Sinistar: A Quarter Sucking Nightmare

[@thedisconnector6414]

Comment below to give some suggestions on games to review! If you are interested in other Sinistar stuff, check out these resources!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fp_JlHSrmbWDiZY - @SynaMax Fantastic vid on Sinistar's difficulty (+ a mod to fix it!) www.schoenke.com/tyler/sinistar/index.html - Fantastic website dedicated to Sinistar, tons of info and other trivia, history, and entertaining content! Edit: The support and engagement with this video is so fun to watch :D This is my second best performing video ever so thank you for the support! Stick around for some more high quality arcade content! Edit 2: I forgor to advertise my Discord Server so if you wanna come yap about arcade games and how cool they are, here's the link: Join the Discord! - discord.gg/bewdFzF9n7 Edit 3 (yes I know I'm basically writing an essay at this point): HOLY CRAP 2K VIEWS IN 4 DAYS??????

[@michaelbloom5342]

You should do Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. Such a terrific game that not many people know about.

[@thedisconnector6414]

The only reason I know the game exists is because I was looking for music to put in my videos from games of the era and C&D's OST is INSANE! I'll check it out though!

[@johndough8115]

A normal Analog stick, isnt good enough... for the High Precision control, that is needed to play thing game well. You CAN however, modify an Analog controller, to make it play like a Dream. In fact, you can make it play even BETTER, that the real arcade Controller... The original 49 way controller... is basically an analog controller, that uses Optical Sensors, instead of the typical Potentiometers that are used in modern Gamepads / flight sticks. The sensor types, however.. does NOT matter. The real MAGIC... is in Sinistar's "CENTERING" mechanism... Looking at a Photo of a Sinistar controller, and you will see an "X" shape. This is actually a "Rubber Centering Spring". Unlike a standard metal spring design (on any other Analog controller)... which requires a certain amount of force to over-come the springs maximum resistance levels... The Rubber X, MULTIPLIES the RESISTANCE forces, the further your stick is from the Center. Example: Rather than a gradual spring resistance force of: 1,2,3,4,5... and maxing out at 20... The rubber X is more like: 1,5, 25, 75, 220, 600. How / Why? When you push your stick Left... you are not merely pulling against ONE leg / Spring. Instead, the other 3 legs of the spider, are also being stretched, at the same exact time. As such, you are multiplying the amount of Resistance Forces, by a factor of 3 to 4 times... per each Millimeter Traveled. A Spring Based mechanism, is a more Linear system. Also... in order to make it function with 2-Axis pot sensors... there is a spring used for each axis (X/Y... Vertical and Horizonal). There is a bit of a problem with this design... in that... you can FEEL the separate Pulls of Each springs directions... most especially in the center most part of the controller. The stick will try to follow a completely vertical or horizonal line of force... making diagonals in the very center area.. a little hard to maintain. However... Once you get further out towards the edges... you have over-came the initial spring forces, and its far easier to move and hold the stick in and direction. Also... once you reach the point where it becomes very EASY to move your spring-loaded stick... it actually become TOO EASY to move... and you often move too far... well past where you intended to stop the stick. Of course, Its the worst, nearest the center most area. Because of the way that spring based analog sticks function... and because springs can lose some of their springy-ness over time / usage... many of them start to suffer issues with "Drift". Where the springs no longer accurately return to "Perfect Center". As such, the older games used special Game-Code, that ignored all joystick values, within a small area of the center of the stick. They called this the "Dead Zone". In some games, you can even Adjust this deadzone, to be larger or smaller. The smaller the dead-zone... the higher the movement resolution. The larger the dead-zone... the least likely you will suffer from poor movement vectors, and or from "Controller Drift" issues. How to Quickly and Easily Make a Home-Made Sinistar Stick? For a gamepad that has mini-analog sticks... you can cut a cardboard box, so that the controller will sit perfectly within the hole that you cut for it. Then, mount screws / posts on the box, about 3 to 4 inches away from the center of the stick. Now.. using Rubber Bands of the correct length / tension levels.. Stretch a rubber band from each of the 4 posts you made... to the Analog Thumb-Stick shaft. If the stick feels too loose... use tighter rubber bands, and or... add more bands per Post. The bands cant be too thick... or they might interfere with the full range of motion, of the sticks shaft. Making A FAR SUPERIOR Sini-Stick: You will need to hack a very ROBUST analog Flight stick. One like a Thurstmaster Foxfire. You will also need a rubber Inner-Tube from a Bicycle.. as well as a Metal Gromit Kit (typically used to install grommets in Tarps). You need to cut the analog stick apart, so that you can mount the bottom of it, it to a wooden control panel. You will likely have to increase the plastic shafts strength, by adding a metal bar / pipe into the center of it... and using Epoxy, to glue the new metal shaft into the plastic "Gimbal" shaft (that you cut short, after removing the handle). Next, you have to create the rubber centering spring. Cut 4 inner tube sections, maybe 10 inches long (according to distances of your quarter inch Mounting Bolts). Once you get the correct measurements... stack 2 inner-tube sections on top of each other for the Horizonal Spring. And 2 for the Vertical Spring. Use the Grommet kits, to install a grommet on each end of the Rubber Sections... binding them together. Now that you have both rubber springs... place them in a cross formation, and use the grommet kit to link them together in the exact Center... so that you now have a perfect rubber-cross. You should have 4 metal carriage bolts that go from the top of your wooden control panel... and extend like 1 inch below the control panels surface. The formation should be a perfect square, centered around a hole that you drilled for the joystick shaft to pop though the Panel. Attach the center of the centering spring, around the shaft of the Joystick. It should rest between the control panel, and the joysticks hacked outer-housing shell. Attach each end of the spring, to each Carriage bolt... and then, using two nuts per bolt, tighten everything down. If your Gimbal is strong enough, and you have done the work properly... you should be able to move the metal joystick shaft at max travel, without it breaking apart. The shaft itself... should probably be something like the Handle of a Nut Driver, or.. a round metal bar, thats at least 1/4" thickness minimum. After you have mounted and tested the stick... then get a Wooden or Plastic Ball, to use as a Ball-Top. You will need to drill a partial hole, stopping at the center of the ball. The hole diameter should be a hair smaller than the shaft diameter... so that when you apply it, it will be very Tight. Apply some epoxy to the shaft, and the hole in the ball... then using a rubber mallet, pound the balltop down into the shaft, until it stops in the center of the ball. Allow a minimum of 2 days for the epoxy to FULLY CURE, before moving the stick. While Epoxy will be hard as a rock, within far less time... it will still not be "Fully" cured to full mechanical strength... until a few days worth of time has passes. Obviously, once you glue the balltop on.. its permanent (other than the option of cutting the balltop off.. if you have to remove the stick). In my design, I had to use a plastic "Spacer" that fit the Centering Gromit, perfectly. You could sand plastic down, to match the required diameter. This space had a hole in the center, where my metal bar, passed through it. The metal bar was epoxied into the plastic gimbal. In my first version of this stick... I only used a single layer of inner tube, the springs. However, that felt too soft.. so I double it, and that made the control even better than the original. I could maintain very small and detailed movements within the center of the stick...without accidentally zooming at light-speed, away from an asteroid that I was mining. I could also catch crystals, quickly, and with extreme precision... and go right back to mining. Yet at any moment in time... I could press heavily, and ZOOM away, to quickly outrun Enemy Attacks + to quickly find a new Asteroid to mine. This controller is also good for any analog game, where precision aiming is Critical. However, due to how much pressure is required for the furthest movements... it could potentially be too fatiguing for certain games. As such... one might choose to only use a single layer for the centering spring, to have a good compromise between Sinistar, and other analog games. Now... even with the Perfect Sinistar Controller... You still wont likely get past.. like stage 5. The difficulty Ramp in Sinistar, was changed at the last minute, to favor Arcade Operators demands (for quickly quarter eating). The developers had claimed to have made a far more "FAIR" game version... but, those original Arcade Roms may have been permanently lost. As such, unless someone reverse engineers the game... and develops a better Difficulty Ramp... people will just have to accept the game as is. At very least... once you have played the game with a GOOD controller... you will still LOVE and Enjoy it immensely. And one last thing... As far as the original controller goes... Its quite possible that any surviving arcade machines, have a rubber centering spring, that has became too worn out... and thus, feels too "loose" / "light" in resistance levels. Or... the original rubber spring itself might have decayed to the point where it has disintegrated.. and was replaced by a modern re-make... that does not have the same "resistance" levels as the original.

[@ironhell813]

I’m surprised you didn’t detect any patterns in the game…. There’s plenty of them just looking at the gameplay. The rubber banding the enemies do is one of them…

[@themidcentrist]

If you haven't already done them I would request Gyruss and Moon Patrol

[@Cletus_the_Elder]

If you played this in the arcade, you are at least in your 50's. A nod to all the gentlemen who never forgot what it was to be a kid. This was gaming culture 40 years ago.

[@jeffcullifer5629]

Those were some good times. Going to the arcade was the highlight of my week, as a kid.

[@VisitingwithMrV]

I'm here. I remember loading five bucks in quarters into this machine to beat it.

[@thedisconnector6414]

I wish I grew up with these games, but alas

[@mrChoppieChoppie]

They had this at chuck e cheese when i was a kid. Basically the black sabbath of arcade games. Sit down cab. My favorite game at the time.

[@Styphon]

Spent a fair part of high school scrounging bottles for the deposit to get money for the arcade. Then put your quarter in the groove where the monitor fit into the cabinet to mark your spot in line for the busy games. I didn't put too many quarters into this game, mostly just watched.

[@robertkilbourne323]

"That Sinistar is out there. It can't be bargained with, can't be reasoned with... it doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear... and it absolutely will not stop, EVER... until you are dead!"

[@thedisconnector6414]

Love it!!! So true though, he never stops.

[@MosoKaiser]

Well, if not dead, then at least quarterless. :DD

[@lordterra1377]

A leftist feminist?

