on her opponent's side of the table and move around in a circular pattern, obscuring part of the table and distracting the other player. This happens four times on each use of the ability.
	Manian10
	His special ability is causing the puck to flash three times, changing its speed after each flash. It either moves faster or slower than normal after the first two flashes, then returns to normal speed after the third flash.
	Ponk=O=2
	His special ability is causing the puck to flash two times, changing its trajectory each time.
	Otomisan
	Her special ability is causing the puck to become invisible for a short time. It flashes twice while invisible to reveal its position before eventually becoming visible again.
	G=Mamius
	His special ability is electrifying the puck for a couple of seconds. While electrified, it stuns any paddle that touches it (including his own), rendering that paddle unable to move for a couple of seconds.
	P=Master
	The "Emperor of Hockey." His special ability causes the screen to shake, turns the puck invisible (similar to Otomisan's ability), and changes its speed when it flashes and briefly becomes visible (similar to Manian10's ability). The puck splits into mirror images after becoming visible again (similar to U=Mazler's ability).

Stages

In the single-player mode, each opponent has his or her own stage when fought. Several of the stages are not perfectly rectangular, giving the puck angled surfaces to bounce off.

In the two-player mode, stage 1 is used for the first match of the set, stage 3 for the second, stage 5 for the third, stage 6 for the fourth, and stage 7 for the fifth.