Menacer 6-Game Cartridge

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Menacer 6-Game Cartridge
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Western Technologies, Johnson Voorsanger Productions (Ready, Aim, Tomatoes!)
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT), Tec Toy (BR)
Sound driver: GEMS
Peripherals supported: Menacer
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1992-10 1658 EU 1992-12 1658 PT 199x UK 1992-11-19 1658 SE (Rental) 199x BR 199x 044380

Menacer 6-Game Cartridge is a cartridge containing six light gun games for use with the Sega Menacer. The Menacer came bundled with this cartridge, and predictably, it is not compatible with any other Mega Drive peripheral.

Gameplay

Players are given the option to enable Accu-Sight (visible crosshairs) before starting each game. When Accu-Sight is turned off, the player goes through a calibration screen before starting the game.

	Pest Control
	Bugs are swarming a pizza. The player must shoot the bugs to prevent them from consuming the pizza. The player's vision is limited to a small radius around the targeting crosshair. The player can momentarily illuminate the entire screen by holding a button but cannot fire while doing this. The level ends when the player kills all of the bugs. Levels increase in difficulty and introduce trickier bugs, including queens that spawn smaller bugs when killed. Some bugs drop bombs that detonate and destroy parts of the pizza if accidentally shot. The game ends if the entire pizza is eaten. There is a gauge that increases when the player fires; the player cannot fire if the gauge fills from firing too frequently and the gun "overheats."
	Space Station Defender
	Enemy alien pods warp in one at a time (up to eight of them per sequence) and open to reveal an alien inside. The pods cannot be attacked, but the aliens inside can be. The alien attacks the player after a moment if not shot first. The player loses a life point if the alien attacks, and the game ends if the player runs out of life points. Satellites sometimes fly across the screen; if shot down, they give the player shield points that protect against enemy attacks. The player's ammunition is limited by the power gauge, but it can be recharged by aiming the Menacer at the "POWER" strip at the bottom of the screen. If "Normal" is selected, the pods open in the same order that they are warped in; if "Random" is selected, they open in a random order.
	Ready, Aim, Tomatoes!
	Starring ToeJam & Earl. ToeJam fires tomatoes at enemies while the screen automatically scrolls to the right, and Earl keeps score. The scroll speed increases with game duration. The enemies include dentists, devils, and cupids. Some enemies in later levels return fire with tomatoes of their own and cost the player life; the game ends if the player runs out of life. The player has finite ammunition but gains another tomato every few seconds. The player must attain a certain score on each level to continue to the next one. Bonus points are awarded at the end of the level for accuracy. There are special items that the player can shoot including foods that replenish life, bushel baskets that fully replenish the player's tomato stock, bombs that destroy all enemies on the screen, and star tomatoes that grant the player rapid-fire and unlimited ammunition for a duration.
	Whack Ball
	A game that is similar to Breakout. The player controls a large ball with the Menacer and uses it like a paddle to push a smaller ball into bricks that form a wall. The bricks change color when they have been hit by the smaller ball. Once all of the bricks change color, the player moves to the next level. Levels are timed. The ball has momentum and travels faster and further if the player hits it with more force. Flashing bricks are power-ups, which can be advantageous (such as adding another small ball or giving the player a "sticky paddle" that holds on to the ball) or punishing (such as shrinking the paddle's size or removing time from the timer). The player starts each level with three tries and loses one if the small ball is lost through a hole in the wall. The game ends if the player runs out of tries or time.
	Front Line
	The player defends against tanks and airplanes using a machine gun with unlimited ammunition. The trigger can be held for continuous fire. The top button on the Menacer fires anti-air missiles and the middle button fires anti-tank missiles. Missiles destroy anything in one hit but are limited. Some enemies return fire. The game ends if the player runs out of life. The player replenishes life and missiles at the end of each level.
	Rockman's Zone
	A shooting gallery game. The screen horizontally scrolls through streets of houses as the player shoots cut-outs of criminals and refrains from shooting the cut-outs of innocent bystanders. Criminals can return fire. The player loses a life point if hit by an enemy or from shooting an innocent bystander. The game ends if the player runs out of life points. The player has unlimited ammunition.

History

Development

The game was produced by Mac Senour. One of the games that was cut from the release was Joe Montana Wide Receiver Training Camp.

“	I love the Menacer. It was dropped into my lap because I was "hardware boy" for a bit. I designed six games based on licenses we had done previous games on. I was also told to avoid shooting games. There were two games that made the final cut, ToeJam & Earl and the reverse block-out game. The title for the ToeJam & Earl game was created by Haven Carter, one of the best marketing people at SEGA. It was certainly a reaction to Nintendo's Super Scope, but it was intended to be more than a "me too" project. I made my presentation to the head of SEGA of Japan, sitting in my tiny cubicle. He said just one thing to me: "very good," and he left.	„
— Mac Senour

Production credits

• Producer: Mac Senour
• Music Composition: John Baker

Source:

Uncredited

Magazine articles

Main article: Menacer 6-Game Cartridge/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score (RU) 60 (RU) 40 (UK) 60 (US) NTSC-U 67 (FR) PAL 95 (FR) PAL 77 (UK) PAL 60 (FR) PAL 45 (RU) 42

	61
Based on 9 reviews

Menacer 6-Game Cartridge

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT
Cover
Cart Manual EU Manual

Mega Drive, SE (Rental)

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Menacer 6-Game Cartridge/Technical information.