History VideoGame / SmashTV

* {{Gorn}}: The introductory text states that TV has adapted to the more violent tendencies of mankind; the numbers of dead contestants, thousands upon thousands of grunts, hundreds of Mr. Shrapnels killed, two humanoid-tank hybrids dismembered, and millions of gallons' worth of of bloodshed serve to drive that point home.

* BraggingRightsReward: The UsefulNotes/XBoxLiveArcade port has a notable achievement: "Game Master - Finish the game without continuing on the default settings." Yeesh.
** Unfortunately, this achievement was bugged when the port was originally released. So even if you DID accomplish that task, [[GameBreakingBug the achievement would not be recorded]].

[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture In the far flung future of 1999]], violence is the biggest draw in entertainment. The [[GameShow game show]] has become the dominant force in television. The most spectacular, gruesome, and rewarding show, topping the ratings, is ''Smash TV''. Contestants are armed and sent into a closed arena, where they fight for cash, glory, and unforgettable prizes including (but not limited to) brand new toasters, more [[Franks2000InchTV 2600" televisions]] than you ever thought possible, and [[ConsolationPrize a year's supply of good meat]]. And if you do well enough, and find enough keys... you may just get into the Pleasure Dome.

* SchmuckBait: ''EVERYWHERE.'' And what's worse, you ''have'' to go for it most of the time; without powerups, you quickly get chunked. Making matters potentially worse, these items will occasionally cover up land mines!

* UndesirablePrize: Oddly subverted in the first studio, wherein the contestants seem to be more excited over winning ''toasters'' than any of the other prizes offered.

* ColorCodedMultiplayer: Contestant 1 has light skin and wears a blue outfit, while Contestant 2 has dark skin and wears a red outfit; similar to Max Force and Hit Man from VideoGame/{{NARC}}.

* {{Gorn}}: The introductory text states that TV has adapted to the more violent tendencies of mankind; the numbers of dead contestants, thousands upon thousands of grunts, and hundreds of Mr. Shrapnels killed only drives that point home.

* SchmuckBait: ''EVERYWHERE.'' And what's worse, you ''have'' to go for it most of the time; without powerups, you quickly get chunked.

** In ''MortalKombat: Deadly Alliance'', Johnny Cage is revealed to have been a contestant on a [[ShowWithinAShow celebrity edition of ''Smash TV'']].

* KaizoTrap: Even after decapitating Mutoid Man [[spoiler:and the Evil M.C.]] a second time, touching its tank during its death animation, even if stationary, turns the contestants into PinkMist. Might be a justified considering the base of the boss is undergoing a ChainReactionDestruction.

* KaizoTrap: Even after decapitating Mutoid Man [[spoiler:and the Evil M.C.]] a second time, touching it the tank even if stationary, turns the contestants into PinkMist.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Clubbed to death, [[LudicousGibs blown up]], shot, [[XRaySparks electrocuted]], run over...

* UnwinnableByDesign: See NoEnding.

* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: At launch, the arcade version taunted players with a message stating they didn't collect enough keys to access the Pleasure Dome-except the Pleasure Dome didn't actually exist. As detailled in [[http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/1/9/3848592/total-carnage-confusing-ending this Polygon feature]], the outcry was such that the development team relented and programmed the Pleasure Dome in later revisions.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Clubbed to death, [[LudicousGibs blown up]], shot, [{XRaySparks electrocuted]], run over...

* BraggingRightsReward: The XBoxLiveArcade port has a notable achievement: "Game Master - Finish the game without continuing on the default settings." Yeesh.

* ColorCodedMultiplayer: Contestant 1 has light skin and wears a blue outfit; Contestant 2 has dark skin and wears a red outfit.

Originally developed by Creator/WilliamsElectronics and released to arcades in 1990, it turned up on several home computer systems and consoles before making the jump to XBoxLiveArcade - the first version that allowed co-op online play.

* [[EveryTenThousandPoints 500,000 Points and Every 1,500,000 Thereafter]]: And ''damn'', will you need them! Notable in that scoring that much won't award an extra life immediately, it will instead change the next item spawn into a [[OneUp 1-up]], making it entirely possible to miss.

* {{Gorn}}: The introductory text states that TV has adapted to the more violent tendencies of mankind; the thousands upon thousands of grunts and Mr. Shrapnels killed only drives that point home.

* KaizoTrap: Even after decapitating Mutoid Man [[spoiler:and the Evil M.C.]] a second time, the tank that remains will wobble around. Touching it turns the contestants in PinkMist.

* {{Bowdlerization}}: The SNES port removed some of the blood and gibs: the generic enemies armed with clubs still disintegrate into PinkMist when shot and bosses lose their limbs and become visibly bloodied when shot enough, but normal enemies aren't blown to pieces when shot with heavier weaponry and the twin snakes now explode normally when killed instead of spurting blood. More subtly, the host doesn't peek at the women's breasts either.

