Recently I had the opportunity to play one of the most addicting arcade games in a long time. That game was, of course, The Irritating Maze, Neo Geo’s only trackball game released. Luckily I was treated to playing the full size dedicated cabinet version, not a converted cabinet. The Dedicated cabinet is slightly larger than a typical arcade game cabinet and has a large control panel area with a trackball and two buttons. The dedicated cabinet also has a unique feature that really startled me the first time I saw it. It has a built-in hydraulic air pump that blasts you in the face whenever you lose a guy. What a cool feature! Unfortunately the sound wasn’t working properly, so I cannot comment on that.

The premise behind the game is that you have a stick in your hand that you must guide through a maze without touching the sides. The top of the stick is shown in the maze and appears as a round disc on the screen. This game may sound a little weird, but Dion explained to me that the game is based on a Japanese arcade game where you physically moved a stick through a man sized course on a game cabinet. The object is not to touch the sides. The original game had only one course, but the Neo version has several Mazes of varying size and difficulty. The trackball is large and can easily fit two hands, which is needed for the delicate control required. I never used either of the two buttons, they really aren’t needed. One of them gives an overview of the entire maze, but I’m, not sure what the second one did.

The nice thing about this game is that you immediately know what you are supposed to do. No need to read any directions, anyone can play from the get go. So, the concept is simple, steer the disc through the maze using a trackball, without touching the sides. Someone once said the game is similar to Crystal Castles. Trust me, it is nothing like that game other than that they both have a trackball. The game that it is most similar to is Marble Madness, although it is still significantly different from that game too. The Irritating Maze is a two dimensional game where you can’t touch the sides, while Marble Madness is a pseudo three dimensional game where the marble can roll off the edges onto another surface, but it cannot fall into the abyss.

It took a couple games to get used to playing the game. Even though the concept is simple, the game play is a bit difficult. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that there is a time limit for each section of the maze. There is plenty of time in the early stages, but it still gives you that sense of urgency. However, there is also added incentive to finish the course as quickly as possible. Faster times score more points, and unused time carries over and is added to the time allotted for the next section. The trackball control is very precise, a needed feature in this game, and the faster you roll the ball, the faster the disc moves through the maze.

I only played the game long enough to complete the first maze, which consists of several distinct sections. Each section is fraught with moving walls, hairpin turns, obstacles, and other goodies. One particularly memorable section involves a sort of mine cart scene. You roll the disc into a small hollow box, which is suspended over a rail. The box moves along the rail, which circles around and zig-zags over the course. Believe me, this is much more difficult than it sounds, but far from impossible.

Well I think this is the most unique Neo Geo game ever created. I really enjoyed playing it, and I’m sure others would too if they gave it a try. I cant wait to get my home cart version (which is on the way), since I’m really looking forward to playing the game again. It was a lot of fun. Too bad it is only a one player game, because it really brings out the competitiveness in you when playing against another person. This game would probably do very well in a bar where people could hang out and challenge their friends. The most irritating thing about this game is that it was not more popular. I had never seen one in an arcade (dedicated or converted) until I went out to Las Vegas. Even then , it was only thanks to the kindness of Dion that I even saw it since he knew the only arcade in town that had one. What a great experience, Thanks !!