[@IDESTROYER236]

"Sinistar, I've come to bargain!" -Doctor Stephen Strange, supreme sorcerer.

[@johnsmith1953x]

@@thedisconnector6414 "Run Coward. Arrrrrrggghhh!!! Run! RUN! RUN!"

[@droth1031]

"Beware I live!" and "Run, coward! Run!" have lived rent free in my head for decades. Those cockpit cabinets were pure nightmare fuel!

[@thedisconnector6414]

I want to play a cockpit one so bad

[@csurampower]

​@@thedisconnector6414 The cockpit cabinet was an awesome experience. I swear the arcade owners would jack up the volume to maximum because that whole damn machine would shake when Sinistar started yelling at you.

[@iansarver8444]

Don't forget "I hunger!"

[@paulkelly5035]

“Only that which never ceases hurting stays in the memory.” Nietzsche

[@paulkelly5035]

@@thedisconnector6414 I bought a cockpit Sinistar for $50 in 1995. My Dad said there wasn’t room for it in the garage, and he made me sell it. :(

[@4saken404]

"I HUNGER." (For your quarters!)

[@JGreen-le8xx]

In the 80s if you hadn't seen the game yet and it was off in a dark corner somewhere, hearing that thing yell over the sound of all the other arcade machines was terrifying. And then to see what made those noises, made you want to call an exorcist and start chucking holy water at the cabinet.

[@mst3kpimp]

u said it!

[@LordFalconsword]

That yell in display mode drew kids in like a tractor beam.

[@treed6038]

at the 25 second mark, I heard the Sinistar roar and after forty years, my blood still ran cold. Sinistar wasn't just a game, it was an experience.

[@Cryptone28]

Truest statement ever told! Especially since not every arcade carried it, so when u found one that actually had it, u HAD to make your move!!!

[@AntonioRodriguez-kl6uc]

I used to play this at the 7-11 near my house when I was about eight years old. I had no idea that you were supposed to collect bombs from asteroids. I would just shoot at enemies until Sinistar ate me.

[@thedisconnector6414]

Classic Sinistar action until you figure it out

[@jyyyb]

Bin there

[@HeavyTopspin]

I swear I thought the purpose of the game was just to live long enough for Sinistar to be built and start talking.

[@tuomaskarmakallio]

Incredibly poor game design : (

[@gregoryschmidt1233]

lol. same. It was like nightmare Asteroid.

[@MiketheCabbie]

"A video game that doesn't totally kick your ass the first time you play it isn't doing its job." --Eugene Jarvis, creator of Defender and Robotron

[@thedisconnector6414]

What a great quote, this is why I love arcade games so much

[@EffigiesReign]

Both awesome games as well.

[@MiketheCabbie]

@@thedisconnector6414 Here's another quote from the same guy: "The only legitimate use of a computer is to play games."

[@krugerstan]

OMG Robotron? I can't exactly remember what that is, but reading your text on screen sent a wave of paranoia up my spine.

[@sisyphuscranerigging7792]

Defender - killer game but again way too hard. Once you lost your planet, it was over! But the sound design was so absorbing. Nothing else even close.

[@BomageMinimart]

"Run, coward! Run!" is one of the greatest taunts of all time.

[@ItsRemula]

"Ron Howard"

[@robertatkinson6864]

When I was about 9 years old I honestly thought the game was saying "Ron Howard!". I didn't even question why it would say that.

[@delbertwhitejr.3539]

This was one game that made me "backtalk" and "curse" whenever Sinistar would say "Run Coward!"

[@IndaglowMatinée]

@@ItsRemula lol I could just imagine a kid waking up from a nightmare screaming that, after way too many hours on Sinistar.

[@CedaxV]

For 40 years i have been able to hear Sinistar in my head with perfect clarity and recollection. Im sure its the same for all of us in the comments.

[@wombleofwimbledon5442]

Oh, yeah.

[@OscarInAsia]

To be fair, any early video game that talked back in the day is probably burned in our memory perfectly. All the speech in Berzerk, Gorf, and Wizard of Wor among others are permanently in my head.

[@hdofu]

A supermarket near me had this machine when I was 8 or 9... you never forget that voice, bastard was relentless

[@stephencooper3583]

"RUN! RUN! RUN!!!" Ok, I'll run. "COWARD!" Dude! 😆

[@Tasarran]

Who could have guessed a guy with such a sweet name could be so rude?

[@nathanbutcher7720]

Every arcade game had to find a way to gaslight the player

[@sana-cm7oc]

Sinistar was always one of the games that had the volume turned up to max. Never had to wait to play - standing near the machine, everyone already knew that the player was condemned to death. When Sinistar was completed and chasing the player, it was like a super fast anime scene with the backgoud flying past as the enemy slowly closes the distance for a kill.

[@tron3entertainment]

Before DOOM had us peering around the corners of our monitors, Sinistar scared the living heck out of us.

[@thedisconnector6414]

Amen to that... childhood TERROR

[@Akira625]

I was too scared to play Sinistar when I was a kid. I didn't play it until I was in my 20s, and even then it still creeped me out.

