Satans Hollow (1982 Midway Mfg.)
Click on Marquee for KLOV listing.
The Story: "Hey, you’re supposed to be a kind hearted Christian... why would you own a game like that? Blasphemy!"
OK, have you ever seen the game, or played it? You are doing battle with Satan and his minions. Just look at the original arcade flyer...
"The hot new battle game that dares you to cross the blazing Bridge of Fire to do battle with the Master of Darkness - Satan of the Hollow!"
Before I bought this game, I had never seen one in person, and had previously enjoyed it in MAME and in compilation console games like "Midway Arcade Treasures". It's a shooting game (like Galaga or Galaxian) with added elements. You’re not just shooting bad guys, you’re also collecting bridge segments and carrying them from one side to the other. Build the bridge and enter the Hollow to destroy Satan. Another nice twist is that the sky changes from day to night and your enemies fade into the darkness, adding an awesome challenge to the game. Gargoyles and other enemies fly and fire at you in many different patterns. You also have a shield which can protect you for a limited amount of time. This game is very fast paced, full of fun and challenge. I never thought I'd be building a "Midway row", and this was the start of it.
The Score: Sometimes you don’t seek out the game, it seeks you out. That was the case with this one. I never planned on owning Satans Hollow, but the price was too good to pass up, and only an hour away. It was lurking on Craigslist as "working" for $250. I call the seller who owns a bar with a small game room and is looking to make room for more incoming games. He had listed several other games and I know a few other collectors that picked up some of the other deals, but this is the one that caught my eye. There were no photos in the listing but he had no problem taking some photos "on the spot" and sent them my way. The game looks nice with only minimal wear and he says it’s working without any issues. I play the routine "lets deal" game and we agree on $200. I just couldn’t resist.
The Service: Like most private collectors out there, I tend to shop out my games a little, even if they are fully working. There’s always some fine tuning, a blown out bulb or some dust sandwiched between the glass and monitor. This game was dusty, had no working lights and the joystick was sloppy. All those issues were resolved quickly with a new spring, new lamps and some good ole' elbow grease. These MCR games are notorious for battery acid damage on the power supply (the original battery is mounted right to the power PCB and will leak over time). Luckily the original battery hadn't leaked yet, as a matter of fact it still worked. No sense taking chances though. I quickly replaced it with a 3.6v cordless phone battery and housed it in a hobby box away from the board for good measure.
OK, have you ever seen the game, or played it? You are doing battle with Satan and his minions. Just look at the original arcade flyer...
"The hot new battle game that dares you to cross the blazing Bridge of Fire to do battle with the Master of Darkness - Satan of the Hollow!"
Before I bought this game, I had never seen one in person, and had previously enjoyed it in MAME and in compilation console games like "Midway Arcade Treasures". It's a shooting game (like Galaga or Galaxian) with added elements. You’re not just shooting bad guys, you’re also collecting bridge segments and carrying them from one side to the other. Build the bridge and enter the Hollow to destroy Satan. Another nice twist is that the sky changes from day to night and your enemies fade into the darkness, adding an awesome challenge to the game. Gargoyles and other enemies fly and fire at you in many different patterns. You also have a shield which can protect you for a limited amount of time. This game is very fast paced, full of fun and challenge. I never thought I'd be building a "Midway row", and this was the start of it.
The Score: Sometimes you don’t seek out the game, it seeks you out. That was the case with this one. I never planned on owning Satans Hollow, but the price was too good to pass up, and only an hour away. It was lurking on Craigslist as "working" for $250. I call the seller who owns a bar with a small game room and is looking to make room for more incoming games. He had listed several other games and I know a few other collectors that picked up some of the other deals, but this is the one that caught my eye. There were no photos in the listing but he had no problem taking some photos "on the spot" and sent them my way. The game looks nice with only minimal wear and he says it’s working without any issues. I play the routine "lets deal" game and we agree on $200. I just couldn’t resist.
The Service: Like most private collectors out there, I tend to shop out my games a little, even if they are fully working. There’s always some fine tuning, a blown out bulb or some dust sandwiched between the glass and monitor. This game was dusty, had no working lights and the joystick was sloppy. All those issues were resolved quickly with a new spring, new lamps and some good ole' elbow grease. These MCR games are notorious for battery acid damage on the power supply (the original battery is mounted right to the power PCB and will leak over time). Luckily the original battery hadn't leaked yet, as a matter of fact it still worked. No sense taking chances though. I quickly replaced it with a 3.6v cordless phone battery and housed it in a hobby box away from the board for good measure.
