<s>
is	O
an	O
unreleased	O
1996	B-Application
puzzle	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
that	O
was	O
in	O
development	O
by	O
Data	O
East	O
and	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
published	O
by	O
SNK	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
MVS	I-Application
(	O
arcade	O
)	O
,	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
AES	I-Application
(	O
home	O
)	O
and	O
Neo	B-Device
Geo	I-Device
CD	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
gameplay	O
mainly	O
consists	O
of	O
puzzle	O
mixed	O
with	O
Breakout-style	O
action	B-Application
elements	O
using	O
a	O
main	O
two-button	O
configuration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Headed	O
by	O
Nitro	O
Ball	O
director	O
Koji	O
Jinbo	O
,	O
Ghostlop	B-Application
was	O
created	O
by	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
team	O
that	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
several	O
projects	O
at	O
Data	O
East	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
platforms	O
and	O
who	O
would	O
later	O
go	O
on	O
to	O
work	O
at	O
Kaneko	O
on	O
Cyvern	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Dragon	I-Application
Weapons	I-Application
before	O
the	O
former	O
company	O
declared	O
bankruptcy	O
in	O
2003	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
first	O
given	O
a	O
location	O
test	O
in	O
1996	B-Application
and	O
despite	O
being	O
previewed	O
across	O
few	O
video	O
game	O
magazines	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
of	O
being	O
showcased	O
to	O
attendees	O
at	O
trade	O
shows	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
ultimately	O
shelved	O
by	O
SNK	O
for	O
unknown	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
Ghostlop	B-Application
never	O
being	O
officially	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
by	O
SNK	O
,	O
a	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
complete	O
game	O
was	O
leaked	O
online	O
by	O
homebrew	B-Application
developer	O
Neobitz	O
,	O
allowing	O
for	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2009	B-Application
,	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
title	O
are	O
currently	O
owned	O
by	O
G-Mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
characters	O
and	O
gameplay	O
mechanics	O
would	O
later	O
reappear	O
in	O
Magical	B-Application
Drop	I-Application
V	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ghostlop	B-Application
is	O
a	O
falling	O
block	O
puzzle	O
game	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
Drop	B-Application
Off	I-Application
and	O
Puzzle	B-Application
Bobble	I-Application
,	O
where	O
players	O
take	O
control	O
of	O
ghost	O
hunters	O
Bruce	O
(	O
P1	O
)	O
and	O
McCoy	O
(	O
P2	O
)	O
with	O
the	O
main	O
objective	O
of	O
evicting	O
as	O
many	O
ghosts	O
as	O
possible	O
from	O
the	O
playfield	O
with	O
a	O
single	O
ball	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
walls	O
and/or	O
their	O
respective	O
character	O
to	O
ricochet	O
the	O
ball	O
back	O
at	O
the	O
ghosts	O
to	O
eliminate	O
them	O
before	O
the	O
timer	O
runs	O
out	O
and	O
the	O
current	O
round	O
ends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Failing	O
in	O
catching	O
the	O
ball	O
from	O
rebound	O
after	O
touching	O
the	O
floor	O
results	O
in	O
a	O
stack	O
of	O
random	O
colored	O
ghosts	O
rapidly	O
descending	O
from	O
the	O
top	O
and	O
once	O
all	O
the	O
ghosts	O
reach	O
the	O
bottom	O
,	O
the	O
game	B-Application
is	I-Application
over	I-Application
as	O
a	O
result	O
unless	O
players	O
insert	O
more	O
credits	O
into	O
the	O
arcade	O
machine	O
to	O
continue	O
playing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
unique	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
how	O
ghosts	O
are	O
evicted	O
;	O
Similar	O
to	O
Silhouette	B-Application
Mirage	I-Application
and	O
Ikarugas	B-Application
polarity	O
mechanism	O
,	O
players	O
can	O
switch	O
their	O
ball	O
between	O
red	O
and	O
blue	O
colors	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
evict	O
ghosts	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
respective	O
color	O
by	O
pressing	O
either	O
A	O
or	O
B	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
three	O
additional	O
types	O
of	O
ghosts	O
:	O
bomb	B-Device
ghosts	O
capable	O
of	O
detaching	O
others	O
