Tomcat Alley

From Sega Retro

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TomcatAlley title.png

Tomcat Alley
System(s): Sega Mega-CD, Windows PC
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: Shooting

















Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages:
  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Français
  • Español
  • 日本語
  • Release Date RRP Code
    Sega Mega-CD
    JP
    ¥7,8007,800 G-6039
    Sega Mega-CD
    US
    $59.9959.99[3] 4429
    Sega Mega-CD
    EU
    4429
    Sega Mega-CD
    DE
    4429-18
    Sega Mega-CD
    ES
    4429-06
    Sega Mega-CD
    FR
    4429-09
    Sega Mega-CD
    AU
    Sega Mega-CD
    BR
    063290
    Windows PC
    US
    $39.9539.95[4]
    ESRB: Teen
    Windows PC
    UK
    £29.9929.99[6] MK-85014-50
    ELSPA: 3+ OK

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    Tomcat Alley (トムキャットアレイ) is a flight simulator-esque game for the Sega Mega-CD. It is heavily reliant on full motion video, with gameplay being little else but lining up cursors on targets within a short period of time. It was later brought in an updated form to Windows-based PCs.

    Curiously Tomcat Alley recycles the photography from the Japanese version of After Burner III for its cover art.

    Gameplay

    While Tomcat Alley predominantly features the F-14 Tomcat, the player has no direct control over any aircraft in the game, just a target reticle. The objective is usually to lock on and fire at enemy targets within a certain time limit - failing to do so eventually leads to a game over. Aside from the HUD, all visuals are made up of full motion video, including the sequences shown when a weapon is fired.

    History

    Development

    A Sega Saturn version was once scheduled for 1995, but cancelled for unknown reasons. It is not thought this version got very far - it was announced shortly before the Saturn's release, and disappeared from the schedules shortly afterwards.

    Production credits

    • Cast: Gregory Balaban, Jolie Jackunas, Mark Carlton, David L. Crowley, Diana Lee Hsu, Miguel Marcott
    • Game Design by: Sam Nicholson, John Zuur Platten, Elliot Simon Gay, Chris W. Bankston
    • Original Score & Sound Design by: Mars Lasar
    • Director of Photography: Sam Nicholson
    • Executive Producer: Chris W. Bankston
    • Engineering by: Elliot Simon Gay
    • Written by: John Zuur Platten
    • Producers: Sam Nicholson, John Zuur Platten
    • Directed by: Sam Nicholson
    Source:
    Intro demo
    TomcatAlley MCD JP SSCredits Intro.pdf
    [7]


