The History of Crossbow arcade documentary

[@Plazman]

I knew Ken Nicholson, the sound designer, around the time this game came out. He gave me a tour of the Exidy offices. That was so cool.Good to see him get his due. I gotta go get the iOS version now. Thanks for the vid!

[@Djclyve]

This game is largely forgotten. But I remember it was real popular when it came out. It was in every arcade.

[@romperwomb]

I remember an older kid on the school bus describing the final boss fight in hushed tones. It sounded so awesome! I could only ever get past the second level as a kid in the arcades.

[@Jacky_man542]

Absolutely loved this game in the arcades,nice trip down memory lane thanks.👍

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@kenwheeler3637]

I remember being so blown away by the sounds and crisp and colorful graphics of this game. I was massively into playing D&D at the time too so that made Crossbow even more awesome.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Everything about this game was fantastic like you said, I really like the voices because they were crystal clear

[@Exocartonic]

I used to play Croosbow at the penny arcade on main Street in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I could get thru the entire game without losing any friends. We would go there all the time. My dad used to work there and still does at 83. Great Game, could have only existed in the 80's.

[@jasontodd8071]

Played this classic at Shakey's on York Rd in Towson in Maryland as a kid! Still my favorite game!!!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Yeah it was always a lot of fun

[@retroroy8720]

If I was going to bring back Exidy, I'd do some remakes of their old games and do some new games in a similar style. Here's what I'd do. An asterisk indicates a new game concept as opposed to a remake. *Crossbow* (Medieval Fantasy) *Cheyenne* (Wild West) *Catch-22* (World War II) *Chiller* (Gothic Horror) *Caesar* (Ancient Rome) * *Caribbean* (Pirates, Colonial America) * *Caporegime* (Mafia, 1950's) *

[@smakx7049]

Great overview of another classic retro game, this one was pretty common back in the day - thanks for another awesome history doc.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you very much. This was one of those games that the sound would play continuously even in demo mode. As soon as you walk into an arcade game with us cabinet you could hear It whether anyone was playing or not

[@Rando1975]

I always loved the "aargh" when you shoot the eye in the sky.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, I love the voices in his game

[@thelegendinhisownmind7038]

I used to have this cabinet in my local arcade back between the late 80's to mid 90's. I had no idea it was rare. I found the game so very intriguing, I always had to put at least a few quarters in it whenever I went there.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I always loved this game, especially the sound and voices

[@midnightkitty8172]

I've seen and played this game in numerous locations around my city. I hardly ever saw Chiller, Cayenne, or Combat. Thanks for the excellent review, QC~! Also I want to say that this game was around when games were still fun, instead of the 'gambling' games you see in modern 'Arcade's that spit out tickets you can redeem for so - called 'prizes' no one wants.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Amen to that. This was the only light gun game from the company I ever saw. I never saw chiller or combat. Back when arcades were truly arcades :-)

[@azolivas]

The zone where they walk through the town always gave me the creeps as a kid! I’m 44 now and still remember the fascination I had with the haunted village!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, I really enjoy the game as a kid

[@Nativesurvival]

My favorite arcade game; I own over a dozen but havnt gotten a Crossbow yet, pricey little buggers but once I save up enough I end up buying a pin instead haha, its strange. Someday.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

A dozen? Holy moly :-)

[@Nativesurvival]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries There are many like it, but its mine haha. All original dedicated cabs of course.

[@derekwesley4335]

I have an original 1983 Exidy Crossbow in my home game room. Absolutely love it.

[@Buck3366]

This brings back memories.We never had this in our local arcade but I played it at a seaside resort in the UK when I was a kid. The village level was the one that I recall playing. The fact it had that unique crossbow controller was enough to make it cool yet it was fun too! It was next to another with a periscope (Seawolf?) and Blue Shark with a harpoon gun.Another great video by the Patman.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you for the kind words. I can recall the first time I saw this arcade game and was very impressed with this innovative gameplay and also the crossbow. I can recall blue shark but I've never seen the other game You mentioned

[@Buck3366]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6HWpH2goLNlmLs That’s the Sea Wolf game from the 70s by Midway .It was kinda like Blue Shark with torpedos instead of harpoons. Arguably these quirky controller arcade cabinets gave people that sense of immersion in a game over a standard joystick/ button set up and they really stood out over a regular cabinet.Looking forward to your next documentary .

[@gregbenn5664]

Greetings from the UK Patman. Recognise the castle at 1.33 as boduim. Go there all the time.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That's very cool. Greetings back from the USA :-)

[@TheBlindDM]

Brings me back to my childhood thank you

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Absolutely, thank you for watching

[@CiscoWes]

Brings back memories, I used to play the crap out of this game when I was in my teens. I remember one time I started playing and the aim was way off. I don’t know if someone futzed with it but I told the arcade guy and he let me sight it in by getting into the game diagnostics. After that, the aim was fine again.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Now that is cool :-)

[@charlesajones77]

The crossbow is mounted to the cabinet and works much like an analog joystick. As such, it can get knocked out of position and has to be regularly re-calibrated.

