Tattoo Assassins
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''Tattoo Assassins'' is an unreleased
fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
developed by Data East Pinball (currently known as
Stern Pinball Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for '' Berzerk''. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1986 ...
), the pinball division of
Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...
for release in arcades. A few prototypes were test-marketed in 1994, but the game was never officially released. Spearheaded by
Bob Gale Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemecki ...
and Joe Kaminkow, ''Tattoo Assassins'' was designed to be Data East's answer to ''
Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...
''. The game's development had a nine-month deadline, nearly coinciding with
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
's purchase of Data East's pinball division, which would not be met. It was nearly completed before being cancelled, though it still had gameplay and sound glitches. In 2025, exA-Arcadia announced plans to revive Tattoo Assassins with bug fixes & up to 4k resolution for its namesake platform under a deal with Data East's current rights holder
G-Mode is a Japanese company that specializes in games for Java-compatible mobile phones. The company also licenses content for mobile telecommunications operators, as well as being involved in the original equipment manufacturing of mobile phone games ...
.


Story and gameplay

Mullah Abah, spiritual leader of a group known as the "Order of Colors", discovers a secret known as "Ink of Ghize", a
tattoo ink Tattoo inks consist of pigments combined with a carrier, used in the process of tattooing to create a tattoo in the skin. These inks are also used for permanent makeup, a form of tattoo. Professional tattoo inks are available in many colors and ...
-like fluid that can transform into other objects when applied to humans. Koldan, one of the Order of Colors, decides to use it for himself, and takes over nine people who have applied tattoos. Mullah, with the help of a woman known as Lyla Blue, has the player possess one of the nine fighters to go against Koldan. The gameplay has been described as "standard", with similarities to ''
Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...
'' being noted. Fights take the form of best-of-three matches, and fighters have generic attacks such as punches and kicks, and "special moves" performed by joystick inputs along with button inputs. The game was advertised as having 2,196 different fatalities, though only around 200 were noted, with some sources only noting around 60. Among those were " Nudalities", based on rumors of their presence in ''
Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 fighting game originally produced by Midway for arcades. It was ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo Entertainment System ...
'', where the opposing fighter loses their clothes. Other fatalities included flaming farts, giant flyswatters, cruise ships, and references to other Data East games (such as BurgerTime).


Development

The game was developed by
Data East Pinball , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...
. The game was conceived by
Bob Gale Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemecki ...
, co-screenwriter for ''
Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...
''. The game originated from a movie script Gale had written. Its development began with promises of a US$25,000 bonus, among other benefits, if the game could be finished on time, but with a deadline of nine months. In late 1994, when time and development funds were running out,
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
bought Data East Pinball, including Tattoo Assassins, and eventually had the game cancelled and most of its arcade machines destroyed, in favor of solely focusing on pinball production. It was beta tested in some arcades before being cancelled. In 2001, ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' noted that two arcade machines contained have the final version of the game, with one confirmed to be owned by a private seller. One other machine was up for sale on
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
. The presence of one of those machines led to the game's ROM being dumped years later. In May 2025,
exA-Arcadia The is a ROM cartridge-based arcade system board released on November 27, 2019, by the Japanese game company of the same name, exA-Arcadia. History exA-Arcadia was developed with the concept of bringing traditional joystick based arcade vid ...
announced it was working with the rights holders to bring the project back to life using the game's original source code, including bug fixes and new content.


Reception

The game received overall negative reception. ''
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'' panned the game for poor synchronization between controls and characters, "slow and choppy" animation, and an "extraordinary lack of any real innovation" compared to ''
Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 fighting game originally produced by Midway for arcades. It was ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo Entertainment System ...
''. Felipe Rojas of ''
La Tercera (), formerly known as (), is a daily newspaper published in Santiago, Chile and owned by Copesa. It is s closest competitor. is part of Periódicos Asociados Latinoamericanos ( Latin American Newspaper Association), an organization of fourte ...
'' criticized the stages as flat, the music as repetitive, the gameplay as crude, the animations as poorly digitized, and the characters as derivative and lacking in identity, commenting that the game felt unfinished. However, he praised the game for its variety in fatalities and generally bizarre nature. Bobinator for ''
Hardcore Gaming 101 ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' is an online video game magazine founded by Kurt Kalata in 2004. Kalata established the site after graduating college, when he noticed the overabundance of game strategy guides, and felt that someone should create more boo ...
'' opined that ''Tattoo Assassins'' might have been the worst Data East game ever if it was released. Allistair Pinsof at ''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
'' ranked it as the worst ''Mortal Kombat'' clone ever made. Co-creator of ''Mortal Kombat''
John Tobias John Tobias is an American Comic book creator, comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer and writer. Tobias is best known for co-creating the ''Mortal Kombat'' series along with Ed Boon, to whom he pitched the game concept. Tobia ...
called it the worst fighting game ever made. Gavin Jasper from ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
'' compared it to ''
Plan 9 from Outer Space ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' is a 1957 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction-horror film produced, written, directed, and edited by Ed Wood. The film was shot in black-and-white in November 1956 and had ...
'', stating that "There are worse games out there, but this one gets the attention because it's too weird to exist... and it kind of doesn't." He commented on the game's sense of humor, including Koldan faking out his presence in every fight, including his own, and its unintentional jokes resulting from glitches, such as one fatality creating multiple giant bouncing cooked turkeys.


References


External links

* {{KLOV game, id=10039
Unofficial site
Cancelled arcade video games Arcade-only video games Arcade video games Data East video games Mortal Kombat clones Obscenity controversies in video games Video games with digitized sprites Video games developed in the United States Data East arcade games Multiplayer and single-player video games