Game: Windjammers
Manufacturer: Data East
System: Neo-Geo
Year: 1994
SUMMARY:
What do you get when you combine the sports tennis, volleyball, hockey, and Frisbee? You get Windjammers for Neo-Geo. This game came out during my teenage years and I found it tucked away in a strip mall in south Moorhead. It was actually my brother who found this gem and he started playing it before I did. Finding this arcade in my home town was surprisingly rare, so I consider myself lucky that I actually got to play this game while it was still around. Even years later, this game is still incredibly fun to play.
CONCEPT:
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| Scoring Zones on Each Side |
Windjammers is a 1v1 game with an overhead view of a tennis-like playing field with a net in the middle. There are goals at both ends which adds the hockey element, the layout of the court is similar to tennis, and you can't let the disc hit the ground, similar to volleyball. The object is to get the disc past your opponent and into the net.
There are varying points as well. The outside nets are worth 3 points and the center net is worth 5 points. Generally the center of the net is worth more points since it's harder to hit. The only other way to score is if the opponent drops the disc, which is worth 2 points. The game consists of 3 sets that last 30 seconds each. You win by either getting 12 points or having more points at the end of the 30 second set. Get best 2 out of 3 wins and you take the round.
VARIABLES:
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| Pick Between 6 Different Players |
Now, this may sound too simple to be fun, but there is a lot of variety in the game. At the start of each mach you must select one of 6 different players to compete with. These characters have 3 distinct stats. The first stat is speed which determines how fast they move around the court. This affects their dashing ability which drastically changes the distance they can retrieve the disc. The next stat is power. Power affects the strength of the throw which dictates how hard the disc will be to catch. Even a successfully caught disc can be thrown so hard that you'll get knocked back into your own goal ultimately giving your opponent points. The third stat is the power throw. Each character has a unique way of power throwing the disc which drastically changes the speed and trajectory of it. Some players set the disc on fire, while others throw it in such a wild pattern that it makes it extremely hard to catch.
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| Choose One of 6 Different Courts |
Now, there are also 6 different courts to choose from as well. The courts are beach, lawn, tiled, concrete, clay, and stadium. The beach and lawn court are very similar. The only real difference is that the beach court is covered in sand and the lawn court is covered in grass. Neither surface affects game play. Now, starting with the tiled court is when they start to differ. I said earlier that you get 5 points for the center of the net and 3 points for the outsides. The tile court reverses this scoring by placing 5 points on the outsides and 3 points for the center. Concrete and clay also mix it up a bit by adding bumpers. The concrete court adds bumpers close to each wall which change the course of the disc dramatically when hit. The harder the disc hits the bumpers the more drastic the outcome. The clay court places bumpers more towards the center making any disc thrown down the center of the court fly all over the place. Finally, the stadium court is a slightly larger playing field than the other courts. It does not have bumpers, but rather a varying 5 point spot on both sides. The more consecutive points you score against your opponent, the larger the 5 point spot becomes behind you giving the other player a better chance to score big and get caught up in points.
MINI GAMES:
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| Play Catch with Your Dog! |
Also, there are two mini games that you play throughout the single player campaign. On the first mini game you just throw your disc and control a dog to try and catch it. You get bonus points based on how far the dog ran before catching the disc. You also need to avoid obstacles by speeding up, slowing down and jumping. When I say obstacles, I mean women laying down sunbathing in bikinis, women in bikinis standing around doing nothing, and guys covered in sand. What did you expect, it's an oceanfront beach. You can run into these people with the dog which slows you down ultimately resulting in a lower score.
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| Frisbee Golf? Try Frisbee Bowling! |
The other mini game is bowling. It's nothing more than literally using your disc to bowl down pins. It's surprisingly hard because you're only given 40 seconds to bowl 10 full frames. The scoring is identical to real bowling, but don't expect to get a very good score. The game doesn't give you time to line up your shots to pick up spares. Another difference is that there are no gutters. Instead you get both walls to bounce your disc off of. Since you can't move your character, using the walls to bounce off of is the only way to hit the pins effectively.
CONCLUSION:
Windjammers is still really fun to play, and I strongly recommend trying this game out if you can get your hands on it. Unfortunately, the actual arcade is almost impossible to find. Luckily, you can purchase a Neo-Geo home console system and Windjammers online, but you'll need to have deep pockets. The Neo Geo console alone will set you back about $200, and Windjammers will cost almost $300. That's $500 just to play Windjammers. If that's not bad enough, if you can find an actual arcade to buy it will run $1,000 or more. Anyway, Windjammers is a blast to play, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to play it during my youth. If anyone gets a change to get their hands on this game, I hightly recommend playing it.