[@earthsucks9555]

That’s cool You have a good memory

[@joeboo8626]

Subscribed. Ironically enough, I started playing arcade games in bowling alleys. My memories of this game were at the local Chuck E. Cheese. I miss this game and it's control. Looking forward to going through your videos.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you,That's where I started playing it as well since I literally grew up in a bowling alley. Hope you enjoy the content

[@slayskool777]

This and Chiller were two of my favorite games as a kid.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Never did see chiller in person

[@retropalooza]

​@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentariescome on over pat gotta a working unit in my living room....not my basement lol

[@majikman7355]

Awesome man!!! To think i was 7 and my brother 9 in the arcade with this. Back when 5 bucks in quarters were gold

[@cbmeeks]

Wow that was a lot of seizure-inducing flashing lights!

[@Gildedtongue]

Yeah, I'm not epileptic, but this was much even for me.

[@kevinroa2919]

Always a lot of fun watching your reviews.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate the comment

[@kdj29]

i played this at Camelot, Anaheim, CA., back when it came out. I never made it past the haunted castle.

[@Flyingbadgers2001]

I remember that place! I went there all the time or at least on Fridays and Saturdays. “YOU WILL DIE!” It would say when you dropped a quarter into it. I still say it to my friends. 😂

[@TheShinobidog]

this really took me back, thanks

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Absolutely, thanks for watching

[@Lastjustice]

I never heard of this game or saw it in the wild when I was younger. It's interesting how diverse of concepts they tried back in the 80s for arcade games. I find this concept could definitely be revised into a modern game, as would be cool see it reimagined but keep the core gameplay as the shooter who guards their party. Have a mix of third person action then go into shooter mode once you reached your perch to shoot. That's what springs to mind if I was going do a 2019 Crossbow game heh.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Well when you think about the late 70s and early 80s it was sort of the wild West of gaming. Everything was fresh and a lot of concepts had never been used before. I think an updated crossbow game is a great idea :-)

[@aflhabalafhabab]

Exidy also made more arcade shooters after Crossbow, most of them beginning with C. Titles include, Cheyenne, Crackshot, Chiller and a few others. P.S: Exidy didn't close down in 1986 after they made Chiller. I know this because they made Hit 'n Miss in 1987. If you ask me, that game feels like it was made by Exidy as an apology for Chiller.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I knew they made a lot of shooters didn't realize they a lot of shooters but didn't realize they started with C. I will probably be covering chiller at some point. Thanks for the info

[@Selatomyr]

Exidy also released COMBAT, CLAY PIGEON & CATCH-22 in their extensive light gun series beginning with “C”. Exidy made other light Gun titles beyond that but must have been unable to maintain clever “C” titles: HIT ‘N’ MISS, WHO DUNIT, etc I personally played CHEYENNE the most. I love the light gun game genre, I hope you get around to the NAMCO masterpiece TIME CRISIS!

[@backinthedaygamer]

Nicely done once again! I don’t recall ever playing this one but maybe they have it at the Galloping Ghost. It reminds me a bit of a game I played there last time called Turkey Hunt (maybe Turkey Shoot). Have you ever played that one? It’s actually one of my favorites every time I go there.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I live in the Midwest and was out in Boston about five years ago for work. I was only there for two days and galloping ghost was 60 miles away. After I was done for the day it was 7 PM and figured I didn't have time to check it out. I wish I would have. As far as Turkey shoot goes I can vaguely recall the game. What kind of gun is that on top?

[@backinthedaygamer]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Galloping Ghost is AMAZING! I can't recall the gun on Turkey Shoot but I can tell you one thing, it's no crossbow lol. I'm working on my GG vid from a couple months back. I def have the gun in it bc I really like the game and always play it.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

@@backinthedaygamer Awesome, I'll be sure and check it out when you post it

[@outerlimits7527]

"HA , HA , HAAAAA" "Yoooou wiiiill diiie" "Cursth you" Ahhh Crossbow. The game with the creepy sounds and thr cool worlds that i needed the arcade step-stool to play. "BWAAAAAAAAA !!"

[@brittislove]

I vaguely remember this game. I was a child when I saw it and as a slack jawed yokel of 7 years old, I had to play this game. Of course I was terrible at it. RIP hero

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, I always enjoyed this game

[@MidnightBanshi]

Such a fun game back in its day, and even though I can't hold the crossbow in my hands, just seeing it on emulator is the only way I can really play it, as the home versions just didn't quite get up to the bar IMO. Exidy did some great games, one of my favorites was Star Fire, which reminded me so much of Star Wars, as you were shooting..........TIE fighters!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Yes they did, and then they brought out chiller :-)

[@Risperdali]

Good work. I never came across this one, but I did play Chiller at some point (on MAME) a while ago. Chiller came after and was by Exidy, right?

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you, yes they did do chiller and it was a tossup whether for me to do crossbow or chiller. I figured crossbow was the more popular game so I went with that one. I will cover chiller at some point though since the back story is a bit interesting

[@paulcobb9900]

This was a great video game. I remember playing at Busch gardens williamsburg in the 1980s.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It was at a few arcades growing up, I loved it

[@mediacritic]

I'd forgotten about this game! I loved it!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It's one of my all-time favorite shooters

[@mediacritic]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Mine too! And I'd totally forgotten how much the sounds contributed to the appeal of the game!

