About to beat Arkanoid. Any other Arkanoid fans out there?

[v1rich]

I really love this game. About a year ago I beat it on normal mode, now I am playing it on hard mode and am at level 88 of 99. This is the one for Super Nintendo (Doh it again). Lots of fun. I'll probably beat it tonight. Any other Arkanoid fans out there?

I tried to do a poll but it is f'd up for some reason no matter what I do. since I screwed it up the first time

[Jibbajaba]

Yeah I really like Arkanoid. Way back when, when I got my first VGA card and color monitor for my XT, the first game I played with it was Arkanoid. I just enjoy breakout-style games in general. Super Breakout for VCS is a great title. I think that an Arkanoid arcade machine would be something fun to own. The game plays pretty well in MAME if you use a mouse.

Chris

[chrisbid]

super nes arkanoid is really easy, the NES version with the paddle controller is a better test of skills :)

[goatdan]

I adore Arkanoid and Breakout style games. My favorite was probably Arkanoid 2 for the PC. I also really liked Breakout 2000 for the Jaguar and I play Arkanoid for the NES often, even though I pretty much suck at it without the controller.

I really wish Wizard Blocks Pinball had come out. It would've been breakout with a real ball in a Pinball 2000 -- Star Wars / Revenge From Mars -- machine. Dang that would've been great.

I wish there were some updates to the formula. Perhaps there will be a new game like it that will come out for some system in the next year that will attempt to make some improvements on the idea... Hmmm... Sounds like it would make a good Dreamcast game ;)

[Jibbajaba]

I adore Arkanoid and Breakout style games. My favorite was probably Arkanoid 2 for the PC. I also really liked Breakout 2000 for the Jaguar and I play Arkanoid for the NES often, even though I pretty much suck at it without the controller.

I really wish Wizard Blocks Pinball had come out. It would've been breakout with a real ball in a Pinball 2000 -- Star Wars / Revenge From Mars -- machine. Dang that would've been great.

I wish there were some updates to the formula. Perhaps there will be a new game like it that will come out for some system in the next year that will attempt to make some improvements on the idea... Hmmm... Sounds like it would make a good Dreamcast game ;)

Yup Arkanoid 2 is the one to which I was referring. Revenge of Doh is what it's called, right?

It would be cool to see an updated title, but the only way I see that happening is if it's one of those $10 budget titles released by some no-name company at the end of a console's life cycle.

Chris

[Graham Mitchell]

I'm a huge Arkanoid fan, too. I have trouble playing it on MAME because it only shows up in a little window on my computer (I don't have no snazzy video card to expand the image), but I still try and try. The original arcade game is probably my favorite (I just love the presentation; the bright colors, the music and deep bass-heavy sound effects...awesome!)

That SNES game is great fun, too. Did anybody play the newer arcade game fom a few years ago? What was it called...I can't even remember, but it was an official Arkanoid game from Taito. It had a 2-player co-op mode. My friend and I spent a lot of time at Gameworks playing that.

[Kamino]

Yeah I really like Arkanoid. Way back when, when I got my first VGA card and color monitor for my XT, the first game I played with it was Arkanoid. I just enjoy breakout-style games in general. Super Breakout for VCS is a great title. I think that an Arkanoid arcade machine would be something fun to own. The game plays pretty well in MAME if you use a mouse.

Chris
There is a horrible condition arkanoid cab here at school....the paddle is so freaking loose it flops over. if you grab it and try to turn it, there is grinding and screeching.

But yeah, i'm quite the arkanoid/breakout fan. anyone who is -needs- nes thunder and lightning.

[goatdan]

Yup Arkanoid 2 is the one to which I was referring. Revenge of Doh is what it's called, right?

Yes, although it took me years to find that out. In fact, I didn't even know it was Arkanoid 2 for the longest time. I think that I bought Arkanoid for the NES in 94 or 95, and I was pissed that it was so much crappier than the PC version...

My grandpa had the sequel on his PC. After he had to move out of his house when we were going through all of his stuff, I found the manual for Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh PC and actually found out what I had been playing. By the way, the PC version had the sweeeeeeetest instruction manual -- it had a comic detailing the whole adventure.


It would be cool to see an updated title, but the only way I see that happening is if it's one of those $10 budget titles released by some no-name company at the end of a console's life cycle.

