P A N I C PARK ARCADE GAME

Namco / 1997

Panic Park - 27" Version (pictured above)

This game uses an unusual control scheme: a horizontal slot across the cabinet with a pair of handles, red and blue, swinging across it. One or two players grab a handle (the other can be locked at the far end for single-player) and play a series of six mini-games, with the difficulty changing based on how successful the player is. Despite this simple control system, there's a variety of challenges, built around controlling a human character on skates, such as: running along a zigzag platform, hopping between platforms, and bouncing on a rickety bridge. Because the two handles swing along the same slot, the two-player mode involves physically bumping the other player's handle, affecting their character as well.

Panic Park DX - 50" version (pictured above)

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Original British flyer (pictured above)

American flyer (picured above)

Youtube video of the game play. I will try to make my own video in the near future.