[@thedisconnector6414]

It kinda plays into the analog horror/games shouldn't talk like that realm for me, which is another reason I love it so much

[@Rinkul]

We played it but we were screaming when sinister appeared

[@Halpin2006]

@@thedisconnector6414 I wonder if Williams got the idea for Sinistar's scary voice from their GORGAR pinball machine in 1979?

[@williehill47]

I was 7 years old when I played it back in '83 and was scared to death

[@cwpreston]

Honestly the first time I played it the Sinstar scream as he flew across the screen and killed me just scared the absolute chocolate out of my teenage self.

[@fuzz7boy]

This brings back memories. A pizza parlor near my high school had a Sinistar console. They awarded a free pizza to the high scorer each week. For a string of several months in 1984, I fed my buddies a weekly feast earned with my skills in this game. Every Friday, they would look at me and say "I hunger" in that maniacal voice, and then hand me some quarters. We would all eat pizza while I worked on the high score for the following week. The trick was to bomb the Sinistar while it was still under construction, buying more time (and scoring more points) while building up your full stockpile of bombs. Fun fact: there was a 3D remake of this game made years later for PC: Sinistar Unleashed.

[@watcheroftheskies805]

"I hunger"😆

[@sandal_thong8631]

Interesting. I may have seen that you could bomb it under construction, but didn't know that was a way to get your score up. Better to do that than to go to 2nd level.

[@Cryptone28]

That's the only way I played because at least I knew I had a chance at that point, but when he was fully assembled, it was a complete wrap!

[@thedisconnector6414]

What a way to get free food, conquer the eldritch demon of arcade every week

[@davidmckenzie3608]

I once unlocked some glitch that got me 250+ lives and I stood there for hours playing - I swear I still hear "Beware! I live!" in my nightmares.

[@thedisconnector6414]

You got the glitch??? That's crazy... basically if you die to a warrior and Sinistar at the same time it takes your lives into negative values which overflows it to 255 or so. Insane you got it.

[@kathrynck]

@@thedisconnector6414 That makes sense actually. The life counter was likely coded as one byte, 0-255. So if you have 1 life, and you get -1 and -1 applied at the same time... then you're at 255. Would be really hard to pull off intentionally though. Timing would have to be nanosecond-perfect ...well maybe millisecond perfect on such old hardware.

[@edwardblair4096]

But I guess it only works on your last life. If you have more than one, then instead of getting 255 lives you will lose 2.

[@kathrynck]

@@edwardblair4096 yep.

[@rthomas1031]

I saw that glitch once! I took over for someone who had called it quits with about 120 lives left. Think I went thru about 50 lives to get to the first Void Zone

[@gilnelson3217]

As much as a human can be terrified by something, sinistar scared me to the bones. Granted I was 5 years old but damn I remember the experience vividly. All the cool older kids loved this game but i rocked this shit. The cheers at the local arcade were definitely ego inflating; but the nightmares were more traumatic than the rewards. Total terror

[@Lastjustice]

Thematically it feeling like an unwinnable nightmare fits the feel of the game perfectly, but doesn't translate into the most fun game for many. I feel like Sinistar was an inspiration for Unicron of the transformers 86 film. I could envision Sinstar devouring planets if he was allowed to continue unabated for long enough, so that's the logical escalation of that.

[@thedisconnector6414]

That's actually awesome!

[@lanceknightmare]

The, "this escalated quickly", meme seems appropriate here. 😆

[@JordanManfrey]

mmmm cinnabons

[@thedisconnector6414]

I know right (totally didn't just not edit that out)

[@tf2whackyengineer]

I was about to make a comment after the "you can only carry.." with, "Don't tell me how many cinnabons I can carry!" :) Probably not healthy to eat that many though.

[@venomlords]

I was looking for this comment.

[@curtislow255]

The local skating rink had Sinistar, Arkenoid, Double Dragon, Galaga and of course Ms Pac Man. Later on they got Golden Axe in as well

[@moxica93]

There was a flight-sim game "Sinistar Unleashed" where you flew a ship around an asteroid field mining crystals to get bomb to destroy a portal-gate before Sinistar came through. There were various smaller ships such as workers and drones that would be coming after you. The power-ups and variations on the Sinistar monster made it fun to play.

[@DaNinja60]

I had that game too. It was fun. I'm surprised he didn't mention it.

[@thedisconnector6414]

I haven't been able to play Unleashed yet unfortunately, I kinda forgot it existed for the video haha. I'll definitely be putting in more culture stuff in future releases!

[@vondeckbar72]

40 years on and I am still scarred by this demented game and that Sinister voice. Also, there was never a line to wait in for a play at this demonic machine. The local Fun Arcade kept it a few months before moving it out for another more playable game.

[@blshouse]

I loved this game. "Beware, I live!" was straight up terrifying. Then it taunted you as it ran you down. "Run, Coward!" It was satisfying to actually take Sinistar down.

