"LET US PLAY SPACE STRANGER"
GREETINGS fellow Space Strangers! I've created this place in cyberspace to share some info on the ultra rare, Japanese bootleg arcade cab which went by the names "Space Stranger" (upright), "Super Space Stranger" (black and white cocktail), and "Mark Stranger II" (color cocktail). These games were produced in Japan by Yachiyo Electronics in '78 and '79. All three games were the same -- but each of the three cabs were quite different.
Long, long ago (45 years) in a galaxy far, far away (Japan), there existed arcades that were completely dedicated to one game and one game only (well mostly one game ;) -- Space Invaders! The Space Invaders craze was an instant gold mine and anyone with a machine could make a ton of fast money. The Space Invaders craze was so intense that Japan actually went through a shortage of Yen coins (the equivalent of an American quarter)and had to mint more. Manufactures couldn't make enough Space invaders machines to fill the orders for people who were willing to buy them. So... to fill the demand, a few "unauthorized" companies quickly went to work building as many "bootleg" cabs as they could so they could get in on the action.
Although these machines made lots of quick cash for the arcades in a short amount of time, they were also given zero respect over the years. It really is a shame too because believe it or not, these are actually UNIQUE games and the game play is slightly different (dare I say BETTER) than the original Space Invaders...
Unlike the original Space Invaders cabinet which was Black and white with a 3 color plastic overlay, the Space Stranger 2 cocktail had a true color display. Space Stranger also featured a few other subtle changes from the original such as:
the UFO will randomly change directions from left to right in mid flight.
A free ship can be awarded at 3500 points.
The aliens look completely different.
I actually owned a Space Invaders Deluxe (SI2) cabinet for a time and honestly feel like Space Stranger was closer to (ie BETTER than) a true sequel to Space Invaders. It added a few subtle changes to the original without changing too much... IMO.
Anyway... after the craze died down and the birth and golden age of video games came along, the bootleg games were usually the first to get converted into something else, cannibalized, parted out, or just abandoned... :_(. These days, finding one is pretty rare. Finding parts or info on how to fix one can be next to impossible. So, I put this stuff here in hopes that it may help rescue one of these fun old cabs some day...
Below is a link to some Space Stranger schematics that I found and also a Super Space Stranger Service manual donated by a fellow owner (THANKS D ALE!). There's also a flyer and some pics of each of the different cabs as well as some more info about ROMs and other stuff in the link section.
If you're looking for parts, help or would like to share any other info about the Space Stranger cabs, feel free to post a comment.
Or you can drop me a line here: E-Mail
Another great place for info is:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/
Lastly, if you want to play a FREE M.A.M.E. version of Space Stranger RIGHT NOW, there's one available from Archive.org!:
SPACE STRANGER GAME AT ARCHIVE.ORG
Lastly, if you want to play a FREE M.A.M.E. version of Space Stranger RIGHT NOW, there's one available from Archive.org!:
SPACE STRANGER GAME AT ARCHIVE.ORG
Space Strangers need human input to survive! Only two known survivers on planet earth trapped inside cockail tables....join us if you are out there!
ReplyDelete\m/,,\m/
DeleteI picked up a Mark 2 cocktail recently. In pretty rough shape but happy the control panels are unhacked and with the original 2 way joysticks. Not much info on these unloved machines around.
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking for the two square buttons for mine. Those things are impossible to find.
Deletei own one thanks for the info
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of help!
DeleteHi guys my name is robert, new to this thread. I have a stranger 2 tabletop arcade game we bought in Japan around the late 70s. The space invader game was changed out when we got it. But I have anot her game to which I've never seen before. Ever. It needs circuit board repair but had 3 ships that dock together and these flowering ball shapes that split apart and you shoot. It's hard to explain but once repaired I can photo. If you can help either w repair or info contact me. Kylietrenary33@gmail.com thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Robert! Sounds like the game you're describing is called "Moon Cresta"... maybe. It sounds like the one you have may be that one or possibly a bootleg of it... maybe?
DeleteWow I am so happy I fond this group! I just was doing a little picking out of an old warehouse and got not one but two Mark Stranger 2! One I tried to power up and the screen comes on but its a blinking picture. The other is still yet to be tested. I will follow up with details
ReplyDeleteHi there. My guess is that you either need a cap kit for the monitor or you need a new power supply. Both will start having issues after 40 years. If you still have those, get back to me. I'm looking for the two 1st & 2nd player buttons and one leg for mine if you were willing to part one of them out. Thanks!
DeleteThanks for the manual /schematic uploads, I'm repairing one of these at the moment and they've made it so much easier.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad they were useful!
DeleteJust found a nice condition cabinet today! Wish I could share photos of it
ReplyDeleteNICE! If you send them to me I'll try to get them up here. Thanks!
DeleteI found a real nice cocktail cabinet all in great shape need to find out value will send pics if they let me and it works also
DeleteCan anybody with an upright be willing to shoot me some high resolution photos of the CPO art to help me try and reproduce my badly worn CPO? Kickman1981@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteIf you've read this far, you can see that finding parts and info for this machine is difficult. Please share what you can here and feel free to post whatever you can. You can reach me at SpaceStranger2@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyeay to put pacman in this machine. I got te cocktail for my mom but she likes pacman better.
ReplyDeleteMy Aunt's husband died and he has a few working arcade games - one being the original "Super Space Stranger" (black and white cocktail) Japan by Yachiyo Electronics in '78 .... She has to empty the storage for the end of the month so I wanted to know what a working one would be worth so I know what to tell her. I told her she could probably get it sold quick for $600 CAN - is that too hi or too low?
ReplyDelete\\\Thanks Ray 604 369-4517
Hi. I have a cocktail that looks quite similar to this, but isnt the same. It has Yachio label on it, but without a serial number - a faux marble cover and almost the same instruction card without the -50 score and different looking enemies.
ReplyDeleteHi. I have a Space Stranger cocktail in great condition cosmetically. One, it just plain doesn't work. The screen lights up with random parts of graphics. I've had it for years, now suddenly really want to get it running.
ReplyDeleteBob.