caught	O
within	O
their	O
blast	B-Device
radius	I-Device
,	O
skull	O
ghosts	O
that	O
take	O
two	O
hits	O
to	O
evict	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
electric	O
ghosts	O
,	O
which	O
act	O
as	O
dynamite	O
that	O
erases	O
all	O
the	O
ghosts	O
from	O
the	O
playfield	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
Puyo	B-Application
Puyo	I-Application
's	O
chain	O
mechanism	O
,	O
players	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
attack	O
the	O
rival	O
playfield	O
by	O
performing	O
a	O
chain	B-Application
reaction	I-Application
with	O
a	O
disappearing	O
ghost	O
that	O
cause	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
ghosts	O
to	O
fall	O
off	O
and	O
spawn	O
in	O
the	O
rival	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ghostlop	B-Application
was	O
created	O
by	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
team	O
that	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
several	O
projects	O
at	O
Data	O
East	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
Spinmaster	B-Application
,	O
Windjammers	B-Application
,	O
Karnov	B-Application
's	I-Application
Revenge	I-Application
,	O
Street	B-Application
Slam	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Magical	B-Application
Drop	I-Application
franchise	O
,	O
after	O
which	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
employees	O
would	O
later	O
go	O
on	O
to	O
work	O
at	O
Kaneko	O
on	O
Cyvern	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Dragon	I-Application
Weapons	I-Application
before	O
the	O
former	O
company	O
declared	O
bankruptcy	O
in	O
2003	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ghostlop	B-Application
was	O
first	O
showcased	O
by	O
SNK	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
at	O
trade	O
shows	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Amusement	O
&	O
Music	O
Operators	O
Association	O
Show	O
(	O
AMOA	O
)	O
and	O
Amusement	O
Machine	O
Show	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
of	O
being	O
playable	O
during	O
location	O
tests	O
in	O
1996	B-Application
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
reportedly	O
met	O
with	O
a	O
less	O
than	O
enthusiastic	O
response	O
from	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
also	O
previewed	O
on	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
and	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
Freak	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SNK	O
briefly	O
considered	O
re-releasing	O
the	O
title	O
in	O
2001	B-Application
but	O
the	O
idea	O
was	O
scrapped	O
and	O
was	O
ultimately	O
shelved	O
for	O
unknown	O
reasons	O
,	O
leading	O
Data	O
East	O
in	O
notifying	O
Japanese	O
audiences	O
about	O
the	O
cancelled	O
launch	O
via	O
email	O
,	O
however	O
several	O
possible	O
factors	O
have	O
been	O
given	O
as	O
to	O
why	O
it	O
was	O
never	O
published	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2002	O
,	O
emulated	B-Application
screenshots	O
from	O
a	O
prototype	O
cartridge	O
surfaced	O
online	O
,	O
indicating	O
that	O
the	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
preserved	O
but	O
not	O
made	O
widely	O
available	O
to	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2003	B-Application
,	O
a	O
MVS	O
prototype	O
cartridge	O
of	O
Ghostlop	B-Application
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
video	O
game	O
collector	O
Billy	O
Pitt	O
from	O
an	O
Ohio-based	O
arcade	O
operator	O
,	O
who	O
received	O
it	O
via	O
SNK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
period	O
,	O
a	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
complete	O
game	O
was	O
leaked	O
online	O
by	O
homebrew	B-Application
developer	O
Neobitz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Data	O
East	O
declared	O
bankruptcy	O
in	O
2003	B-Application
,	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
Ghostlop	B-Application
were	O
acquired	O
and	O
are	O
currently	O
owned	O
by	O
G-Mode	O
as	O
of	O
2009	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
its	O
release	O
was	O
cancelled	O
,	O
the	O
characters	O
later	O
reappeared	O
in	O
Magical	B-Application
Drop	I-Application
V	I-Application
,	O
using	O
gameplay	O
from	O
the	O
former	O
title	O
instead	O
of	O
traditional	O
Magical	B-Application
Drop	I-Application
mechanics	O
.	O
</s>