[@franker86]

The first time I played this I had no clue on what to do, when all of the sudden I hear the roar, I jumped like an NBA player LOL

[@thedisconnector6414]

We love arcade jumpscares

[@Gabes_Game_Cave]

I played this on a Snes cart at friend's house. I was like 7 and it scared the hell out of me.

[@jamesmartin9401]

I seem to remember having to suddenly go to the bathroom. Not cool, but so cool.

[@sleestack13]

Put hundreds of dollars into the standup version of this back in the day (don't think I have ever seen that awesome sit down version). To this day, when I am with my childhood buddies and it is getting close to dinner time, one of us will scream out "I HUNGER!!" in that iconic voice. Well, either that or "The Elf needs food" from Gauntlet.

[@Ifoughtpiranhas]

Berserk is also a permanent memory. INTRUDER ALERT!!!

[@kathrynck]

Oh wow... I used to say "I HUNGER" sometimes. And It "felt" like something I had heard somewhere, but I couldn't place where I picked it up from. And now I know!

[@darthoblivion2615]

"Elf needs food, badly"!

[@kyokusagani8869]

Excellent Video! I should point out the difficulty was increased at the last minute, originally you were going to earn generous amounts of extra lives to compensate for the later waves (like Robotron), but they decided to double the score needed for each late in development. It doesn't feel as satisfying because your games always end fast.

[@thedisconnector6414]

@@kyokusagani8869 I've actually played a mod which reverted the game to the final version with the difficulty being balanced and it is a ton of fun! But yeah, the stakeholders made this game a quarter sucker.

[@matthewhanf3033]

Speaking of, Robotron is my arcade game of choice. Highly addictive.

[@gizmo4816]

@@matthewhanf3033 Robotron, the most intense 60 seconds you'll ever experience. LOL, I loved that game when it came out in the arcade back in, what was it, '82? Pumped a BUNCH of quarters through it. Smash TV was a great re-interpretation of it in 1990, IMO.

[@thedisconnector6414]

I've had so much fun learning the ins and outs of Robotron (probably my next review video tbh), incredible games. Too bad the creativity and games like these faded with time. Smash TV and Total Carnage are such good games to play as well, so frantic.

[@kyokusagani8869]

@@thedisconnector6414 Okay, Total carnage is the second best 8-way game Williams Ever made. The First being Smash TV. Heck, Smash TV is DEFINITELY robotron 2. The earliest version of the game still calls it robotron 2 on startup, and its better in every possible way!

[@Marinealver]

Asteroids but with a story.

[@qam2024]

Asteroids with the trust button permanently stuck down

[@dougfromsoanierana]

Asteroids on cocaine.

[@PhoebusApollo]

It's been many years since I played a game of Sinistar but "Beware I live!" still clearly echoes in my mind whenever I come across something that reminds me of it. Maybe not the best game, most fun game, balanced game but definitely one of the most memorable from it's era.

[@bertwhetstone3173]

RJ Mical who also developed the GUI for the Amiga was part of the development team for this game.

[@TarrinLupo]

I still play this at funspot, it is soooo hard.

[@PepinoTheGreat]

I am actually impressed at your editing skills and your choice of retrowave music. Great material. I never played it because I never saw it in my country, we had After Burner 2, Galaga or even Asteroids, but Sinistar never made it here. Have a great time and thanks.

[@thedisconnector6414]

Thank you!! I try to make everything as high quality as I can so this is good to hear.

[@SoulforSale]

This game would have been titled Quarter Sucking Nightmare but it was hard to fit on the marquis.

[@thedisconnector6414]

FOR REAL

[@guyincogneto8979]

That and they were saving that name for Gauntlet or Guerrilla Warfare.

[@eyefreely9682]

I remember bugging my Grandfather for quarters to play this in a Barber Shop.... 40 years ago!

[@thedisconnector6414]

Love it!

[@lanceknightmare]

I remember playing this game less than a year ago in one of those multi-arcade machines.

[@sergioomar9090]

​@@thedisconnector6414when you said quarter sucking I was dead. My parents just thought they were collecting quarters. 🪦☠️

[@numbnutz9398]

Sometimes when my wife calls me for dinner I reply with I HUNGER! She has no idea😃 That soundtrack has lived in my head for 41 years now. The stress of watching that bastard fly past half completed knowing the next time he might fully completed and just fly in and one shot you was intense. Usually had to go play some Dig Dug to settle down! This and Tron were my favorites from a lifetime ago.

[@thedisconnector6414]

I need to find a physical Tron cabinet near where I am... The closest one for me is about 3.5 hours away :(

[@dougwright7333]

I'm old so I was there when it first showed up in the arcade. It drove me nuts! I made it to the second level a couple of times, but lost 5 years off my life doing it. One thing for sure, no waiting in line to play this one.

[@russellbarnes4468]

By far the most of my quarters went to Sinistar. Nothing else compared to the sheer futility you felt when you heard "Beware I live." Great review, thanks for the memories

[@macwyll]

Mine also went to this game, as well as Galaga, Xevious, and the pinball game Xenon. There's another I can't remember the name of. You would be at the top of geometric shapes and shoot at objects coming up from the bottom of them.

