Bagman was developed by the French company Valadon Automation, though it circulated under the American label Stern, something uncommon for an arcade era dominated by Japan and the United States. The player controls a character who must dig and climb through a multi-floor mine collecting money bags and hauling them to a cart on the surface, while dodging police patrolling the tunnels.
It laid a design foundation — vertical levels connected by ladders and platforms, with a clear collection objective — that resonates in later platformers. It had its own sequels, like Super Bagman, and it's remembered as one of the few European arcade successes of the early eighties.
If you liked this one
