Romstar Inc. was a video game distribution company based in Torrance

Torrance, California

Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...

, CA

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 that started operations in 1984. They originally started as the first American distribution arm for SNK

SNK Playmore

SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....

 (before SNK of America was founded in 1987). They were known for licensing arcade games from major makers for distribution. Among Romstar's clients include Taito

Taito Corporation

The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....

, Capcom

Capcom

is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

, SNK, Toaplan

Toaplan

, sometimes written as Toa Plan, was a video game developer from Japan. They were responsible for the creation of a wide array of relatively famous scrolling shooters and arcade games, yet the company declared bankruptcy in 1994.-Games developed :...

, and Seta

Seta (company)

SETA Corporation was a Japanese computer gaming company, founded on October 1, 1985...

. They also made games for Nintendo

Nintendo

is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

's systems. The company closed its doors in 1992.

Currently, the key personnel of Romstar, Takahito Yasuki, Ron Czerny, and Darryl Williams, later founded Atrativa Games and PlayPhone, both cellular phone entertainment companies.

Licensed from Taito

• Tiger Heli
  Tiger Heli
  was one of the first games developed by Toaplan and published by Taito Corporation in 1985. It is a predecessor to Twin Cobra...
  
   (developed by Toaplan)
• Arkanoid
  Arkanoid
  is an arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. It is based upon Atari's Breakout games of the 1970s. The title refers to a doomed "mothership" from which the player's ship, the Vaus, escapes.-Overview:...
  
  
• Bubble Bobble
  Bubble Bobble
  is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986 and later ported to numerous home computers and game consoles. The game, starring the twin Bubble Dragons and , is an action-platform game in which players travel through one hundred different stages, blowing and bursting bubbles, avoiding...
  
  
• Arkanoid: Revenge of DOH
  Arkanoid - Revenge of Doh
  Arkanoid - Revenge of Doh is an arcade game released by Taito in as a sequel to Arkanoid.-Description:The mysterious enemy known as DOH has returned to seek vengeance on the Vaus space vessel. The player must once again take control of the Vaus and overcome many challenges in order to destroy...
  
  
• Twin Cobra
  Twin Cobra
  Twin Cobra, known in Japan as , is a 1987 helicopter-themed shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Toaplan. It was published by Taito Corporation in Japan, and by Romstar in North America, and is one of Toaplan's most popular arcade games...
  
   (developed by Toaplan)
• Sky Shark (developed by Toaplan)
• Aqua Jack
  Aqua Jack
  Aqua Jack is a 3D scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released by Taito in 1990. A hovercraft is piloted over water and land while dodging bullets and avoiding objects by shooting or jumping over them. Enemies are shot in the air and on water or land to advance levels. The game has eight...
  
  
• Battle Lane Vol. 5 (developed by Technos)
• Final Blow
  Final Blow
  Final Blow is a boxing arcade game created in 1988 by Taito. The name would remain the same for all ported platforms, except for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis versions, which Sega released outside of Japan as James 'Buster' Douglas Knockout Boxing featuring Buster Douglas himself in 1990 immediately...
  
  
• Full Throttle
  Full Throttle (arcade game)
  Full Throttle is a one-player racing arcade game made by Taito in 1987. It is very similar in style to the Out Run games in that it features a fast, red car hurtling through the U.S...
  
  
• Kageki (delevoped by Kaneko)
• Tokio (game)
• Rambo III
  Rambo III (video game)
  Rambo III is a series of video games based on the film of the same name. Like in the film, their main plots center on former Vietnam-era Green Beret John Rambo being called back to duty one last time to rescue his former commander, Colonel Sam Trautman, who was captured during a covert operation...
  
  
• China Gate (developed by Technos)
• Thundercade (developed by Seta)
• Super Qix
• The Ninja Warriors
  The Ninja Warriors
  is a side-scrolling beat'em up video game developed and released by Taito in 1988.-Story:The game is based in a dystopian future where Banglar, the President of the United States in 1993, issues martial law on the nation, with the military having total control over the law. A group of anarchist...
  
  
• Kickstart
  Kickstart
  Kickstart can refer to:* kick start, the task of using the foot activated starter on a motorcycle* Kick Start, an album by the English band The Lambrettas...
  
  
• Great Swordsman
  Great Swordsman
  is a fighting arcade game developed by SETA and published by Taito. In , it was later included in Taito Legends.-Gameplay:In Great Swordsman, one or two players can play while taking turns. Players control with two-way joystick and three buttons with different hit levels. Each for creating...
  