[@therevenger259]

I love this game! You don't see too many videos on Sinistar.

[@thedisconnector6414]

Yeah! I'm hoping to bring a lot of older games into the limelight and get some recognition, especially by the Gen Z and I-pad kids.

[@therevenger259]

@@thedisconnector6414 Well you've already succeeded. I am Gen Z.

[@flyboymb]

Imagine if the first responses received by SETI after all these years was "Beware, I live" and "I HUNGER"?

[@davidmckenzie3608]

@@flyboymb I think I have my next practical joke planned!

[@Flipclockfans]

Thanks for this video. It’s often quoted that Sinistar came out in 1983. But I graduated high school in 1983 and I was playing this game as a junior. It was definitely out at least by 1982.

[@DoomMomDot]

I have never forgotten that voice saying Beware, I live. Every time I played the game and heard that voice, I knew I was about to die.

[@CompGEED]

I've played Sinistar in the Arcades back in the day. It's funny because I mainly played just to hear the Sinistar voice and lines. I've never made it out of the first level, Heck, I never even mined one of those Sinibombs ever (I didn't even know those until I saw your video!! hahaha) . I just flew around shooting and listening.

[@scottfitzpatrick1939]

this was from an era of incredible arcade came sounds. Defender, Wizard of Wor, Joust, Cenipeid, Galaga. Arcade game designer made their worlds so sound immersive. I loved the game design too like the game activity in front of you and how well you played had this impact in an offscreen event which made the game feel like a much larger world. When Sinistar is coming, I mean he is coming. It instilled a feeling of panic that few video games achieved.

[@thedisconnector6414]

For real!! What an incredible time period for developers. I want it to come back :(

[@andrewmaysonet9651]

I used to play and love Sinistar somewhere between 1983-85 while I was in the 8th/10th grade at a place in Tustin, CA called Sgt. Pepperonis. Sucked me out some quarters.

[@lescobrandon1011]

RUN COWARD, RUN!

[@billthecrusher8283]

I killed Sinistar once for the Xbox achievement on a retro collection. Absolutely no joke hard. As a little kid in the 80s he smoked me every time. Audio was best part

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

What's the song from the intro segment at 0:14 ????

[@thedisconnector6414]

Cheesed by TechniGames! It comes from "Hivemind - The Full Album"!

[@mikecronis]

I was 13 when it came out and mastering it took months and is very rewarding when you get the hang of it.

[@angelainamarie9656]

Yeah once you get the rhythm down it's really satisfying. I remember playing for hours.

[@rancidiot]

Asteroids on crack

[@dakyth8160]

Exactly.

[@dakyth8160]

I feel the same about Boconan hard as heck and fun as he'll to play.

[@aiodensghost8645]

​@@dakyth8160Bosconian is way too easy compared to this. That said, I lost several hours to Bosconian as a kid

[@DarthMohammedRules]

Great review, one of my favorite old-school arcade games. To this day, I still kinda consider Sinistar as one of the first "boss battles" in a video game. You should keep doing these kind of vids, for sure! Another good one (and another I consider having one of the first "boss battles") is Satan's Hollow.

[@ballyastrocade5672]

The first game I remember having a "boss battle" was Phoenix, in 1980. You went through two stages of smaller "warbirds" dive-bombing you, Galaxians-style; then, two stages of the larger "phoenixes" that would hatch from "space eggs" and make kamikaze runs to try to ram you... then, stage 5 was this massive flying-saucer mothership with an alien creature in the center, and you had to hammer your way through the bottom of the ship and then punch enough holes in the rotating ring in the middle that one of your shots could finally get through and blow up the alien. All the while, the mothership is dropping bombs on you, a squadron of warbirds is harassing you, and the mothership is inexorably coming down to crush you if you don't blow it up in time...

[@thedisconnector6414]

Satan's Hollow is a fantastic game, galaga on crack

[@williamchurch8401]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I remember Sinistar dominating the arcade soundscape and sucking your pockets dry.

[@ToJuRacing]

Your points about the difficulty are very accurate. Loved this game since it came out the 80's. yes I am old, LOL. I have a multi williams cabinet in my basement. I still get my butt whooped by The Sinistar. At least it does not cost a quarter. Yes I cannot get to lvl 3 on a regular basis either. Great video, gave you a sub! Game on!

[@thedisconnector6414]

Thank you!!! I'm glad you enjoy it!

[@NelsonMunoz-m9w]

I loved this game , it was so frantic like Berserk . I played it a lot , the" beware I live" , the roar and " I am Sinistar " could be heard across the arcade above all of the other game noise and MTV blaring over speakers.

[@kennethpearce2941]

Some of the voice soundbites from this game are still stuck in my head all these decades later. It was one of my many favorite arcade games. And yes, a very frustrating game as well. Thanks for sharing your take on it.

[@thedisconnector6414]

Absolutely! I'm glad you enjoyed a different view on the game :)

[@quigonkenny]

Never played it myself, but I definitely remember that "BEWARE, I LIVE!!" voice line...