* {{Catchphrase}}: The host's "Big money! Big prizes! I love it!", and "I'd buy that for a dollar!", the latter a ShoutOut to ''Franchise/RoboCop''.
** Which is in turn a ShoutOut to C. M. Kornbluth's story ''The Marching Morons'', which had the recurring catchphrase "Would you buy it for a quarter?".

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Clubbed to death, blown up, shot, electrocuted, run over...

* XRaySparks: The contestants' skeletons start flashing upon touching an orb.

[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture In the far flung future of 1999]], violence is the biggest draw in entertainment. The [[GameShow game show]] has become the dominant force in television. The most spectacular, gruesome, and rewarding show, topping the ratings, is ''Smash T.V.''. Contestants are armed and sent into a closed arena, where they fight for cash, glory, and unforgettable prizes including (but not limited to) brand new toasters, more [[Franks2000InchTV 2600" televisions]] than you ever thought possible, and [[ConsolationPrize a year's supply of good meat]]. And if you do well enough, and find enough keys... you may just get into the Pleasure Dome.

* BottomlessMagazines: Averted. Using the Attack Drone will actually drain your special weapons twice as fast, and the grenade launcher empties at a [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} ludicrous speed]]. At least [[MoreDakka new weapons tend to appear every 15 seconds]].

* ALadyOnEachArm: The host is always seen with two bikini clad models. (Win the game, and one of them appears - alone - in the credits, then with ''your'' character.)

* LudicrousGibs: Most enemies - and you - explode in a large pool of blood.

** The arcade version is nearly impossible not to die in, mostly due to slow movement speed without the speed powerup (which has a short duration). The arcade Smash TV is probably designed this way intentionally to eat up quarters. Other ports are mostly difficult for being bad ports. Despite this, one of the developers claims he can finish it in [[NoDamageRun one coin]]. Having a second player helps a lot, since half the enemies go for the other player, so two players playing with one quarter each is a more achievable goal. If you have no extra speed and miss a powerup while playing alone, death is usually not far behind in the later levels.

* PaletteSwap: Some of the Mooks, and the final boss - [[spoiler: [[RecurringBoss The Host]]]] - is a head swap of the first.

* ShowsDamage: The bosses tend to fall apart over time- not surprising, given the number of bullets they absorb.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: The yellow mortar weapon that only appears during boss battles is ONLY meant for boss battles. It also provides free invincibility on pick-up during the Scar Face battle. Trying to aim it at anything smaller than a boss will generally get you killed, as the shells fly high in the air and don't hit anything mid-arc. Despite this, in the arcade version, it can be carried into the next stage.

* EyeBeams: Mutoid Man. The M.C. Boss simply fires eyeballs at you.

** Also, as stated above, the M.C. weaponizes this trope by shooting his own eyeballs at you.

* GoofyPrintUnderwear: The M.C. Boss. Rather than exposing his ribcage (as with Mutoid Man previously), shooting his chest reveals a pink polka dot undershirt.

** Scarface also looks suspiciously like ''{{Sinistar}}''.

* {{Spreadshot}}

[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture In the far flung future of 1999]], violence is the biggest draw in entertainment. The [[GameShow game show]] has become the dominant force in television. The most spectacular, gruesome, and rewarding show, topping the ratings, is ''Smash T.V.''. Contestants are armed and sent into a closed arena, where they fight for cash, glory, and unforgettable prizes including (but not limited to) brand new toasters, more [[Franks2000InchTV 2600" televisions]] than you ever thought possible, and [[ConsolationPrize a year's supply of good meat]].

* HeyItsThatGuy: Aside from EugeneJarvis (the main designer of the game), ''Smash TV'' was programmed by Mark Turmell (''NBAJam, NFL Blitz''), and features character designs by John Tobias (''MortalKombat'').

----

-->''"Big money! Big prizes! I love it!"''

* {{Bowdlerization}}: The SNES port removed some of the blood and gibs: the generic enemies armed with clubs still disintegrate into RedMist when shot and bosses lose their limbs and become visibly bloodied when shot enough, but normal enemies aren't blown to pieces when shot with heavier weaponry and the twin snakes now explode normally when killed instead of spurting blood. More subtly, the host doesn't peek at the women's breasts either.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: The yellow mortar weapon that only appears during boss battles is ONLY meant for boss battles. It also provides free invincibility on pick-up. Trying to aim it at anything smaller than a boss will generally get you killed, as the shells fly high in the air and don't hit anything mid-arc. Despite this, in the arcade version, it can be carried into the next stage.

** The arcade version is literally impossible not to die in, mostly due to slow movement speed without the speed powerup (which has a short duration). The arcade Smash TV is probably designed this way intentionally to eat up quarters. Other ports are mostly difficult for being bad ports. Despite this, one of the developers claims he can finish it in [[NoDamageRun one coin]].

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''{{Robotron2084}}'' and ''Film/TheRunningMan'', as noted up top; also has its own Spiritual Successors, ''TotalCarnage'', ''The Grid'', and ''MondayNightCombat''. On a side note, ''Smash TV'' programmer Mark Turmell said in an interview that ''Robotron: 2084'' is one of his favorite games.