  
• Tournament Arkanoid

Licensed from Capcom

• 1942 (also distributed by Williams
  Williams (gaming company)
  WMS Industries, Inc. is an American electronic gaming and amusement company based in Waukegan, Illinois. The company's main operating subsidiaries are WMS Gaming and Orion Gaming. WMS traces its roots as far back as 1943, the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded by Harry E. Williams...
  
  )
• Ghosts 'n Goblins
  Ghosts 'n Goblins
  is a 1985 platform game developed by Capcom for video arcades and has since been released on several other platforms. It is the first game in the Ghosts'n Goblins franchise.-Gameplay:...
  
   (also distributed by Taito)
• Side Arms: Hyper Dyne
  Side Arms Hyper Dyne
  , also known as Side Arms: Hyper Dyne, is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up originally released by Capcom as a coin-operated video game in The game was also released to the TurboGrafx-16, as well as to various home computer platforms. In Side Arms the player takes control of a flying mecha suit who...
  
  
• Trojan
  Trojan (video game)
  is a side-scrolling action game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin operated video game in . The arcade version was distributed in North America by Romstar. A home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released during the same year. The original coin-op version is included...
  
  
• Black Tiger
• Gun.Smoke
  Gun.Smoke
  Gun.Smoke is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game created by Capcom in 1985 . The game, which has a Western theme, centers around a character named Billy Bob, a bounty hunter who is after vicious criminals of the Wild West.Despite its name and theme, it has no connection to the western TV...
  
  
• Tiger Road
• F-1 Dream
• The King of Dragons
• Varth: Operation Thunderstorm
  Varth: Operation Thunderstorm
  Varth: Operation Thunderstorm is an arcade game in the vertical scrolling shooter genre, published by Capcom in 1992...
  
  
• Son Son

Licensed from SNK

• Baseball Stars 2 (for NES)
• Time Soldiers (developed by Alpha Denshi)
• Sky Soldiers (developed by Alpha Denshi)
• Gold Medalist (developed by Alpha Denshi)
• Neo Geo
  Neo Geo (console)
  The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
  
   (some versions)

Licensed from Seta

• Castle of Dragon (developed by Athena
  Athena (company)
  is a Japanese video game developer, founded in July 1987.-Games:*Biometal *Blockids *Castle of Dragon *Championship Bowling *Daioh *De-Block...
  
  )
• DownTown
• Caliber .50
• Arbalester (developed by Jorudan)
• Thunder & Lightning (developed by Visco Games)
• Meta Fox (developed by Jorudan)
• Nolan Ryan's Baseball
  Nolan Ryan's Baseball
  Nolan Ryan's Baseball is a baseball video game based on the retired baseball player Nolan Ryan. The game has no licensing from Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association; meaning that Nolan Ryan is the only non-fictional ballplayer in the entire game...
  
  

Licensed from Toaplan

• Out Zone
  Out Zone
  is a 1990 arcade game by Toaplan and distributed in the US by Romstar.Out Zone is a run and gun, in which the player controls a soldier who must fight his way through seven increasingly difficult levels. At the end of each level a boss must be defeated before the player can progress any further...
  
  
• Snow Bros.
  Snow Bros
  is a platform arcade game released in 1990 by Toaplan.-Description:At first glance, it is similar in gameplay to Taito's Bubble Bobble. The game supports up to two players, with each player taking the part of one of two snowmen Nick and Tom. Each player can throw snow at the enemies...
  
  
• Fire Shark
• Vimana
• Ghox
• Pipi & Bibi's

Others

• Double Dragon II: The Revenge
  Double Dragon II: The Revenge
  is a side-scrolling beat 'em up produced by Technos originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in . It is the sequel to Double Dragon, released during the previous year. A home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in which differs drastically from the original arcade...
  
   (developed by Technos)
• Bloody Wolf (developed by Data East)
• Flashgal
  Flashgal
  Flashgal is a 1985 scrolling shooter arcade game by Sega. The game was popularly known as Wonder Woman Arcade due to character resemblance with DC Comics Wonder Woman....
  
   (developed by Sega)
• Empire City: 1931 (developed by Seibu Kaihatsu)
• Skeet Shot
• Popshot
• World Bowling
  World Bowling
  is a Bowling video game, published by Athena and Romstar for the Game Boy handheld, which was released in 1990.To beat the game, the player have to go through the bowling alleys of six countries all around the world.-External links:* at GameFAQs...
  
   (developed by Athena
  Athena (company)
  is a Japanese video game developer, founded in July 1987.-Games:*Biometal *Blockids *Castle of Dragon *Championship Bowling *Daioh *De-Block...
  
  )
• Championship Bowling