Cool Cowboy

Cool Cowboy酷酷小牛仔
Title screen (from the original version).
Publisher	Sheng Yang Electronic Development Co., Ltd.
Developer	JungleTac (original version)
Console	Arcade
Date	2010 or earlier
Alternate names/hacks	Vacas (colloquial name, Mexico) Kéo Bò (colloquial name, Vietnam)

Cool Cowboy (Chinese: 酷酷小牛仔) is a redemption arcade game that heavily copies the 2005 Japanese redemption game Rodeo King (ロデオキング). The publisher of the game is Sheng Yang Electronic Development Co., Ltd. and the original version of the game was developed by JungleTac, a Chinese company that is mostly known for having self-produced many plug and play TV games and handhelds. The original version of the game is known to have been released in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Overview

Gameplay (from attract demo).

The game has the player assume the role of a cowboy riding on top of a horse and wrangle a herd of cattle at a ranch using a lasso. Each cattle that runs across the screen has a numeric value placed over it, signifying the amount of credits it is worth. When the player inserts a credit on a new game, they will start out with one lasso. Inserting an additional credit will add one more lasso, allowing the player to wrangle more cattle, and up to four additional lassos can be added; additional credits can be inserted past this point, but no more lassos will be added. Once the player has inserted credits, they have to press a button on the cabinet to throw the lasso(s) at the herd of cattle and then press it repeatedly to attempt to wrangle the cattle they caught. If any of the cattle the player catches are successfully caught, the total amount of the numeric values of each cattle in credits will be deposited by the game cabinet.

The game's premise and gameplay mechanics, as well as the designs of the cattle and horse, its setting, logo, and overall presentation, are directly plagiarized from the Japanese redemption arcade game Rodeo King (ロデオキング), released in 2005 by Amuzy. Unlike the original game, the value of the cattle do not increase as the player inserts more than one credit, with the values shown in-game when no credits are inserted (e.g., when the "INSERT COIN" animation at the bottom right is visible) being their final values when the player begins the game.

Updated version

Around 2023, an updated version of Cool Cowboy would be released by Sheng Yang, which as of 2025 is still actively being sold by them. This version now runs at a 16:9 aspect ratio instead of the 4:3 aspect ratio used by the original version of the game, and is a recreation of the original version instead of being based on its code. This version also slightly differs in terms of some aspects of its presentation, such as the animations of the coins shown when the player wins credits and the animation used to indicate to the player when to press a button. The developer of this version is unknown.

Trivia

• Both the original and updated versions of this game are undumped. The original version is confirmed to use Sheng Yang's "One Touch" hardware platform, which is likely based on a 32-bit Sunplus SPG29x chipset. It is unknown what hardware the updated version of the game uses.
• This game features a service menu, which is activated by pressing a dedicated button inside the machine (connected to "IOD4" on the JAMMA pinout) while it is powered on. A video demonstrating this is available here.
• The Spanish localization of the original version is known to have appeared in Mexico, and the English and Chinese revisions of the original version are known to have appeared in Vietnam. It is unknown if the Chinese version was released in any primarily Chinese-speaking countries.
  • The Spanish localization of the original version in particular is known to have gained popularity in Mexico, as much of the online documentation on it originates from there. The original (Spanish) version of this game would also still be offered in some Mexican arcades as late as 2023, and modern cabinets featuring this particular version of the game are also known to still have been sold as late as that year as well.

Video

Arcade Game - Cool Cowboy

Official promotional video of the original version on YouTube.

Cool Cowboy (GAME)

Video demoing the Spanish localization of the original version.

Cool Cowboy - Arcade Mahine - Game Machine - Kid Game套牛 套小牛 親子機遊戲

Official promotional video of the updated 2023 version.

ONE TOUCH CAWBOY

Another demonstration video of the original version's Spanish localization.

VACA ONE TOUCH

Recording of an arcade cabinet running the original version of the game.

MAQUINA ONE TOUCH

Another recording of an arcade cabinet running the original version of the game.

Jugando hasta ganar maquina de vacas

Video recording of the Spanish localization of the original version, which more clearly demonstrates the mechanics of the game.

See also

• Classic Max Pocket, a distinct series of multi-game handhelds produced by JungleTac
• Secret Gambling Games
• Sport Vii, an infamous Wii clone developed by JungleTac with original 16-bit games built in
• Top Shooter, a redemption arcade game that clones the Konami game Dam Dam Boy

External links

• Official product page for original version (archived)
• Gameplay recording of the Chinese version on Bilibili.com