1984 · Taito
Mr. Black
Flat black void with no scenery, dozens of small yellow falling stick-figure shapes scattered over the black ground, red rectangular scoring panels stacked down the left half and left edge shows a jagged yellow-brown torn rock or cave-wall texture.
- Year
- 1984
- Maker
- Taito
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Vision analysis
On the playfield
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- black
- red
- yellow
- orange
Fingerprint: SABRINA DE AMOR, colossal grinning demon skull with hollow eyes, two red screaming devil heads flanking, golden-lit female figure below radiating light rays, Portuguese vertical bands (GUARDIAS DA FORCA DO MAL / GUARDIAS DA LUZ), red bumpers, yellow banner across top, TAITO pop caps, two columns maroon target lamps, black field, flame art, infernal composition
A gigantic grinning demon skull with hollow eyes and bared teeth, backed by two red screaming devil heads, is the unmistakable centrepiece. The female figure in a gold outfit standing directly beneath the skull, radiating golden light rays, is the second most memorable element. Portuguese-language labelling is everywhere, with mirrored vertical bands GUARDIAS DA FORCA DO MAL on the left and GUARDIAS DA LUZ on the right, and repeated SÁIDA DO INFERNO starburst warnings. Two white pop-bumper caps printed TAITO sit over a bank of three red bumpers at the top, with a yellow script banner reading Sabrina de Amor. The bottom apron carries a large TAITO logo between two blue-bordered instruction panels, one headed ATENCAO.
Setting
- Inferno of black sky and yellow-orange flame
- Hellscape with a giant demonic skull and two devil heads
- Dark ruined masonry on the left edge
- Golden radiating light rays behind the central woman
Symbols
- Five-pointed red star in a yellow box
- Yellow arrow signs
- Round maroon target lamps
- Flame motifs
- Taito wordmark in a rounded blue-and-yellow badge
Notable shapes
- Large black circular opening ringed with red flame art above the flippers
- Curved clear-plastic ramp tube arching over the right side
- Tall triangular/tapered flipper bats with white rubber
- Arched metal guide rail down the right edge
Art motifs
- Sweeping flame tongues
- Radiating light beams
- Chiaroscuro horror illustration
- Warning starbursts
Themes
- Occult and demonology
- Inferno and hellfire
- Pin-up woman
- Portuguese-language brazilian theme
- Magic and sorcery
Title on it
- Sabrina de amor
Text on it
- Sabrina de Amor
- TAITO
- GUARDIAS DA FORCA DO MAL
- GUARDIAS DA LUZ
- multiacceptor de scary
- ace black corners
- saida do inferno
- NÃO COLOQUE FICHAS QUANDO A LUZ ESTÁ ACESA.
- UMA JOGADA = UM JACKPOT
- DICAS DE JOGO
- TILT
- UPPER BUTTON
- ATENÇÃO
- ATENCAO
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Monster | Huge grinning skull in cream and bone tones with deep black eye sockets, bared teeth, hollow nose, centred in the upper middle of the playfield |
| Monster | Large red devil face upper left of centre, wide open mouth, white fangs, pointed ear, flame-textured skin |
| Monster | Second large red devil face upper right of centre, mirroring the first, screaming open mouth and fangs |
| Woman | One dark-haired female figure standing centre, wearing a gold and orange two-piece costume with a headpiece, arms out to the sides, lower body merging into vertical golden light rays |
A portrait-format playfield shot flat-on, lacquer reflecting overhead lights. The surface is one infernal composition in black, red, orange and yellow: a huge grinning demonic skull with hollow black eyes and bared teeth dominates the upper centre, flanked by two snarling red devil faces with wide mouths, fangs and pointed ears. Below the skull stands one dark-haired woman in a gold and orange two-piece costume with a headdress, arms out, her lower body dissolving into vertical golden light rays. Yellow-and-orange flame tongues stream diagonally across the left half. A vertical yellow band on the left reads GUARDIAS DA FORCA DO MAL, mirrored by GUARDIAS DA LUZ on the right, each flanked by a column of round maroon target lamps. At the top, a bank of three slim red pop bumpers sits over a yellow script banner, with two large white pop-bumper caps below and a tall clear wireform ramp arching over the right side. Below, a black circular hole is ringed with red flame art, two white-rubbered flippers beneath it, and a printed apron with blue instruction panels and a large TAITO wordmark.
