Cosmic Scramble brings Konami’s 1981 arcade hit Scramble to the tabletop: steer your rockets across a glowing landscape, shooting down missiles and blasting fuel tanks while keeping one eye on the fuel gauge.
It was designed by the Hanzawa Corporation of Tokyo and, as the instruction sticker states, made in Taiwan. In Britain it wore the CGL badge of Computer Games Ltd. A strip beside the screen maps out four landscapes, Patterns 1 to 4, plus a Bonus Pattern.
Interesting facts
One game, many names. Hanzawa licensed this game far and wide. Actronics sold it as Cosmic Free Fire under the same model number, 3301, Lansay as Super Cobra 2 and Ludotronic as Raid Cosmique. CGL used both the Cosmic Free Fire and Cosmic Scramble names.
The arcade original. Konami’s Scramble reached arcades in 1981 and is described as the first side-scrolling shooter with forced scrolling and several distinct levels. Its fuel gauge and fuel tanks, which made running out of fuel as deadly as crashing, reappear here.
From Entex to Hanzawa. Collectors believe the firm was founded by Tsunio Hanzawa, who helped design handhelds at Entex’s Tokyo office before going it alone around 1981. His VFD games were sold by others, mainly in the UK; his name hides on the label.