Mega Force (Arcade)

Mega Force

Also known as: Star Force (JP)
Developer: Tehkan
Publishers: Tehkan (JP), Coin-It^[1] (US 1984), Video Ware^[1] (US 1986)
Platform: Arcade (Senjyo hardware)
Released in JP: September 1984^[1]
Released in US: December 1984^[1] (Coin-It), January 1986^[1] (Video Ware)

This game has hidden developer credits.
This game has unused music.
This game has regional differences.

A vertical shoot-'em-up by Tehkan (later Tecmo), developed in response to the unpopularity of Senjyo at arcades and even using the same board to recoup costs.

The first of the Star Force series, not to be confused with a certain other series by Hudson Soft.

Hidden Credits

Two developer names are in the sub CPU, starting at 0x06EA:

Cheabow &  Matsu

Shinichi "Cheabow" Sakamoto is a composer who hid his name in several arcade titles, while "Matsu" is Seiji Matsunaga, who programmed the game.

However, the actual composer of the game is Tsukasa Masuko, as confirmed in the box set Tecmo Arcade Game Chronicle (SRIN-1104).

(Source: Original TCRF research)

(Source: VGMdb)

Regional Differences

Title Screen

The US version of the game was renamed "Mega Force" and has a rather different logo, with thinner outlines and stars added inside the logo.

Japan	US

Unused Music

Hidden in the game's data are 2 jingles and 5 tracks that go unused in the game itself. However, one track would subsequently be used for the Game Over theme in Tecmo's NES port.

Track titles are taken from Tecmo Arcade Game Chronicle (SRIN-1104, Disc 1, Tracks 37-42).

ID	Title	Notes
16	Unused Jingle 1	This would later be used in the Tecmo-developed NES port as the Game Over theme.
01	Unused Jingle 2
1A	Unused Music 1
19	Unused Music 2
1C	Unused Music 3
1D	Unused Music 4
1E	Unused Music 5