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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Smash TV say to the ratings? You're smashed.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Smash T.V.)

Smash TV
Arcade flyer
DeveloperWilliams Electronics[a]
PublishersWilliams Electronics
Consoles
Acclaim Entertainment[b]
Home computers
Ocean Software
DesignerEugene Jarvis
ProgrammerMark Turmell
ArtistsJohn Tobias
Tim Coman
Composer
Jon Hey
  • NES, Super NES
    Marshall Parker
    Amiga, ST
    Tony Williams
    C64
    Jeroen Tel
    Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear
    Matt Furniss
Platform
Release
April 1990
  • Arcade
    NES
    Amiga, Atari ST, C64, CPC, ZX Spectrum
    Super NES
    Genesis/Mega Drive
    Game Gear
    Master System
GenreTwin-stick shooter
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemMidway Y Unit

Smash TV is an arcade video game developed and published by Williams Electronics in 1990. It was designed by Eugene Jarvis and programmed by Mark Turmell with similar twin-stick shooter gameplay to Jarvis' 1982 game Robotron: 2084. Versions released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear were titled Super Smash TV.

Plot

[edit]

The game takes place in a dystopian televised game show, described as "the most violent game show of all time", in the year 1999. One or two contestants survive by shooting waves of attackers while collecting money, temporary power-ups, and various prizes such as toasters and VCRs. After an arena has been cleared of adversaries, the contestants choose an exit, which leads to another room. One room contains an end-of-level boss; defeating this boss enables the players to progress to the next level. The show is overseen by a sadistic host, whose verbal interjections frequently punctuate gameplay, including "Total carnage! I love it!", "Big money! Big prizes! I love it!", and "I'd buy that for a dollar!". The last level of the game ends with a showdown against the final boss, revealed to be the host himself.

In two-player mode, the game is cooperative, and each player is allowed to help his companion. However, at the end of each level, the player who collected the most cash and prizes receives an extra reward. The arcade game has multiple difficulty settings and a pay-to-continue option to allow players to continue gameplay after losing all their lives. A bonus feature was added after release, allowing players to collect keys throughout the levels to reach the "Pleasure Dome". Several gameplay themes were borrowed from dystopian films such as RoboCop and The Running Man.[10][11]

Gameplay

[edit]
A room in the first level. The blue player character is right of center (arcade).

The gameplay is similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier Robotron: 2084, with twin-joystick controls and a series of single-screen arenas. While most of the enemies in Robotron are visible at the start of a fight, in Smash TV they enter the arena in waves.

In each arena, players shoot hordes of enemies that enter via doorways on the four walls, while collecting money, temporary power-ups, weapons, and gift-wrapped prizes. When all enemies have been killed, one or more exits appear, leading to additional arenas. After completing the first arena in a level, a map shows the overall arrangement of the level and the location of the end-of-level boss. Players cannot backtrack to previously completed areas.

Among the game's items are keys. If enough are collected, players can access a bonus level called the Pleasure Dome where players can collect hundreds of blue bikini-clad blonde and buxom "babes" in a similar fashion to the other prizes in the game.[12]

Development

[edit]

In a 1995 interview with GamePro magazine, programmer Mark Turmell recounted: "When Hasbro pulled the plug on an interactive movie project I was working on, I went to Williams to design coin-op games. I moved to Chicago, hired John Tobias, and together we did our first coin-op, Smash T.V."[13] The announcer in the game is voiced by sound designer Paul Heitsch. The script was written by the game's composer and sound designer Jon Hey.

The arcade game originally shipped without the Pleasure Dome bonus level implemented, although dialogue in the game alluded to its existence. The design team excluded the level from the game's initial release, fearing that not enough players would make it to the end of the game. However, many players who reached the end of the game lodged complaints with arcade operators after being unable to complete the final level. Upon being informed of these complaints, Williams sent a revised game to arcades that included the Pleasure Dome level.[12]

Ports

[edit]

Smash TV was converted to multiple home video game consoles: the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Game Gear, Master System, and Genesis/Mega Drive. British software development company Ocean Software published versions for ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and Amiga.

On some home systems, players have the option to use a directional pad on the second controller to control the direction the character will shoot on-screen. Using this option for both players requires a multitap peripheral.[14] The dual control aspect of the game works particularly well on the SNES, as its four main buttons, A, B, X and Y, are laid out like a D-pad, enabling the player to shoot in one direction while running in another.[15]

Reception

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Smash T.V. was generally well-received by critics and the public. It received the "most innovative game" award from the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) in 1990.[32] The various ports of Smash TV to home entertainment and computer systems received positive to mixed reviews.

The Amiga version scored 895/1,000 in a review by Advanced Computer Entertainment magazine,[17] and the Spectrum magazine CRASH awarded the ZX version 97%, dubbing it a "Crash Smash".[19]

Accolades

[edit]

In 1997 Electronic Gaming Monthly listed Smash TV as the 6th best arcade game of all time.[33] In 2004, Smash TV was inducted into GameSpot's list of the greatest games of all time.[34] In 1995, British game magazine Total! rated Super Smash TV 51st on its "Top 100 SNES Games" list.[35] In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 84th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time" list.[36]

Legacy

[edit]

The 1992 Williams arcade game Total Carnage, named after one of the catchphrases of the antagonistic video game host in Smash TV, shares many gameplay elements with Smash TV and was also programmed by Turmell, but is not a sequel.

