Cliff Hanger is an Interactive Movie arcade game released by Stern Electronics in 1983, utilizing the LaserDisc technology made popular by games like Dragon's Lair.
This game follows the efforts of a 'lovable outcast' named Cliff, as he and his sidekicks, Jeff and Samurai, face off against mysterious assassins, deadly choppers, and the evil Count Draco as he tries to rescue Princess Clarissa before she is forced to marry the count.
If the plot of this game, and the animation used, sounds and looks awfully familiar to you, that's because this game utilizes footage from Lupin III's The Castle of Cagliostro (with an extra sprinkling of The Mystery of Mamo for good measure). The game was also featured in an episode in Starcade and made a cameo in The Goonies.
Not to be confused with the movie of the same name. but it was rumored that Sylvester Stallone was such a big fan of this game that it became the inspiration for said movie.
This game contains examples of:
- A Winner Is You: Once you finish the game, you get a flashing screen that says, 'CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE COMPLETED THIS CHALLENGE'.
- All There in the Manual: Jigen's character is given a name (Jeff), but none of the characters refer to him by name in the entire game.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Cliff does this in the resurrection scene.Cliff: Heh, gotcha! I'm still around!
- Dub Name Change:
- Lupin = Cliff
- Jigen = Jeff
- Goemon = Samurai
- Clarisse = Princess Clarissa
- Count Cagliostro = Count Draco
- Gory Discretion Shot:
- Considering there's no scenes in any of the original source materials where Lupin dies, the scenes of Zenigata shooting the camera, the car explosion in the sewers, and the chopper turret shooting serve as the only 'death scenes' in the entire game.
- Averted in one section, where the scene of Lupin and Clarisse falling to the ground after the former's grappling hook gave way was repurposed into a proper death scene in this game, as playing the scene correctly implies that the two landed safely down.
- Guide Dang It!: Your only 'move guide' consists of two words, 'STICK,' and 'ACTION.' Not only can they become cryptic and confusing to figure out (especially with the 'ACTION' commands, since you have two buttons dedicated to your hands and feet), but the reaction time is incredibly strict. Not to mention how much the game demands you to press certain buttons multiple times during the scenes that repeat themselves. Add all that on to the fact that you only have three lives, and this can make for one of the hardest Interactive Movie games around.
- Have a Nice Death: If you lose a life (
and you more than likely will), you'll be treated to a scene where 'Cliff' (Lupin) gets hanged. - The Nameless: Zenigata appears in this game, but considering he's Demoted to Extra, he does not have any name changes, nor is he even mentioned.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: At various times, the game's audio would suddenly change to the original Japanese dub(s) before immediately switching back to the English dub. And there's one point where the audio would even switch to a completely different English dub.