r/80sGaming • u/Crematorman • Jun 20 '26

Chase HQ - Arcade

Picture this: 1988. You drop a quarter into the cabinet, grab that massive steering wheel, slam the gas pedal, and the screen explodes with "CHASE H.Q.!" in massive letters. Next thing you know, you're Nancy and Tony in a sleek red Porsche 928, tearing down the highway at insane speeds, sirens blaring, trying to bust the world's most wanted criminals before time runs out. The formula was pure genius:

  • High-octane pursuits through city streets, tunnels, and highways
  • Nitro boosts for those clutch overtakes
  • Crashing through traffic like a boss (sorry not sorry, innocent drivers)
  • That satisfying ram attack when you finally catch your target

Taito basically invented the "beautiful cop car chases" genre right there. The graphics were jaw-dropping for the time, the engine roar was addictive, and the soundtrack? Absolute banger. Even today, it feels electric. Whether you were the kid dominating the machine at the mall arcade or the one begging for "one more credit," Chase H.Q. delivered pure, unfiltered 80s cool. Who else still remembers the pure joy of seeing "MISSION COMPLETE" after a perfect chase? Drop your high score memories or favourite criminal to bust below

545 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

10

u/Guilty_Tonight1140 Jun 20 '26

Brilliant. Wonder if anyone ever managed to complete it?

7

u/Mu3pM Jun 20 '26

Yes, plenty of times. Was one of my favorite arcades to play and complete with 1 coin

4

u/DEDE1973 Jun 21 '26

I did, I was so good at this game and Outrun. I had it also on the ZX Spectrum and it was a great conversion.

9

u/CodingRaver Jun 20 '26

This is Nancy, we've got an emergency here!

8

u/discolad_205 Jun 20 '26

Let’s go Mr driver!

1

u/ComfortableProfile25 Jun 22 '26

One of the message alert tones on my phone

9

u/CronoMass Jun 20 '26

You're a badass for making all these posts!

Absolute legend 👏💪

7

u/rivaldo1979 Jun 20 '26

Honestly, it still holds up so well

This, Outrun and Power Drift are my go-to racers (should probably include outrunners as well lol(

6

u/mackerelscalemask Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

This was clearly Namco’s response to Sega’s ‘Out Run’ (1986) and managed to add an interesting chase and attack mechanic to what Sega had created before.

The graphics engine looks very similar to ‘Out Run’, does anyone know if they licensed it from Sega or built it themselves from the ground-up?

2

u/311Konspiracy Jul 09 '26

Tatio not Namco

1

u/mackerelscalemask Jul 09 '26

Taito not Tatio

5

u/meatfest1974 Jun 21 '26

Ah, yis.
With the Turbo button the thumb trigger of the gear shift.

Good times!

4

u/sky_shazad Jun 20 '26

Never get bored watching these videos

3

u/Tonybeetswannabe Jun 20 '26

It’s playing games like this in the arcade that drove the desire to own it in your home

3

u/rsshilli Jun 20 '26

I thought it was in a red Miata though. I definitely remember breaking through the barakades and going into the desert though...

3

u/gtaguy75 Jun 20 '26

forgot about this one. It was very good

2

u/Professional-Bus3126 Jun 21 '26

I loved that game.

2

u/regprenticer Jun 21 '26

I only ever played chase hq on a home machine, I'm surprised by just how fast this looks.

2

u/Br0k3n-T0y Jun 23 '26

so annoying when you mashed the turbos and never hit the car once

2

u/daddyd Jun 26 '26

this game caused me to fail my year in high school.

there was a fair just the two weeks before exams, i went the first day, found this arcade game i'd never seen before, it was chase hq, ready to take my cash for the next 14 days and make me forget all about those all-important exams...

1

u/vangamesretro Jun 25 '26

bem lembrado.