- This article is for the 1979 game, for the 1994 game please see SOS (1994).
SOS is a scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1979. It was the first vertical scrolling shoot 'em up.
Gameplay[ | ]
The player controls a fighter plane called a "Shinryaku" which is situated at the bottom of the screen, while enemy planes fly down from above. The player may destroy them for 10 points each. Every few seconds, an "SOS" signal will sound and an arrow will point to either side of the screen, and the player must get there before it stops to receive 30 points and eliminate some of the enemy planes that have passed the Shinryaku. If 100 enemy planes make it past the Shinryaku, the game is instantly over.
Trivia[ | ]
One of the reasons this game is infamous, is because of the "coffee breaks" it takes every 2000 points.