Lupin III

Released in April 1980.

Also released as a cocktail model. In Japan, the cocktail version is known as "T.T Lupin III".

Based, sort of, on Lupin III, one of the most famous manga/anime series of all time. Lupin is a descendant of Arsene Lupin, a thief who was the main character of mystery novels written by Maurice LeBlanc. Monkey Punch (Katou Kazuhiko), Lupin III's creator, used the Lupin name without permission, and the estate of LeBlanc agreed not to raise too much of a fuss so long as Lupin III remained in Japan. This is why early US/European releases of Lupin titles changed his name to things like 'The Wolf' and 'Rupan'. The copyrights to the Arsene Lupin name have since passed into the public domain.

The Lupin III manga began in 1967, running in Manga Action. The first TV series began in 1971, and ran for 23 episodes. A second TV series began in 1977, and ran for 155 episodes. The first animated Lupin III movie (there had already been an old black-and-white live-action movie) was Lupin Vs. The Clones (more commonly known to US/European audiences as 'Mystery of Mamo') came out in 1978, and was followed in 1979 by the most famous animated version of Lupin, The Castle of Cagliostro. Footage from these two movies were used to make the laserdisc game Cliff Hanger. So Lupin was at the height of his popularity when this game was released.