Most ’80s kids who ever stepped foot in an arcade remember the Bally Midway arcade game Spy Hunter. With its futuristic steering wheel, unique gameplay, and use of the Peter Gunn theme music, it was a huge hit when it debuted in 1983. But did you know there was a sequel – Spy Hunter II?

I’m an ’80s kid and avid arcade collector myself, but even I forgot a Spy Hunter II game existed until I saw a photo shared in a Facebook group. Check out this beast:

Spy Hunter II arcade game – Photo shared by Jon Jamshid

Even after seeing the photo, I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever seen this game in person. Whether it was the unpopularity of the game or the general decline of the arcade industry by 1987, Spy Hunter II was and still remains obscure.

Spy Hunter II History

Fortunately, in that same Facebook post, one of the game’s designers, Brian F. Colin (Rampage, Arch Rivals), popped in to give some background on the development:

Management had been asking for a Spy Hunter sequel for some time, but the long awaited “new hardware” was still nowhere in sight. So the decision was made to try to stretch the effect from Max RPM even further. Gary Oglesby was the programmer, I did the screen art & animation.

The boss had one type of game in mind, the programmer had another, and I had just seen The Road Warrior and was looking for a vehicle (no pun intended) that would allow me to mess with some post-apocalyptic images. A lot of compromises were made, and tho the game was released, I didn’t feel that it was an improvement on the original. In the real world, sometimes it’s gotta be about keeping the guys on the production lines busy.

Spy Hunter II Gameplay

While actual footage of the arcade game in action remains rare, gameplay is available through emulation. Check out the side-by-side screen action below:

If you missed out on playing the physical game in the arcades, versions of Spy Hunter II were released for modern console systems. Do you remember playing this game? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!