    • Visual Effects Supervisor: Dan Schmit
    • Special Effects Supervisor: David Kuklish
    • Aerial Photography by: Clay Lacy
    • Production Coordinators: Tony Cabalu, Janette Shew
    • Production Auditor: Dorothy Duder
    • Casting by: Patrick Rush
    • Programmed by: The Code Monkeys
    • Programming: Elliot Simon Gay
    • Additional Programming: Colin Hogg, Mark Richard Kirkby
    • Graphics: Joe Lewis
    • Special Musical Appearance by: Herbie Hancock
    • Production Designer: Tom Buderwitz
    • Mechanical Effects: Michael Haase, Michael Huitron, Eric Heisler, Rocky Gonzales, John Miles, Russ Zinter
    • Conceptual Artists: Jim Chrisoulis, Robert Miller
    • Set Decorator: Billy Mitchell
    • Set Dresser: Richard Mendenhall
    • Property Master: Bill King
    • Gaffer: John Kennedy
    • Motion Control Photography: Casey Wilson
    • Camera Assistants: Joseph Clauss, Andrew Turman, Scott Smith
    • Key Grip: Jerry Vaughn
    • Grips: Michael Graef, Brad Sharbit
    • Set Construction: Ronald Record, Joshua Record
    • Script Supervisor: Christina Gunderson
    • Key Costumer: Brenna Charlesbois
    • Assistant Costumers: Molly Mitchell, Kimberly Guenther
    • Make-up Artist/Hair Stylist: Danny Mark
    • Sound Mixer: Glen Berovitz
    • Boom Operator: Brad Bryan
    • Guitars by: Emery Kyneur
    • On-Line Editor: Tony Shepherd
    • Off-Line Editor: Tim Batt
    • Digital Production/Macintosh Consultant: Randy Fugaté
    • Additional Voices: Tony Cabalu, Cyrena Vladish
    • Production Assistants: Larry Gobel, Ross Vinstein, Tina Hill, Cyrena Vladish, Susan Townsend
    • Writer's Assistant: Melinda Bell
    • Miniatures: Larry Detweiler, Ziggy Carr, Larry Addison, Joe Commando, Dana Teisch, Paul Ozzimo, Justin Kraus, Brian Ranger, Sean Frazier, Erica Loomis, Rebecca Cambruzzi, Dina Duhl, Booka Bickar, Evan Jacobs, Ted Smith
    • Painters: Rachel Kelley, Laurah Grijalva, Babette Brunelle, Paulette Fox
    • Pyrotechnics: Pete Slegle, Paul Staples
    • Computer Graphics: Rob Menapace
    • Computer Consultant: Todd Mahon
    • Computer Generated Planes by: Homer & Associates, Peter Conn, Seth Greenberg
    • "Tomcat" Stock Footage Courstesy of: Grumman Aircraft
    • "Blackhawk" Stock Footage Courtesy of: Sikorsky Aircraft
    • Aircraft Interiors Furnished by: Ernie Sheldon
    • Camera Consultant: Leon Bijou
    • Cameras Furnished by: Arriflex Corporation, Volker Bahnemann, Bill Russell
    • F-14 and MiG Model Kits Furnished by: Revell
    • Special Thanks to: Riley R. Russell
    Tomcat Alley is a trademark of Sega
    Copyright 1994 Sega
    Source:
    In-game credits
    TomcatAlley MCD JP SSCredits.pdf
    [8]


    Sega Studios
    Japanese Localization Team - AOI Advertising Promotion Inc
    • Producer: Hidomitsu Kobayashi
    • Director: Masami Higashida
    • Production Manager: Hiroko Arai, Tyomin Nakae
    • Recording Studio: Video Tech Co., Ltd.
    • Cast: Tsutomu Isobe, Osamu Kobayashi, Teseho Genda, Iomasa Kayumi, Mami Koyama, Hiroshi Isobe, Yuka Koyama, Kazunari Tanaka
    SEGA of America, Inc.
    Source:
    In-game credits (JP)
    TomcatAlley MCD JP SSCredits JP.pdf
    [9]

    Magazine articles

    Main article: Tomcat Alley/Magazine articles.

    Promotional material

    Main article: Tomcat Alley/Promotional material.

