Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car

Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car is a game that features Sonic playing the role of a police officer, patrolling the streets of a city and keeping it safe from the evil Dr. Robotnik. The game was released on December 1991, apparently in both Japanese and English (although it is likely that the English version was also developed for use within Japan and not for export).

Gameplay

Overview

Arguably one of the earliest ideas to combine a video game with a children's ride, the game combines a simple video game in a family-sized cabinet(the ride is actually has enough room to accommodate two adults) that is in the style of a police car. The game has Sonic playing the role of a police officer, jumping into a patrol car for a daily patrol routine. Along the way, Dr. Robotnik appears and begins making one traffic offense after another. Sonic must then pursue Robotnik and destroy his vehicle by jumping on it before he escapes.

Movement

The ride itself rocks in a left-to-right manner, and the police car onscreen is controlled by a steering wheel. There is a button that causes Sonic to jump out of his vehicle and hit Robotnik once Robitnik shows up in the game.

Features

As noted above, the game itself is part of a children's ride. The ride will start moving in sync with Sonic's patrol car on the monitor in the dashboard. Buttons on the dashboard allows the user to turn on the siren, jump out of the car to hit Robotnik's vehicle, and start the game. A steering wheel allows the player to maneuver Sonic's patrol car onscreen.

Graphics and Sound

The game uses the unambiquous background music from Green Hill Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog, although the sprites onscreen are refined and looks quite different from those used in the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive. Also, there are speech samples in the game. Sonic speaks in Japanese throughout the game/ride.

Storyline

The game begins with Sonic pulling out of a police station and hops into his patrol car. At this point the ride begins to move and the player could control Sonic's car as they please, toggling the siren on and/or off, or make Sonic briefly jump out of the car (this feature serves a more useful purpose once the climax hits). Along the way, the action pauses to let a group of flickies cross the road. As the ride resumes, things remain peaceful for another short period of time, then Robotnik shows up and starts shoving cars aside. The player is expected to then activate the siren and pursue him, occasionally jumping out of the car briefly to injure Robotnik. Hit him enough times and Robotnik gives up and leaves. If you take no action long enough, Robotnik will get away. Either way, Sonic will pull up in front of the police station and the ride/game will end after Sonic talks a bit more in Japanese.

In America

Although the cabinet is only available in Japanese and is considered improper for operation outside Japan, copies have been found stateside on various internet auctions for startlingly high prices. Most are never used once purchased or are not capable of functioning.

Recently, a amusement machine vendor in Japan listed a copy of the game that is supposedly in English. It is likely that the version was developed by Sega for amusement parks that are located in areas with a considerable amount of foreign visitors. This also suggests Sega was considering exporting the game at one point.

In Asia

Working copies of the game have been found in certain arcades in Asia. The arcade on the top floor of the SOGO building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is known to have a working unit, costing RM1 (two tokens, one token costs RM0.50) to play. A copy has also been found in an arcade in Singapore.