''Fantasy'' is an

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...

developed by

SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...

and released for arcades in October 1981. It was licensed to

Rock-Ola The Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation is an American developer and manufacturer of juke boxes and related machinery. It was founded in 1927 by Coin-Op pioneer David Cullen Rockola to manufacture slot machines, scales, and pinball machines. The ...

for North American release in February 1982. The game is controlled with a single

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

. One level plays the melody from the song "

Funkytown "Funkytown" is a song by the American disco/funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music gen ...

". According to the book ''Gamers: Writers, Artists & Programmers on the Pleasures of Pixels'', this is the first

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...

to have a continue feature.Compton, Shanna. ''Gamers: Writers, Artists & Programmers on the Pleasures of Pixels'' p. 117-118 The game runs on the SNK 6502 arcade system board, also known as the SNK Rockola hardware. Other games that run on the same hardware are ''Sasuke vs. Commander'' (1980), ''

Zarzon ''Zarzon'' (, ), also known as ''Satan of Saturn'' (), is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade game developed and manufactured by SNK and licensed to Taito for North American release. The gameplay is a variation of ''Space Invaders''. Gameplay The go ...

'' (1981) and ''

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

'' (1981).

References

1981 video games Action video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games SNK games Video games developed in Japan {{arcade-stub