For those Raised on Radio or looking for new Frontiers, Journey represented a corporate-rock visual delight.
Each of the band members is recreated in super-deformed caricatures. The bodies were sprite-rendered and modestly animated. The heads were full-color photo-realistic (for its time) captures of the musicians. The Scarab, which was emblazoned on the majority of the Journey albums, appears in the game as a spaceship which transports the band members through their interstellar escapades.
Gameplay consisted of six different mini games to test your skills. You were tasked with guiding the five stars in their bid to recapture their lost instruments (in Steve Perry’s case it was his microphone). The initial screen allows you to choose, by guiding the scarab, which artist was to undertake the first rescues mission.
Steve “Machine gun” Smith wants his drum kit back and to do it, he will have to bounce off of large, suspended drums to ensure their colors are changed to a particular color (red, white, or blue). The action is reminiscent of the jump pads in Quake III, trampolines, or the pyramid antics of Q-Bert. After unlocking the drum kit, Steve must use his drum skills to fight through hordes of infinity symbols intent on preventing his escape.
Ross Valory’s bass recovery expedition consists of platforming up the screen via green cabinets. Once Ross regains possession of his instrument he must shoot down flying records intent on his destruction.
Steve Perry must make his way through a gauntlet of turnstiles to reclaim his microphone. Upon laying hold of the microphone the game suddenly changes to an Arkanoid-like game where Steve must shoot his way through moving barriers to escape.
To help Jonathan Cain get his keyboard, players must help Jonathan jump over green barriers as he descends various platforms. The gameplay device is a lot like Donkey Kong. The only differences are going down rather than up, and jumping green barriers rather than barrels. After jumping on his piano Jonathan must go back up as he shoots away scores of dangerous, pink circles.
Finally, the guitar of Neal Schon is trapped at the bottom of a twisted cave. Guide Neal down the cave using his jetpack, but you must avoid touching the sides of the cavern or it is certain doom for the guitarist! Once you retrieve the guitar, sacks in the sides of the wall burst open, shooting tiny scarabs across the screen. You must help Neal escape by flying him back up without getting hit.
If you manage to complete all of the instrument retrieval games the scarab flies the band back to earth where they play a sold-out show. You are not just a VIP, you are now the bouncer who is tasked with keeping the legions of screaming fans from overrunning the stage and spiriting off the members of Journey. All of the mini games combined to form a best of breed collection of gameplay from past hits. While the minigames contained in Journey were not entirely original, they were definitely entertaining, exciting, and sometimes challenging.
The music in Journey was a midi-recreation of the fantastic Frontiers album with some tunes from their back catalogue mixed in. Tunes ranged from melodic odes such as "Faithfully" to rocking classics including “Wheel in the Sky” and the divisive "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)." The actual lyrics never emerge from the stereo speakers, but the artistry is recognizable.
The style of the game is really what set it world’s apart from everything else in the arcade. It provided an opportunity to interact with rock and roll stars in some funny, clever, and sometimes bizarre celebrity tie-ins. Even after 23 years, the game still holds up well, and would really make an excellent port for classic-rock enthusiasts.
Bally/Midway released this cabinet to the arcades in order to maximize not only their partners’ profits, but also their own. Journey was another in a rich selection of multimedia excitement to move you across the Rubicon and into another world.