Play Tattoo Assassins Online

Summary

Tattoo Assassins was Data East Pinball’s answer to the Mortal Kombat craze, imagined by Back‑to‑the‑Future screenwriter Bob Gale and pinball veteran Joe Kamikow. The team raced against a nine‑month deadline, only to see the project stall as Sega bought the division in late 1994, leaving the game in a half‑finished state with a handful of glitches.

Only two complete cabinets ever left the factory – one still sits at Data East’s headquarters, the other was lost in a flood – and both sported a massive tiger on the side art. The game boasted a bizarre roster of fatalities, from flaming farts and giant fly‑swatters to “Nudalities” that stripped opponents, with rumors of over two thousand possible endings, though roughly two hundred were actually documented.

After the machines were scrapped, the ROM eventually surfaced online, earning a reputation for choppy animation and derivative moves. In 2025 exA‑Arcadia announced a 4K revival with bug fixes, partnering with G‑Mode to finally give Tattoo Assassins a proper release.

Storyline

In Tattoo Assassins, the mysterious Mullah Abba summons you to confront Koldan the Conqueror and retrieve the ancient Ink of Ghize. This morphic fluid behaves like tattoo ink, turning the designs on a warrior’s skin into real objects for a short time. Koldan commands legions loyal to death, blocking your path until they are defeated. The game’s world revolves around the Order of Colors, a secretive group led by Mullah Abba, who discovered the Ink’s power. With the aid of Lyla Blue, you must inhabit one of nine tattoo‑enhanced fighters to stop Koldan’s takeover.