The Commodore 64 version of the Bally-Midway arcade game Kick-Man has a number of mysteries. Who programmed the C64 version? Why are there two very different versions of the game, and what platforms were they intended for? And why does the game play "blazing fast" on some Commodore 64s? We attempt to answer all these questions, as well as give more history about this somewhat infamous game in the popular "clowns popping balloons" genre of video games.
Videos/channels mentioned:
HAL and Satoru Iwata’s Star Battle: https://youtu.be/QJCwsi6O5xU
LeMans Ultimax cart dumping: https://youtu.be/YV9WN-dTNgk
Commodore International Historical Society: https://www.youtube.com/@commodorehistory
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Index:
0:00 Intro
1:03 About the arcade game
3:26 Comparing arcade and C64 versions
5:38 Originally for the Commodore Max
7:25 Who programmed Kickman for C64?
12:13 The two versions of Kickman: Max vs. C64?
14:53 Comparing Old vs. New versions of Kickman
19:55 Revealing the real Max version
23:28 Punctuation: Kick-Man, Kickman, Kick Man
25:37 The Blazing Fast Bug?
30:00 Kickman Disassembly: Examining Main Loop
35:27 The problem on PAL
39:34 Patching the game
40:46 Testing the patch and other thoughts
47:40 Conclusion and thanks!
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