I'm Sorry (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
I'm Sorry, known in Japan
as , is an arcade game
released by Coreland
/Sega
in 1985. This action game
stars a caricature of former Prime Minister of Japan
, Kakuei Tanaka
. The title is actually a play on the Japanese word for Prime Minister, "Sori". The game satirizes Tanaka's greed by making the goal of the game acquiring gold bars. Oddly enough this game, with so much Japan
ese satire, made it into some of the United States
arcades.
to collect all the gold bars while jumping over or defeating various enemies and obstacles in each maze-like level. Some of these enemies are: Giant Baba (a Japanese wrestler), a moonwalking Michael Jackson
, Madonna
, Japanese comedian Tamori
, Carl Lewis
, moving statues (activated when passed by). Some obstacles include: Gates, "fire" hydrants, safes (making it difficult to gain access to the gold), a rolling barrel, conveyor belts, and a swimming pool with platforms ranging in size and strength. When you collect all the gold in a given level, you must cash it into a building (labeled "out" when the level begins and "in" once you retrieve all the gold) to beat the level. The player can only hold ten bars of gold at once. In later levels there are more than 10 bars of gold, so the player must make multiple deposits.
If the player is caught by Tamori (the guy with the sunglasses), the player's clothes will change into a white diaper while the captor changes into a leather S&M
bikini and lashes his whip on the crying protagonist's back.
There are 32 distinct levels. Once level 32 is completed, the player returns to level 16.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released by Coreland
Banpresto
is a Japanese toy company, best known in America for game development, headquartered in the Shinagawa Seaside West Building in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It was founded April 1977 as Hoei Sangyo, Co. Ltd. The company was renamed Coreland in 1982, and during the 1980s it worked mainly as a subcontractor for...
/Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
in 1985. This action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
stars a caricature of former Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
, Kakuei Tanaka
Kakuei Tanaka
was a Japanese politician and the 64th and 65th Prime Minister of Japan from 7 July 1972 to 22 December 1972 and from 22 December 1972 to 9 December 1974 respectively...
. The title is actually a play on the Japanese word for Prime Minister, "Sori". The game satirizes Tanaka's greed by making the goal of the game acquiring gold bars. Oddly enough this game, with so much Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese satire, made it into some of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
arcades.
Gameplay
The goal is for the greedy protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
to collect all the gold bars while jumping over or defeating various enemies and obstacles in each maze-like level. Some of these enemies are: Giant Baba (a Japanese wrestler), a moonwalking Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Japanese comedian Tamori
Tamori
is a Japanese celebrity. His real name is and the screenname Tamori is an anagram of his surname. He was born on 22 August 1945 in Fukuoka City in Fukuoka Prefecture....
, Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
, moving statues (activated when passed by). Some obstacles include: Gates, "fire" hydrants, safes (making it difficult to gain access to the gold), a rolling barrel, conveyor belts, and a swimming pool with platforms ranging in size and strength. When you collect all the gold in a given level, you must cash it into a building (labeled "out" when the level begins and "in" once you retrieve all the gold) to beat the level. The player can only hold ten bars of gold at once. In later levels there are more than 10 bars of gold, so the player must make multiple deposits.
Enemies
Tamori, Michael Jackson, Carl Lewis, and Madonna can all be killed with one punch. Punching Giant Baba stuns him, more are required to actually kill him. The closer the player is to Giant Baba the faster he can be killed. Madonna has a range attack where she begins to jump and then launches a kiss at you. Carl Lewis jumps, so he can be walked under but he is more difficult to punch. When an enemy is killed it later respawns. The barrels cannot be killedIf the player is caught by Tamori (the guy with the sunglasses), the player's clothes will change into a white diaper while the captor changes into a leather S&M
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
bikini and lashes his whip on the crying protagonist's back.
Levels
The game has 4 maps. After every 4 levels the game returns to first map. However, the difficulty of the map is increased by adding one of the following:- More enemies
- More difficult enemies
- Conveyor belts
- Gates
- Disappearing platforms
- More gold
- Safes
There are 32 distinct levels. Once level 32 is completed, the player returns to level 16.
Rarity
The Video Arcade Preservation Society conducted a survey and found that of about 800 arcade machine collectors and their nearly 20,000 games, there aren't any instances of an I'm Sorry machine owned by a collector.External links
- I'm Sorry ROMRead-only memoryRead-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
information. - I'm Sorry game information at arcade-history.