[@thedisconnector6414]

Give it a shot!

[@BlaacHollow]

This GAME was so AWESOME!

[@gray25xt]

Excellent production and script here. Bravo.

[@thedisconnector6414]

Appreciate it! If you have any critiques or ways I could improve, feel free to mention em so I can keep getting better!

[@averageguy7136]

I owned a standup version of the coin op sinistar game in the late 80’s. I really liked this game, but I agree it was a very challenging game to play. As many times as I played it (for free of course) i don’t recall ever destroying the sinistar more than 2 or 3 times in a game. By the third level, the amount of time you had to mine crystals and the number of crystals you got made it virtually impossible to destroy the sinistar before it chomped you. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

[@pb7379-j2k]

I had one also. Did you ever crank up your lives and go “Sinistar Surfing”? It’s where you get an asteroid between you and Sinistar and he bumps it into you repeatedly making you as fast as him

[@kigiphoto638]

One of my all time favorite arcade games, because of the absolute tingle of fear it sends through you when Sinistar awakes and comes after you. One of the only games where I didn't mind at all the brutal difficulty or how it would suck down quarters.

[@joebalusikiii5811]

Living in southeastern Michigan with Toledo being our big city, not a single mall arcade had a Sinistar cab. There were no stand alones anywhere either. Then it was discovered that nearby amusement park Cedar Point had a cab. Our school made a trip to Cedar Point at the end of the school year, so a few of us gamers gathered our quarters and looked forward to playing the game more than the roller coasters. We all soon went through our gaming stashes as well as our food & drink money. The most frustratingly fun video game of my youth!

[@rubirunner8487]

Oh man, this game sound so takes me back 40 years ago. A friend and me played this in a connivence store not far from his house. God bless the guy that worked the counter I have to believe he would have thrown us out. " I live ... " .. Good times, I wish I could go back. Thank you for the memories.

[@augustday9483]

I used to constantly listen to the song SINISTERRRRRRR by Renard, which used voice samples from this game. When I finally saw the arcade game years later, it blew my mind. Despite it not being the best arcade game out there, it holds a special place in my heart because of that.

[@roadkill_52]

Amazing video dude! Keep it up!

[@thedisconnector6414]

Preciate it!

[@Angel_Ripoff]

Such a great game, absolutely captivating with the voice taunts and wicked visual design of the boss. Crazy hard, but I still used to play it anyway, just because of how cool it is.

[@scotmcpherson]

I used to play this game when I was kid...I got lucky(or maybe unlucky) and discovered a game loop that stalemated you with Sinistar in balance with the number of workers and fighters, you could never win, but you could beat any high score with enough patience.

[@deannunn4662]

Played this game at an arcade in 83. It was so frustrating with the relentless chaos and trying everything possible not to let him get built. Then came being called a coward, getting destroyed, and mountains of quarters trying to beat that bastard. 42 years later now and it still burns my ass ( that it handed to me !)

[@TW748]

Playing this in the early 80s as a 10 year old was terrifying, thrilling, mesmerizing, and expensive. The roar still sends chills down my spine!

[@Cryptone28]

No game has EVER frustrated me the way Sinistar used to! As a kid who spent WAAAAY too many hours in arcades in the 80's, this one just stole my money every time! But it was still one of my fave to play because the challenge was so great🤦🏾‍♂️😂once u get the controls down is pretty fun but still hard af! And then Sinistar talkin shit during the game used to really piss me off, but kept me wanting to play more and more lol great review!

[@Coelacanth97]

Williams made some of the best-looking, best-sounding and most challenging arcade games of their time. The first time I saw Defender, I was mesmerized, especially when watching someone playing it who was GOOD at it. I just HAD to master that game because it was the hardest one around. Then there was Stargate, Robotron, Sinistar, Joust...none of them were easy!

[@kovert6407]

I'm in my 50's, absolutely loved Sinistar and I'm always heartbroken that it seems so few people remember it.. I am floored that there was a cockpit version. Never saw that bad boy before. I would have never left the arcade.

[@DanielWright-np3fq]

I freaking LOVED Sinistar and played it way too much and it scared the crap out of me every time. Best memories!

[@stiimuli]

Those iconic voice lines (and the roar) echoing across an arcade in the '80's was both haunting and enticing. It was always louder than every other machine in the place. You could hear it constantly....but almost never see anyone playing it because it was just a frustrating game.

[@rthomas1031]

I read about Sinistar in a magazine, but when I finally got to play it….I had never played anything so dark and insane before. Sinistar is the Heavy Metal of videogames. I was maybe 14 years old and thought I was about to have a heart attack! So of course it became my favorite game ever. I even used to make Sinistar skulls out of modeling clay.

[@markray3263]

Sinistar was BY FAR my favorite arcade game. The first time I saw it a young player was scared into tears, ...I immediately knew I had to master this game!