    Artwork

    Physical scans

    Mega-CD version

    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Score Source
    63 [10]
    76 [11]
    91 [12]
    54 [13]
    60 №315, p42
    57 №18, p71
    90 [14] №34, p110
    60 №23, p26/27
    69 [15]
    90 №10, p40/41
    72 №29, p68-71
    75 [16]
    86 №45, p48-50
    68 №55, p46/47
    86 №32, p58/59
    80 №25, p32/33
    Sega Mega-CD
    74
    Based on
    16 reviews
    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Version Score
    Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
    63
    [17]
    Consoles + (FR)
    91
    [18]
    Computer & Video Games (UK)
    54
    [19]
    Digitiser (UK) NTSC
    55
    [20]
    Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
    100
    [21]
    Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
    58
    [22]
    Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
    60
    [23]
    Game Players (US) NTSC-U
    67
    [24]
    GamePro (US) NTSC-U
    100
    [25]
    Gamers (DE)
    53
    [26]
    GamesMaster (UK) PAL
    57
    [27]
    Hyper (AU)
    80
    [28]
    Joypad (FR) NTSC-U
    90
    [29]
    Joypad (FR) PAL
    90
    [30]
    Joypad (HU)
    88
    [31]
    MAN!AC (DE) PAL
    78
    [32]
    Mega (UK) NTSC-U
    69
    [33]
    Mega Force (FR) NTSC-U
    90
    [34]
    Mega Fun (DE) PAL
    77
    [35]
    Mega Power (UK) PAL
    90
    [36]
    MegaTech (UK) NTSC-U
    72
    [37]
    Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
    75
    [1]
    Player One (FR)
    86
    [38]
    Play Time (DE)
    75
    [39]
    Power Up! (UK)
    75
    [40]
    Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
    66
    [41]
    Sega Magazin (DE)
    80
    [42]
    Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
    90
    [43]
    Sega News (CZ)
    90
    [44]
    Sega Power (UK) NTSC-U
    68
    [45]
    Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U
    86
    [46]
    Sega Zone (UK) PAL
    58
    [47]
    Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
    76
    [48]
    Supersonic (FR)
    80
    [49]
    The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU)
    87
    [50]
    Todo Sega (ES)
    85
    [51]
    Video Games (DE) NTSC-U
    66
    [52]
    VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
    90
    [53]
    Sega Mega-CD
    77
    Based on
    38 reviews

    Tomcat Alley

    Mega-CD, US
    TomcatAlley MCD US Box Back.jpgTomcatAlley MCD US Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    TomcatAlley MCD US Disc.jpg
    Disc
    Tomcatalley mcd us manual.pdf
    Manual
    Mega-CD, EU
    TomcatAlley MCD EU Box Back.jpgTomcatAlley MCD EU Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    TomcatAlley MCD EU spinecard.jpg
    Spinecard
    TomcatAlley MCD EU Disc.jpg
    Disc
    Tomcat Alley MCD EU Manual.pdf
    Manual
    Mega-CD, JP
    TomcatAlley MCD JP Box Back.jpgTomcatAlley MCD JP Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    TomcatAlley MCD JP Spinecard.JPG
    Spinecard
    TomcatAlley MCD JP Disc.jpg
    Disc
    Mega-CD, FR
    TomcatAlley MCD FR Box Back.jpgTomcatAlley MCD FR Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    TomcatAlley MCD FR Disc.jpg
    Disc
    Mega-CD, DE
    TomcatAlley MCD DE Box Back.jpgTomcatAlley MCD DE Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    Mega-CD, ES
    TomcatAlley MCD ES Box Back.jpgTomcatAlley MCD ES Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    Mega-CD, BR
    TomcatAlley MCD BR Box Back.jpgNospine.pngTomcatAlley MCD BR Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    SCDManualTomcatAlleyTecToy.pdf
    Manual

    PC version

    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Score Source
    59 [54]
    50 [55]
    30 [56]
    Windows PC
    46
    Based on
    3 reviews
    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Version Score
    Computer & Video Games (UK)
    59
    [6]
    Dimension-3 (US)
    50
    [55]
    Mean Machines Sega (UK)
    30
    [56]
    PC Gamer (UK)
    8
    [57]
    Windows PC
    37
    Based on
    4 reviews

    Tomcat Alley

    PC, US
    TomcatAlley PC US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngTomcatAlley PC US Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    PC, EU
    TomcatPC-Box-Außen.jpgNospine.pngTomcatPC-Box-Außen-Front.jpg
    Cover
    TomcatPC-CD.jpg
    Disc
    TomcatPC-Cover.jpg
    Manual
    TomcatPC-Inlay-back.jpgTomcatPC-Inlay.jpg
    Jewel Case
    TomcatPC-Cover-back.jpg
    Manual (back)

