Sega's Sonic Patrol Car (Photo : Twitter)
Video game enthusiasts can enjoy a truly rare gaming experience with Exciting Sonic Patrol Car, whose dumped ROM will be supported by the next official release of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME). The 1991 arcade game and kiddie ride in a car-shaped cabinet is one of the rarest Sonic the Hedgehog titles, and features the classic Sega game character avoiding traffic while riding in a police car.
The game's original Japanese title was "Waku Waku Sonikku Patokaa."In the game Sonic is ironically not running at his normal super-fast speed.
Towards the end of the three-minute patrol car ride Sonic meets Dr. Robotnik riding in a hovercar, according to ArsTechnica. Players then tap the "jump" button to battle the evil antagonist.
Sonic Patrol Car is the first Sonic game that includes voice acting. In terms of classic video games it is significant as it is one of the first games featuring Sega's famous blue character.
The original game's cabinet is equipped with a steering wheel and pair of turn signals. It is quite bulky and rare.
Will Medved, a Sonic collector and fan, was able to find a working version of the game-ride combo. He purchased it for $350, but spent over $5,000 in total costs, according to Engadget.
He then had the 770-pound (31.7-kilogram) video game shipped to his home. There it was archived and converted to accept United States quarters.
A similar Sonic game that has not been MAME-converted yet is Segasonic Cosmo Fighter. It is a space-themed children's ride.
Sega released the original Sonic the Hedgehog game in June 1991 in Japan. It helped the Sega Genesis game console outsell the Super Nintendo by 200 percent during the 1991 holiday shopping season, and earned almost two-thirds of the 16-bit console market by January 1992.
Here is a playthrough of Sonic Patrol Car:
