There are two variants of this game. The one with the red back glass appears in the 1969 machine directory. In the ad copy there it is described as a new game, which is why I am placing it as a 1969 machine.
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| 1969 machine directory |
The ad does not mention the steering wheel, but I imagine it is used to tilt the playfield. when the ball goes under the tank standups, the players supposed to press a button to detonate it and score.
There is an alternate back glass, I referred to as the blue one, and I assume this is the later version of the game. The marquee no longer has the exclamation point. there is now art on the apron, but the cabinet has lost its cool strips. Also the large red button on the left and the lockdown bar is gone.
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| Let's Go Bazooka - レッゴー・バズーカ by ホープ自動車 (Hope Motor Co — Hope Star) |
Further supporting evidence that this game came later is that it shares a similar cabinet as used in Baby Gang and Torpedo Shark, which we know were released in 1970. I do not have any more information, so for the time being I am labeling this one is being from approximately 1970.
The Bazooka coin door matches the coin door of Baby Gang, but Torpedo Shark has a slightly smaller coin door in this picture. But, in a November 1970 magazine Torpedo Shark has the smaller door, but in January 1971, there is an advertisement with the larger tour.
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| Baby Gang - ベビーギャング by ホープ自動車 (Hope Motor Co — Hope Star) |
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| Torpedo Shark - 魚雷シャーク [シャーク] by ホープ自動車 (Hope Motor Co — Hope Star) |
Robot Gun has the same coin door size as Torpedo Shark, along with the same handlebar controller. Let's Go Bazooka uses this style of handlebar in the second iteration.
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| Robot Gun - ロボットガン by ホープ自動車 (Hope Motor Co) |
But it is important to stress this is not a guarantee that the blue version definitively came out in 1970, or even was the second version.
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