    Technical information

    ROM dump status

    System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
    Sega Mega-CD
     ?
    CRC32
    MD5
    SHA-1
    535,465,728 CD (DE) 4429-18
    Sega Mega-CD
     ?
    CRC32
    MD5
    SHA-1
    570,425,856 CD (EU) 4429
    Sega Mega-CD
    CRC32
    MD5
    SHA-1
    534,654,288 CD (JP) G-6039
    Sega Mega-CD
    CRC32
    MD5
    SHA-1
    569,743,776 CD (US) 4429(Alt)
    Sega Mega-CD
    CRC32
    MD5
    SHA-1
    570,094,224 CD (US) 4429
    Sega Mega-CD
     ?
    CRC32
    MD5
    SHA-1
    1994-02-10 Page

    References

    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mean Machines Sega, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-05-28), page 76
    2. GamePro, "March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 174
    3. File:GamePlayers US 0705.pdf
    4. Press release: 1995-11-08: Sega delivers arcade gaming action on the PC
    5. Mean Machines Sega, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 88
    6. 6.0 6.1 Computer & Video Games, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-03-14), page 58
    7. File:TomcatAlley_MCD_JP_SSCredits_Intro.pdf
    8. File:TomcatAlley_MCD_JP_SSCredits.pdf
    9. File:TomcatAlley_MCD_JP_SSCredits_JP.pdf
    10. Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1995" (JP; 1994-12-08), page 23 (25)
    11. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 83 (85)
    12. Consoles +, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 144/145 (144)
    13. Computer & Video Games, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-15), page 56/57 (56)
    14. Joypad, "Mai 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 40/41 (40)
    15. Mega, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-19), page 34/35 (34)
    16. Mean Machines Sega, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-05-28), page 76/77 (76)
    17. Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1995" (JP; 1994-12-08), page 25
    18. Consoles +, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 144
    19. Computer & Video Games, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-15), page 56
    20. Digitiser (UK) (1994-07-20)
    21. Electronic Games (1992-1995), "June 1994" (US; 1994-05-24), page 100
    22. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "May 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 34
    23. Famitsu, "1994-12-30" (JP; 1994-12-16), page 42
    24. Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 5 May 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 40
    25. GamePro, "May 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 54
    26. Gamers, "Juli/August 1994" (DE; 1994-07-01), page 45
    27. GamesMaster, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-26), page 71
    28. Hyper, "June 1994" (AU; 1994-xx-xx), page 44
    29. Joypad, "Mai 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 40
    30. Joypad, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 110
    31. Joypad, "3/1994" (HU; 1994-xx-xx), page 13
    32. MAN!AC, "05/94" (DE; 1994-04-13), page 38
    33. Mega, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-19), page 34
    34. Mega Force, "Juillet/Août 1994" (FR; 1994-07-04), page 110
    35. Mega Fun, "07/94" (DE; 1994-06-22), page 40
    36. Mega Power, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-21), page 40
    37. MegaTech, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-21), page 6
    38. Player One, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 48
    39. Play Time, "7/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 131
    40. Power Up!, "Saturday, July 30, 1994" (UK; 1994-07-30), page 1
    41. Saturn Fan, "1995 March" (JP; 1995-02-08), page 41
    42. Sega Magazin, "Juni 1994" (DE; 1994-05-11), page 22
    43. Sega Magazine, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-15), page 88
    44. Sega News, "Říjen 1996" (CZ; 1996-xx-xx), page 19
    45. Sega Power, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-04-28), page 46
    46. Sega Pro, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-21), page 58
    47. Sega Zone, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-xx), page 22
    48. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
    49. Supersonic, "Octobre 1994" (FR; 1994-xx-xx), page 32
    50. The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU) "Season 1, episode 4" (1994-05-21, ) (+0:00)
    51. Todo Sega, "Septiembre 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 36
    52. Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 89
    53. VideoGames, "May 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 61
    54. Computer & Video Games, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-03-14), page 58/59 (58)
    55. 55.0 55.1 Dimension-3, "Volume 1, Issue 7: December 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 30
    56. 56.0 56.1 Mean Machines Sega, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 89
    57. PC Gamer, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-02-22), page 100