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Moon Patrol

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Moon Patrol is an arcade game originally released in 1982 by Irem and later licensed for release in North America by Williams (Midway). It is a side-scrolling shooter that puts players at the controls of a six-wheeled moon rover that can jump and shoot. The goal is to move through the entire ...

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Developer
Irem

Released on
1982

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Moon Patrol is an arcade game originally released in 1982 by Irem and later licensed for release in North America by Williams (Midway). It is a side-scrolling shooter that puts players at the controls of a six-wheeled moon rover that can jump and shoot.

The goal is to move through the entire course as quickly as possible while shooting enemies for additional points. Cannons are mounted on the front and top of the vehicle, and both fire simultaneously when the fire button is pressed. Rocks, mines, and pits in the course prevent you from just holding to the right for maximum speed. Rocks and mines can be shot, but pits must be jumped. Some enemies fire shots that create new pits in the course, forcing players to react quickly.

Moon Patrol

Overview & History

Released by Irem in 1982, Moon Patrol is a seminal side-scrolling arcade masterpiece that introduced foundational mechanics to the platform-action genre. Set on the rugged, hostile terrain of Earth's moon—specifically Sector Prime—players assume the role of a futuristic defense buggy tasked with completing a hazardous reconnaissance patrol against alien aggressors. Created during the golden age of arcade gaming, the title stood out for its pioneering use of parallax scrolling, which created a stunning illusion of depth by moving the background starfield, Earth, and foreground craters at differing speeds. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, who later conceptualized Street Fighter, Moon Patrol challenged players to endure five increasingly difficult checkpoints across two distinct difficulty modes (Normal and Championship course), blending precision driving with relentless vehicular combat.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard horizontal shooters, Moon Patrol demands a constant balancing act between vehicular suspension physics and split-second offensive maneuvers. The player's lunar buggy is perpetually armed with dual cannons that fire forward horizontally and upward diagonally simultaneously, allowing players to decimate oncoming alien saucers while simultaneously blasting pesky boulders out of their path. The terrain is littered with treacherous craters of varying sizes. Players must master the physics-based jump mechanic to clear these chasms safely. Missing a jump results in the buggy crashing and losing a life. Further compounding the challenge are deep pits blasted into the ground by unseen enemies, which require careful calculation of speed and airtime. Throughout the patrol, enemy craft swoop down from the skies, dropping bombs and strafing the buggy, forcing players to anticipate both surface hazards and aerial assaults concurrently. Checkpoints mark your progress from Alpha through Epsilon, tallying your speed and rewarding bonus points based on how quickly you complete each leg.

Keyboard Controls

Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Move (Left/Right to accelerate or brake, Down to duck/speed up depending on arcade ROM configuration)
Action Keys: Attack / Jump (Jump over craters and fire weapons simultaneously)
Enter: Start / Pause