Tattoo Assassins

Tattoo Assassins
Screenshot of Tattoo Assassins
Developer(s)	Data East
Publisher(s)	Data East
Platform(s)	Arcade, Nintendo DS
Release	1994 (prototype), 2008
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Arcade system	Data East DECO32

Tattoo Assassins is a 1994 fighting game by Data East. Spearheaded by Bob Gale (screenwriter for Back to the Future) and Joe Kaminkow (leader of Data East's Pinball division, now known as Stern Pinball), Tattoo Assassins was designed to be a better Mortal Kombat. Even though the game was never released, several prototype models were produced for testing in arcades. Two machines with the completed code were produced; the first is still at Stern Pinball headquarters, and the second was part of a collection that was eventually destroyed in a flood.

Overview

Tattoo Assassins was a fighting game developed to compete with the popular Midway franchise Mortal Kombat. Developed by Data East, Tattoo Assassins combined the talents of Joe Kaminkow (leader of Data East's Pinball division) and Bob Gale (screenwriter for Back to the Future). Using the same digitized graphics as Mortal Kombat, Tattoo Assassins featured real life actors fighting each other with violent moves and combos. Most notable is that the game featured over 200 Fatalities, including Nudalities (only a rumor in Mortal Kombat) and Animalities (before they were featured in Mortal Kombat 3). Some included dropping a DeLorean car onto the opponent (a Back to the Future reference), turning the opponent into a hamburger (a reference to an earlier Data East game, Burgertime), and massive diarrhea.

Each of the characters had magical tattoos, which came to life when they performed special attacks and finishing moves. Even though the game was never finished, EGM posted an in-depth article with moves and information about all of the characters: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, and Page 4

Internal development strife, management problems, deadline woes, and negative feedback from testers contributed to the game's troubled development and eventual downfall. With similar games like Killer Instinct and Primal Rage performing well, Tattoo Assassins competing chances were slim and it was never put into production.

Characters

Here is a list of the characters that appeared in this game:

• A.C. Current - A cyber mercenary. Wanted by his former employers after an industrial espionage double cross. Similar To Raiden.
• Billy Two Moons - Native American character. Fugitive from the U.S. government. Similar To Nightwolf.
• Deke Kay - A fighting zombie. Sub-boss in the game. Similar To Liu Kang.
• Derek O'Toole - A rock star. Developed fighting skills after being falsely accused of terrorist activities. Similar To Johnny Cage.
• Hannah Hart - A stripper. Out to avenge her murdered friend. Similar To Sonya Blade.
• Karla Keller - An ice skater. Spoof of Nancy Kerrigan, from appearance to backstory. Similar To Kitana.
• Koldan - A large man with a gloved hand with giant needles in the fingers out to create an army of mutants and enslave the human race. The final boss of the game. Similar To Shao Khan.
• Luke Cord - Former Navy SEAL. Wanted by the CIA due to his knowledge after a compromised operation against the Soviets. Similar To Jax.
• Maya - Tribal amazon-like character. Fighting land developers off her people's land. Similar To Mileena.
• Prizm - Light-based crystal monster. Sub-boss in the game. Similar To Sub-Zero.
• Rhina - Creepy looking half-woman, half-rhino creature. Sub-boss in the game. Similar To Sheeva.
• Tak Hata - Former Yakuza assassin. Wanted by the Yakuza and Japanese police after being framed for murder. Similar To Shang Tsung.
• Truck Davis - Member of a biker gang. Out to avenge the death of the other members. Similar To Kano.

Two other non-fighter characters that appear in the game's story are Mullah Abba, the spiritual leader of the Order of Colors who discovered mysterious ink used by the fighters, and Lyla Blue, a woman who is used as a channel by Mullah Abba to allow the player to control one of the assassins in combat.

Cast

(as credited)

• Eddi Wilde - Billy Two Moons
• Kevin Knotts - Truck Davis / Koldan
• Charlie Rice - Luke Cord
• Melanie Baer - Maya
• Rick Mali - Takara Hata
• Gretchen Stockdale - Hannah Hart
• Maurice Travis - A.C. Current
• Cristine Dupree - Karla Keller
• Nicolas Andrews - Derek O'Toole
• Joanna Lee - Rhina
• William Zipp - Deke Kay / Prizm
• Mark Urgello - Mullah Abba
• Marushka Wilde - ???
• Rene Hudson - Lyla Blue

Trivia

• Though it has not yet been proven, it is widely rumored that Melanie Baer(Maya) and Cristine Dupree (Karla) were porn stars. Google searches for Christine Dupree turn up a lesbian-themed nude wrestling organization, though the wrestler in question is arguably far too old to be the same model from this game. However, Christine's year of birth happens to the same as the nude wrestler, so many still believe that despite her surprisingly bad aging, she is in fact the same person.

• Gretchen Stockdale (Hannah) is reportedly a former Hustler model, though this also has not been proven. She was in fact a cheerleader for the L.A. Raiders for 5 seasons, as well as being a little known b-movie actress. She then stepped up to making one-shot appearances on television shows. She has done internet bathing suit and nude modeling, but as of 2004 she is now practicing law and is an associate at a well-established Los Angeles law firm.

External links

• Dan's Tattoo Assassins page
• Tattoo Assassins at the Killer List of Videogames