the cutting room mirror

'88 Games

'88 Games is essentially an updated version of the original Track & Field arcade game made to tie-in with the Seoul Olympic Games (but released without any official Olympic endorsement). It features all the same events from the original (except for the Hammer Throw), along with the inclusion of Skeet Shooting and Archery from Hyper Sports and the addition of the all-new 400m Relay. Being released five years after Track & Field (and four years after Hyper Sports), it's also a much nicer looking game, showing how much graphics have progressed during that period.

Unused Graphics#

A filler graphic found throughout the graphics ROMs.

(Source: Ferrox)

Regional Differences#

Japan

USA

Europe

Three versions of the game were produced, each for different regions. Hyper Sports Special (Version F) was the Japanese version (an unusual title choice for the Japanese version, given that the arcade version of Hyper Sports was titled Hyper Olympic '84 in Japan, although the Hyper Sports title would be used for the Famicom and MSX versions in Japan), while '88 Games (Version M) was the North American version. Konami '88 (Version E, which suggests was the earliest version of the game produced) was the European version.

Continue?#

88 Games is the sole version that allows you to continue when you get a game over. Hyper Sports Special and Konami '88 don't have continues. If you lose in those versions, it's game over!

References#


  1. https://www.mobygames.com/game/123961/88-games/↩︎
  2. https://www.mobygames.com/game/123961/88-games/↩︎
  3. Domestic and Overseas Arcade Game List 1971-2005↩︎