[@pferreira1983]

This game should be remade for modern platforms. Looks like a lot of fun.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

One of my favorite light gun shooters

[@retroroy8720]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries They should remake all of the Exidy light gun games and maybe even make some new ones in a similar style. At the very least, they could make for good browser games.

[@vinja858]

This game terrified me as a kid...and I couldn't stop playing! muwhhaha

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL

[@karlmendoza3334]

me too!!!!!! That and Gaunlet

[@bruceaskew2107]

That was a great video , i never played this , btw great pic of chicago, thats my city

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks, I'm from Moline which is right on the border of Iowa and Illinois. My aunt used to live in Chicago so I used to go there quite a bit. I love that town. BTW, I can't believe you're still watching my videos LOL

[@bruceaskew2107]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries i couldn't finish them all last night lol.. i love chicago an a place called galloping ghost, i go once a month with my son

[@goisermass]

That's one of the Arcade-Games I know nothing about. So, very Interesting!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

He used to be one of my favorites growing up

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It used to be one of my favorites growing up

[@DrJekyll38]

Have you possibly done the history of "Gauntlet", and if not, can it be done? I would be most appreciative and would happily recommend your channel to other subscribers.

[@galebailey5583]

Crossbow is also the only game in arcade history that says “You will die!” before you even start playing. 😂

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL could call

[@kdj29]

oh shit!! downloading to my iPad now!!!! thanks for the info!!!

[@benlogan100]

Great video. Thanks!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you very much

[@rickycole4061]

Hi pat another fantastic video never new there was a arcade version only ever had the atari 2600 7800 versions didn't eve no there was a c64 version although i was never that good at i lucky to get of the 1st stage. also would be great if you could get a crossbow to play on mame do you anywere you could get 1 i do havel a lightgun cheers from the UK.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you very much glad you liked it. A crossbow would be nice to play with Mame but unfortunately there's no way to do it . They do make light guns for computers so you could give that a shot

[@NCAcaw]

very good used to play this at Maryvale in the day

[@CantankerousDave]

This is another one where I distinctly remember the gameplay, but could never remember the name of the game itself...

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Glad I could help:-)

[@adb9231]

thanks, that was a lot of fun, great game

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@charlesajones77]

Does the arcade game actually use a light gun? I thought it used a positional gun. The gun is mounted to the cabinet, and acts like a big analog stick. The game uses that to determine where you are aiming. I notice that the screen sometimes flashes when you fire, but not always, so I'm a little confused.

[@AceD500]

:D What a intresting concept, similar to Link's Crossbow Training on Wii

[@matro951]

Remember playing this game when I went to Chuck e cheeses in the 80s loved it ever since

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Oh yes, this was spectacular. I loved of the voices as well

[@matro951]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries especially when the people died lmao

[@matro951]

And the evil laugh

[@carlolopiccolo1962]

Do you know if it possible to find crossbow to play at home where would findthis game so I could play at home thanks

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

You can play it on the Mame emulator utilizing the mouse instead of a light gun

[@realmchat6665]

Awesome.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you

[@retrogamestudios7649]

Oh exidy.....u so crazy....everytime I see their games I can't stop thinking it's chiller....kind of looks like Satan's hollow

[@markus5862]

I wonder why there never was an nes port?

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Good question, it would've been perfect with the NES zapper

[@SHUPIRATE1991]

I can’t find the iOS version in the App Store. Maybe it was removed?

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It's possible, the game came out in 2010 for the iOS

[@bryansarracino8623]

What was the Wild West version of this game?

[@peteharwan553]

Cheyenne

[@Austin-gl8it]

Good video

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Its nice seeing a Western developer getting due credit for innovating something.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Absolutely, out of the 37 or 38 documentaries I've done I think only two were developed over here.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Far too many unsung heroes in gaming history get passed over, so it was nice to see Exidy get some love.

[@woodeyelyegaming1401]

Dammit. This is not available in America on iOS 😣 wtf

[@BronyNumber4096]

Did you ever do Vanguard or Venture?

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Not yet

[@cboscan1]

Just found out about this game at player one in Orlando FL. Could have stayed there all night playing this, was so fun. Loved it so much I went on KZbin to find some vids about it, hope the 2010 iOS version is still available. Charging my iPad now to see if I can get it, I don’t think it’s supported on newer iOS devices like my 14 pro max

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It's a fantastic game, clearly and made a lasting impression on me

[@sbcinema]

A Very Very Nice Game !

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It's one of my favorite

[@bryanjensen2614]

HAA HAA HAAA!! BLEEAGH!

[@gabesyt4863]

As far as I know, this is the first arcade game to have stereo sound as well.

[@davidprice7162]

Wonder how man seizures this game induced.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL no kidding

[@retropalooza]

God that blinking

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It's part of the game, sorry

[@tuffasgong]

That digitised sound was soooo over done!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I love the voices

[@metalrulezv4856]

played it At tchuckee cheese in 1987 in los angeles .

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Never did see one in person