Tattoo Assassins

the knock-off fighting game that sort of wasn't finished and became a cult classic

Per Wikipedia, Tattoo Assassins is an unreleased fighting game developed by Data East Pinball in Chicago in 1994-1995.

The game was never truly completed, polished, or released, and as a result, has achieved a mild cult following. As of this writing, it can be played in emulators such as MAME and FBneo, or online using Fightcade.

The sound ROMs used in emulation were updated in May 2025 and certain bugs related to the sound emulation have been corrected as of version 0.278 of MAME. Older versions are missing most of the sound calls, and many sounds are generated incorrectly, as seen in older videos.

An effort to update the source code and release the game to arcade cabinets and possibly other platforms by exA-Arcadia was announced on May 11, 2025.

There is a small Discord server dedicated to fans of the game which can be accessed here

The following links are articles about the game over the years. Some are long since lost, and available via Wayback only.

• Guides and FAQs are available on GameFAQs, particularly the Move List and Guide which is freshly updated.
• The semi-official move list as derived from source code.
• Splattered Ink: The Story of Tattoo Assassins
• 30th Anniversary Developer Q&A on ResetEra
• Classic GameRoom reviews the game
• Mizzumi Wiki about the game
• Sprites have been ripped from Tattoo Assassins
• MUGEN also has the characters
• Destructoid names Tattoo Assassins the #1 worst Mortal Kombat klone!
• I-Mockery destroys Tattoo Assassins and its fatalities
• This long-ago-deleted article about the game endings is, unfortunately, missing the actual screenshots of the endings
• A picture-heavy dissection of the game from July 2004
• A peek at one source code file from Tattoo Assassins
• Arcade History entry
• International Arcade Museum (KLOV) entry
• Dan Amrich's insight into the story
• A playlist of Fightcade replays demonstrating gameplay

As many as 24 cabinets were produced for the AMOA show in San Antonio in September 1994, but it seems that most were intentionally destroyed in May 1995. The only remaining original cabinets would be ones which were claimed by insiders or sold to interested collectors during that window of time.

One of the known working cabinets was nearly destroyed in the PAPA flood. That and the other working game at PAPA were auctioned off in the wind-down of the Replay Foundation's assets. There are at least two working cabinets on location, at the Galloping Ghost in Chicago, Illinois, and the Game Terminal in Nashville, Tennessee. There may be other cabinets in existence, based on stories that the game has been on location in California, Maryland, and a cruise ship. Of course, there are several in private collections, as well.

The game is not "locked up at DE headquarters". Data East Japan went out of business not too long after Data East Pinball became Sega Pinball. None of the cabinets were ever produced outside of the initial bunch manufactured in Chicago.