Segaiden #008: Sega Flipper / Pop Flamer / Pacar / Sega-Galaga

Video Works by Jeremy Parish

Sega has always been an arcade powerhouse—even now, they run arcades in Japan. They've become fan destinations for more than just playing games; I bought taiyaki in the shape of the Sega logo at their Akihabara location a year ago. And this episode showcases just how heavily Sega plowed the arcade-to-home conversion furrow from the very start, with four games based heavily on arcade properties or concepts:

• Sega Flipper, arguably the first true arcade-style video console pinball game;
• Pop Flamer, a port of a weird Jaleco coin-op;
• Pacar, a sequel in all but name to Head On; and
• Sega-Galaga... which is just Galaga, but for Sega.

They're not all winners, but they're mostly good! Just pretend Pop Flamer never happened. That game could never live up to its delirious box art, anyway.