Re-releases

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Smash TV was included in Arcade Party Pak, a compilation of six arcade games released for the PlayStation in 1999.[37]

It is also part of the Midway Arcade Treasures collection, which is available for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2 and was released in 2003. These versions give the player the option to save high scores.[38] Smash TV is also part of the 2012 video game compilation Midway Arcade Origins.[39]

Smash TV was made available for download through Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service on the Xbox 360, and was the first version of the game to officially allow two players to play the game online.[40] It was delisted from the service in February 2010[41] following the dissolution of Midway Games.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ NES and SNES versions developed by Beam Software; Genesis/Mega Drive, Master System, Game Gear, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions developed by Probe Software.
  2. ↑ Released under the Flying Edge brand name on Sega systems

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 140. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  2. ↑ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Fact File: Smash TV". Games-X. No. 28. Europress. October 31, 1991. p. 19.
  4. ↑ "Super NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Genesis Pro Review: Smash T.V." GamePro. No. 38. IDG. September 1992. p. 52.
  6. ↑ "Official Sega Product Coming Your Way for Christmas" (PDF). Computer Trade Weekly. No. 414. Opportunity Publishing. November 23, 1992. p. 18. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Game Gear Pro Review: Smash TV". GamePro. No. 39. International Data Group. October 1992. p. 126.
  8. ↑ "The Release Schedule". Computer Trade Weekly. No. 414. November 23, 1992. p. 18.
  9. ↑ "Official Sega Product Coming Your Way This Month" (PDF). Computer Trade Weekly. No. 411. Opportunity Publishing. November 2, 1992. p. 10. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  10. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (November 29, 2005). "Smash TV Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  11. ↑ Soboleski, Brent (December 7, 2005). "Smash TV Review (Xbox 360)". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  12. 1 2 Leone, Matt (January 9, 2013). "The story behind Total Carnage's confusing ending". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Making his Mark: Programmer Mark Turmell". GamePro. No. 86. IDG. November 1995. pp. 36–37.
  14. ↑ "Smash T.V. – Controls". Allgame. Rovi. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Super Smash T.V. – Controls". Allgame. Rovi. Archived from the original on December 12, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Super Smash T.V. SNES Review Score". Archived from the original on June 2, 2019.
  17. 1 2 Douglas, Jim (December 1991). "Smash TV". ACE. No. 51. pp. 80–85. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  18. ↑ Amstrad Action magazine, issue 75, Future Publishing
  19. 1 2 "Archive – Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved June 15, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  20. 1 2 Keen, Steve; Anglin, Paul (November 1992). "Smash TV". Computer and Video Games. No. 132. pp. 90–91. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  21. ↑ O'Connor, Frank; Boone, Tim (May 1992). "Smash T.V." Computer and Video Games. No. 126. pp. 20–21. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  22. ↑ Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Sushi-X (February 1992). "Review Crew". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Vol. 5, no. 31. Sendai Publishing. p. 20. Retrieved February 10, 2026 – via Video Game History Foundation.
  23. ↑ Julian; Rich (May 1992). "Smash T.V." Mean Machines. No. 20. pp. 52–54. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  24. ↑ Gus; Paul; Rad (October 1992). "Smash TV". Mean Machines Sega. No. 1. pp. 84–87. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Archive – Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Smash TV". Ysrnry.co.uk. November 21, 1991. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Archive – Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  28. ↑ Smash TV rating, MegaTech issue 12, page 96, December 1992
  29. ↑ Mega review, issue 1, page 57, October 1992
  30. ↑ Tim, Hirschmann; Millichamp, Rob (October 1993). "Hot Shots". Sega Master Force. No. 3. p. 49. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Amstrad Action All Time Top 10 Games • Retroaction". Retroactionmagazine.com. Retrieved June 15, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  32. ↑ "AMOA 1989-90 Award Winners Announced" (PDF). Cash Box. November 10, 1990. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  33. ↑ "The 10 Best Arcade Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. Ziff Davis. November 1997. p. 130.
  34. ↑ "The Greatest Games of All Time: Smash TV". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007.
  35. ↑ "Top 100 SNES Games". Total! (43): 46. July 1995. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Top 100 Games of All Time" (PDF). GamesMaster (44): 75. July 1996. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  37. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (November 1, 1999). "Arcade Party Pak Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  38. ↑ Tracy, Tim (November 18, 2003). "Facebook Tweet Midway Arcade Treasures Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Midway Arcade Origins Review". IGN.com. November 13, 2012. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  40. ↑ Onyett, Charles (December 9, 2005). "Smash TV". IGN. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  41. ↑ Hatfield, Daemon (February 17, 2010). "More XBLA Games Delisted". IGN. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
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