Phosphor Dot Fossils: Warp Warp (1981)

Friends, Warp Warp is an arcade title that I literally didn’t know existed until it was rolled into the arcade about six years ago. And while it was released to arcades in North America by Rock-Ola, it was in actually developed by the legendary Namco. In fact I singled out Warp Warp as one of the early episodes of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast, a show that at the moment holds the record for being the shortest I’ve ever produced for that series. As at the time of recording the episode I was unable to find out really any information on those responsible for creating the arcade game.

When I first started playing Warp Warp I was quite amazed by its seemingly simple gameplay, although like many of the golden age arcade titles there is a beguiling amount of strategy needed to play it well. What I was not aware of when I was first introduced to the game was that my fellow PCR author, the esteemed Earl Green was also quite the fan of Warp Warp. Back in those early days of the Arkadia Retrocade, Earl managed to pop in for a visit with his two charming children, so that the two of us could participate in a Warp Warp challenge. It should come as no surprise at all though that when the dust had cleared, Earl had severely trounced me on the game.

Warp Warp besides being the subject of one of the Diary podcasts was also tackled by Earl Green on his Phosphor Dot Fossils series of videos on YouTube, all the way back in 2019 as a matter of fact. In the nearly 13 minute presentation, Earl gives a rundown on the basics of the game, as always allowing you to check out the game in action while he is playing. Best of all though is that he includes his personal memories of where and when he first encountered Warp Warp in his youth.