''Tattoo Assassins'' is an unreleased 1994

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

developed by the pinball division of

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The Am ...

for release in arcades. A few prototypes were test-marketed, but the game was never officially released. Spearheaded by

Bob Gale Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemec ...

(screenwriter for ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'') and Joe Kaminkow (leader of Data East Pinball, now known as

Stern Pinball Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for '' Berzerk''. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1999 ...

), ''Tattoo Assassins'' was designed to be Data East's answer to ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

''. The game was essentially completed before it was cancelled, though it has some minor gameplay and sound glitches, and prototype cabinets were released to test markets in 1994.

Reception

''Tattoo Assassins'' was reviewed in ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

''; the reviewer panned the game for poor synchronization between controls and characters, sometimes choppy animation, and most especially the game's "extraordinary lack of any real innovation."

References

External links

Dan's Tattoo Assassins page
* {{KLOV game, id=10039
System 16 arcade database
(Data East ARM6 hardware roundup)
Unseen64 feature
(September 14, 2020. Article by Nolan Snoap.) Cancelled arcade video games Arcade-only video games Arcade video games Data East video games Mortal Kombat clones Obscenity controversies in video games Video games with digitized sprites Video games developed in the United States Data East arcade games