[@bloodstone2k]

I'll never forget the sense of panic my teenage self experienced the first time I played this game and heard that otherworldly roar when Sinister came screaming in from offscreen to attack my ship. Instant Flight response as I fled through the asteroids and enemies only for it to catch up to me seconds later, taunting me the whole time. That was the first time a video game terrified me, and I've been hooked ever since. ❤️

[@zevongrie1402]

“Run, coward, run!” That is permanently imprinted in my brain from 40 years ago

[@fuzzball67]

First time I arrived at the arcade and sat in that cockpit I was hooked. When I heard, "I LIVE!!!" I freaked a bit out. What an experience!

[@sarcasticguy4311]

If you were lucky enough to find one of these arcade cabinets somewhere you always noticed that the sound was always cranked up to maximum for some reason. It was always the loudest cabinet in any arcade.

[@madmat6467]

I was 19-20 years old when I discovered this game. It was so unique and challenging, sucking in my soul as well as my quarters. I still remember the elation I felt when I beat Sinistar himself for the first time. His voice still haunts my dreams!

[@fleafrier1]

I can never forget being in arcades back in the 80s and all the heads turning whenever we heard “BEWARE, I LIVE!!!”

[@Lance-Urbanian-MNB]

The controls being "floaty" is intentional. You are supposed to have simulated space drift like in the Asteroids Game that has a lot of resemblance. I loved this game in the arcade until players got too good eventually and they upped the difficulty to max making it unplayable. Considering that I played this as it came out does bring a smile to see that it's not lost to history. Cheers for making this vid.

[@wikki1350]

I remember when this game came out. Stage 1 was fun. Stage 2 was frantic, stressful and a hopeless hell. "RUN COWARD" to the change machine!

[@synthartist69]

When that spiked face popped out on the screen for the first time, I was 13yrs old. It scared the living HELL out of me. I jumped back, knocking all my quarters off the machine. I eventually went back to battle the spikey face but gave up after blowing a couple of dollars. Being a young teenager and flat broke in the early 80's, I had to stick with Galaga and Pacman where I could make my 1.00 to 2.00 a day last.

[@FurtiveSkeptical]

RUN, COWARD RUN!!! Sinistar dished out its fair share of PTSD in our local arcade back in the day. 😅

[@Spagyr]

In my early arcade days this was one of the few cabinets that felt like it was for the big kids.

[@thedisconnector6414]

I can see that! This, Robotron, and freaking Marble Madness would be my picks off the top of my head

[@Spagyr]

@thedisconnector6414 Hard Drivin

[@JoeSyxpack]

This was the first arcade game that scared me. It was so blisteringly fast, and sitting in that cockpit cabinet with Sinistar's vicious taunting got little 10-year-old me all on edge. I sat down thinking "oh, this is like Asteroids". Nope. Although several years later Atari came out with "Blasteroids" that had a similar boss, but it wasn't nearly as scary.

[@fourthhorseman4531]

One of my all time favorites! Brutally hard, but by 1983 arcade standards Sinistar himself was just an amazing character!

[@ub6ilb975]

OMG I spent SOOOOO many Quarters on this game in the 80s!

[@thomasertman3642]

I work in an arcade that had two of these with the volume turned up. It still creeps me out to this today.

[@cheeseburgerkid1329]

Loved this game when it first came out. It was so cool that I didn't really care if I couldn't make it past second level. It was kind of like dragon's lair, you payed a quarter for the experience as well as game play.

[@fwobebe5164]

I HUNGER!

[@fwobebe5164]

Thanx for the like💖

[@indigoj]

My top 3 coin op game of all time. The Sound design alone beats out any other game. But the unique experience and amount of fun you can have playing this game truly stands on its own.

[@tombuilder1475]

loved Sinistar, Robotron, and defender back in the day of quarter plays!

[@sean1728]

Growing up, and feeding a multitude of quarters into this beast, I only ever managed to get to level 3, and only a couple of times at that. With the difficulty being duly noted and acknowledged, it ranks right up there with Joust and Defender. It was more fun to play than to beat. ❤️

[@oomingmakroo]

Amazing how this game was designed to scare you and it worked! You hear "Beware, I live!" and seconds later that demon head flies across the screen without attacking just to make you sh*t yourself. Such creative game design for the time.

[@jasenweitekamp2036]

Informative video, never thought about who actually voiced Sinistar and never would have guessed that it was an old school radio personality! Seems so random. I wonder if the guy actually ever played the game

[@Seriously_Unserious]

I only ever came across this game once in my life, and it was brutal, and afterword, I could never remember the name of this game. I was a kid of about 10 or so when I tried this game the first, last and only time, and the "you are in my territory, run coward, run" stuck in my head and I never did get a chance to learn how to beat Sinistar.

[@stephenridolfi6464]

Sinistar is my favorite game from the 80's and it is all due to "I am Sinistar! Run Coward!". My friend and I would play together so that the person not playing would act as a navigator for the player by watching the radar screen and telling the player where to go and where Sinistar was. Even then, it was still hard AF.

[@emptyfree]

My Mac in the 90s was called Sinistar. I made “Beware, I live” my startup sound. I/O bar in Madison, WI has a still functioning Sinistar cabinet as of 2024.