Arkanoid
Arkanoid | |
Developer: | Taito |
Publisher: | Taito |
Game designer: | Akira Fujita |
Release date: | 1986 |
Genre: | Puzzle |
Game modes: | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
Cabinet: | Standard |
Controls: | Rotary controller; 1 button |
Monitor | |
Orientation: | Vertical |
Type: | Raster, standard resolution (Used: 224 x 256) |
Notes | |
In the KLOV Top 100 and one of the three best games in 1986 |
Arkanoid is a simple yet addictive arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. It is based upon Atari's Breakout games of the early '80s. To feel the spirit of this classic in ourdays, the freeware Clone Arkanoid3D.NET is a good example.
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
The player controls a small pad which prevents a ball from falling from the playing field, attempting to bounce it against a number of bricks. The ball striking a brick causes the brick to disappear. When all the bricks are gone, the player goes to the next level, where another pattern of bricks appear. There are other variations (bricks that have to be hit a number of times, flying ships, etc.) and power-ups (enlarge your pad, multiply the number of balls, equip a laser cannon, go directly to the next level), but the main gameplay remains the same. After 30 or so levels, the player will take on the game's boss, "Doh."
Legacy[edit | edit source]
Because of the game's popularity, four versions of the game were developed for the coin-op market: Arkanoid, Tournament Arkanoid and Revenge of Doh (Arkanoid II) both in 1987 and Arkanoid Returns in 1997.
Many of the 8-bit computer ports (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC 464, Commodore 64) were very popular in Europe in the 1980s. Console ports on the NES and Game Boy were also popular. The most recent Arkanoid game was a Super NES port called Arkanoid: Doh It Again in 1997.
Arkanoid has remained a popular game and is commonly cloned by aspiring game developers in freeware and shareware titles. Many companies have also regularly cloned the game in arcades.
Arkanoid's popularity led to it being featured in Rainbow Islands, which has a whole level (4 stages in all) dedicated to the game, including Doh as the level boss.