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Bandai Zaxxon

(19xx, VFD, 4 C Batteries, Model# ?)
A/C Adapter: 6-9v DC, Center Pole Positive
CPU: Hitachi HD38800-B19
Download ROM with dis-assembled source code
View guts and dis-assembly instructions

Bandai's tabletop VFD version of Zaxxon, based on Sega's Zaxxon arcade game. This game has a unique way of creating a 3-D effect- it only uses 1 VFD display (unlike Coleco's Zaxxon which uses two). The VFD is basically split in two, the upper half you see as the lower part of the playing field, while the lower part of the VFD is reflected on a semi-transparent mirror to create the upper half of the 3-D playing space. Pretty cool idea to get a good 3D effect, and it really works in that all of the ships (not just the player's ship like on the Coleco version) and the playfield itself all have a true depth. It's a little awkward to play sometimes as you have to sit just right to get all the of screen centered perfectly, but once you are in position, it's a very nice version of Zaxxon. It features the planes in space mode, and the flying over land mode. The only that seems to missing is the actual Zaxxon boss at the end...


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Display images from back of box:

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