On the backglass
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- black
- red
- yellow
- green
Fingerprint: mr.black: hooded faceless figure in leopard-cheetah spotted robe with solid black void cowl containing only two glowing red eyes, clawed hand clawing tangle of writhing naked bodies, black background scattered with dozens tiny yellow falling stick-figure shapes, cracked three-dimensional red-yellow title MR.BLACK with flaking paint
The single most memorable element is a huge hooded, faceless figure in a leopard-skin robe whose cowl is a solid black void containing only two glowing red eyes, with a clawed hand clawing at a tangle of naked writhing bodies below. Set directly against it is the cracked, three-dimensional red-and-yellow title MR.BLACK, its paint flaking to bare yellow. Second most striking: the black background scattered with dozens of tiny yellow falling stick-figure shapes, like raining people. Third: the leopard- and cheetah-print spotted robe and garment worn by the figure, which reads as a spotted fur texture rather than cloth. Fourth: the stack of five red rectangular score/scoring panels with white painted numerals running down the left side, and the pale skull-faced figure with both arms raised in the bottom-left corner.
Setting
- Flat black void with no scenery
- Dozens of small yellow falling stick-figure shapes scattered over the black ground
- Red rectangular scoring panels stacked down the left half
- Left edge shows a jagged yellow-brown torn rock or cave-wall texture
Symbols
- Spotted leopard-skin and cheetah-print texture
- Glowing red eyes
- Clawed hand
- Human skull
- Falling yellow stick figures
- Round red targets
- Red rectangular scoring windows
- White double-m monogram logo
- Torn jagged rock edge
Lettering
- Large curved three-dimensional block capitals, red-to-orange gradient faces with yellow-gold rims and heavy black drop shadow, heavily cracked and flaked so yellow underlayer shows; small labels in plain white-outlined sans-serif capitals inside red boxes
Themes
- Horror
- Occult
- Death
- Macabre
- Corpse pile
- Supernatural
- Zombie
- Voodoo
Title on it
- Mr.black
Text on it
- MR.BLACK
- SHOOT AGAIN
- BONUS
- MILLIONS
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Monster | Very large hooded figure filling the right half, drawn from the waist up. a pointed hood and robe made of leopard and cheetah spots in orange, tan and black. the face is entirely absent: a solid black void inside the cowl with two small glowing red eyes. one long clawed hand reaches down and forward, fingers splayed, over the bodies below. |
| Creature | A dense mass of tangled naked human bodies filling the lower centre and right, painted in sickly green, pale blue and crimson. limbs overlap and writhe; some figures are skeletal or corpse-like with red streaking, one head near the centre-right is thrown back with a gaping mouth. |
| Skeleton | Bottom-left corner: a pale grey-white figure with a skull-like face and hollow dark eyes, bare torso, both arms raised high with open hands in a beckoning or shrieking pose, emerging from dark tangled forms. |
| Other | Along the far left edge a pale blonde woman's head and shoulders lie tilted back among the bodies, near the jagged torn-edge texture. |
| Other | Many tiny yellow simplified stick-like figures, some appearing to fall or hang head-down, distributed as a repeated pattern across the entire black background. |
Photographed through the glass of a coin-op backbox, showing a dark, high-contrast airbrushed horror illustration on a black ground. Across the upper right sits a large curved title, MR.BLACK, in fat three-dimensional block capitals with red-to-orange gradient faces, yellow-gold rims and heavy black drop shadows; the letters are cracked and flaked so the yellow underlayer shows through. A small white double-m logo with a line of tiny caption text sits below and left of the title. Dominating the right half is a hooded, faceless figure in a leopard- and cheetah-spotted robe, the cowl opening onto a pure black void with only two glowing red eyes; a single clawed hand reaches forward over a mass of writhing naked bodies painted in sickly green, blue and crimson. Down the left runs a stack of red window panels scored in white, flanked by round red targets, and the whole black field is littered with dozens of small falling yellow stick-figure or cross shapes. Bottom left a pale skull-faced figure raises both arms. Reflected room lights and cabling wash across the lower edge.