Ads were removed from the site on 2021-10-17. Updates to the site have commenced after a long hiatus. More to come.

Defender (ディフェンダー)

Released in 1980

Developer: Williams
Manufacturer: Williams
Distributor: Williams

****.5 (11 total votes)

Defender marquee
game marquee

Game Summary

Side-scrolling shooter. Defend your humanoids against abduction. Zen.

Hardware Info

Controls: 1 Joystick / Button(s)
Horizontal-mounted Raster monitor
292 x 240 Resolution
Colors: 16 Color

Additional Hardware Info (from Mame)

M6809 cpu @ 1 Mhz
M6808 cpu
DAC audio

Hardware Platform

Williams 6809 Rev.1

Mame ROMs

defender, Defender (Red label)
defcmnd, Defense Command
defence, Defence Command
defendg, Defender (Green label)

Game Details

Perfectly designed game play by Eugene Jarvis.  First game with smart bomb, first game with a scanner.

Everything you shoot from 990,000 'till it clocks at 1 million earns an extra life and smart bomb - then nothing more until 1,300,000. Scary!

Sequel is Stargate/Defender II; had two spin-offs- Revenge of Defender (for home computers) and Defender 2000 (for Atari Jaguar).

  • Published for Atari 2600, 5200, 400/800/XL/XE (USA) by Atari.
  • Published for Intellivision, ColecoVision, Commodore VIC-20, 64, TI-99/4a (USA) by Atarisoft.
  • Published for Sega Genesis, Saturn, SNES, PC, PlayStation (USA) by Williams/Midway in Arcade's Greatest Hits/Williams Greatest Hits.
  • Published for Game.Com by Tiger in Arcade Classics.
  • Published as a handheld/keychain LCD game by Tiger.
  • Published for AdventureVision and as a handheld game by Entex


Defender control panel
control panel


Defender cabinet photo
cabinet photo
Defender title screen
title screen
Defender gameplay screen shot
gameplay screen
Defender promotional flyer
promotional flyer

"Maybe" Images

(fuzzy search, these MAY match the game, or they may not)

A composite defender screen (horizontal) and the logo.Defender Flyer: 1 FrontDefender Flyer: 4 BackDefender Flyer: 2 Middle LeftDefender Flyer: 3 Middle rightDefender Flyer addendum: 1 FrontDefender Flyer addendum: 2 BackDefender reaches new heights!  Ad flyer.

Coinop.org Member Ratings / Comments

***** by kk. Comment: "Another great Williams game. I can't tell you how many hours I spent playing this game..." 2000-07-25 23:53:39Z

***** by garth. Comment: "I use to play this game for hours on one quarter.not like todays games. what a thrill to get my first million on this game. And to have your name up in lights for everyone to see.my hands still shake today from hammmering on the fire button all day. nothing like the old arcade.defender fan for forever GWC." 2000-12-16 23:52:09Z

***** by jabbasoft. Comment: "you've got 5 minutes to kill, so you play defender! simple and addictive, will get your blood racing in the later levels when you somehow manage to dodge all the bad guys, or when your last humanoid get whipped away." 2002-06-10 17:58:02Z

***** by DefenderBoy. Comment: "This game was and still is the best. The amazing control panel layout, the amazing sounds, the amazing character set, the amazing game theory and the amazing scroll screen.. I thank the William's Crew for their efforts on this one. And reaching 1 Million is a blast. HS: 2.5M" 2003-08-05 07:56:03Z

***** by droidsattack. Comment: "I suck at this game, but I cannot get enough of it. That's when you know it is good. Like all Williams games of this era innovative in every way. A true classic. " 2003-08-21 17:55:35Z

**** by erikthe10man. Comment: "Too hard for me, but I recognize a great game when I see one. Only God-level gamers were good at this game. It held me in awe to see someone get to the 99th level. Way out of my league!" 2004-01-18 15:32:57Z

*    by jeppe. Comment: "Simply great, does it get any better? Used to play this for hours, still do the rare occasions you find one..." 2005-01-28 18:55:28Z

***  by davbol. Comment: "I would like ti know where i can find it in italy. It's really gorgeus" 2005-03-04 18:24:38Z

***** by bomber555. Comment: "I'd never experienced anything like it before and have never since - especially after the sole unit we had in all of Nairobi, Kenya (yup, way out here in Africa) succumbed to wear and tear around 1988 after several yrs. I spent ages contemplating traveling 300 miles to Mombasa on our eastern coast, where the next one was rumored to be, but it wasn’t possible then. The effect of Defender on an indigenous African teenager way back in 1981 could easily be underestimated. For me, Defender stands way out as the Greatest computer game of all time. The initials of the Greats on its All Time Greatest – MRM, PBJ, SAM, KID (WHEREVER U GUYS ARE) - remain embedded in my memory." 2005-05-18 06:42:25Z

***** by DIALOGUEGUY. Comment: "This was a great game in81. So much so that I bought myself one or my twenty-sixth birthday in 84. It still works today and it's never failed. Now my son plays it with me. None better." 2006-03-02 06:00:56Z

***** by francmuz. Comment: "The best arcade game. Why? Great graphics, sounds and not easy to plying. " 2009-02-20 13:51:29Z

comment on this game

 

Search the following for Defender

This game page was created 8/3/1998 12:00:00 AM and last updated 12/13/2021 6:38:28 AM