Mighty Monkey

Take to the skies in Mighty Monkey, a cooperative shooter released by Universal Video Games in 1982. Two players control monkey characters as they navigate a vertically oriented game field, battling enemies and obstacles across the screen. Using an eight-way joystick and two buttons, players maneuver their monkeys while firing projectiles to clear pathways and progress through levels. The game draws inspiration from Chinese folklore; its name references Sun Wu Kong, a figure from "Pilgrimage to the West." A vibrant palette of 99 colors brings the action to life on a resolution of 224 x 256 pixels, all rendered at a refresh rate of 60.61 Hz. The Zilog Z80 processors power both the game and its sound effects, delivered through General Instrument AY8910 chips. Bootleg versions of Mighty Monkey were later produced using hardware from other popular arcade games like "Scramble" and "Super Cobra."