Hmmmm... sounds like you're onto something ;)

[o2william]

Count me as an Arkanoid fan. In the '80s, a cabinet showed up at a local pizza place. I didn't get to go there very often, but always played it when I did. I think I only managed to get to level 3 or so.

I remember hoping that a 2600 version would come out, since that was the only system I owned at the time. Later, when I traded up to the NES, I can recall taking a 45-minute drive to get the NES cart when it came out (no stores sold NES games in my area). It became one of the few video games my parents would actually play. I remember crowding around the TV, taking turns playing the game... good times. The Vaus controller broke all the time, but my mother worked with electronics for a living and usually could patch it up. The controller was too small for her though, and eventually we removed the grey shell and replaced it with a big blue plastic box and the paddle with a large knob from a dimmer lightswitch. Unfortunately, it finally broke permanently and we threw it away.

I've beaten the NES game, but only by using the continue code. Ironically, I've only beaten it with a D-pad, never by using the paddle controller. I've got a new one now, but I'm afraid to use it and risk it breaking!

I recently picked up the Famicom version of Arkanoid II (never released in the states), but haven't tried it yet. The wife's Dragon Warrior II obsession has tied up my A/V Fami for the time being :).

"only to be trapped in space, warped by someone..."

[Kilik Kurosawa]

Highest I ever got on NES Arkanoid without the cheat is level 12. Its def one of my top 20 NES favs.

[Kid Ice]

I'm surprised noahsmybro hasn't tuned in, that guy can tear through the NES version while carrying on a lengthy conversation, no sweat.

Arkanoid has always been one of my MAME favorites because (a) it plays well with a mouse and (b) it's one of those games that seems to work flawlessly on every PC out there.

A laundromat near where I used to live had an Arkanoid machine...the dial was apparently broken or stolen, so the op replaced it with an oven dial. It actually worked pretty well.

[NoahsMyBro]

I never really payed attention to my score or which level I've attained, so I have no idea how I compare to you guys who've chimed in.

However, considering I find the NES version pretty easy, and I've never played the SNES version, my first reaction to the post above saying the NES cart is harder than the SNES game was surprise and disagreement.

The sandwich shop across from my high school had an Arkanoid, and I played it a lot during high school. (Yeah, I meant to say during high school. I can't even count hwo many times I played straight through classes. I wasn't the best student in the school, to understate things.... But I was unbeatable on Xevious, Spy Hunter, Arkanoid, & Elevator Action. Unfortunately I never managed to become the best among my peers at Marble Madness, Discs of Tron (I was real close on this one), Peter Packrat, Pole Position, or Karate Champ.

Those were the games of my high school sandwich shop. Well, the ones I liked, anyway. I don't really remember the others very well. I know there was a Punch Out, Dragon's Lair, some Tag Team wrestling game, and probably others that came and went.

[Wavelflack]

I absolutely love Arkanoid. In fact, I modified a SNES mouse so I could play Doh it Again the right way:

http://www.photodump.com/direct/wavelx/WavelArkanoidcontroller.jpg

[Sotenga]

I swear, I love this game, but it raises WAY too much anger while playing, mostly because the goddamn ball moves too fast and it's a pain to keep up with, even with the assistance of the special controller. If I had a dollar for every time my head exploded after losing a game of Arkanoid... well, I'd have zero dollars, since I would not be alive if my head had actually detonated, and since I'm typing this, I must be alive, and ergo, I must still have a head... up my butt.

[Goodwill Hunter]

I love arkanoid, but have never finished any of the various incarnations of the game. For those determined few that have...do they tell you who that "Someone..." is after you beat it?

Rich

[Sotenga]

I love arkanoid, but have never finished any of the various incarnations of the game. For those determined few that have...do they tell you who that "Someone..." is after you beat it?

Rich

I believe the "someone" you are referring to is Doh. Yes, its name is Doh. Yes, pronounced like Homer Simpson. D'OH! Doh is... a giant Easter Island/Moai head. Yes, like the ones in Gradius. O_O

[Matt-El]

Arkanoid all the way for me too. Would Love to play the cabinet again.....

[Bighab]

I love Arkanoid. My buddies and I used to have competitions to see who could get the high score. I used to be able to beat the arcade version easily. I still play my Famicom(arkanoid and arkanoid 2) versions. I like the snes version but I found it to be easy. I also own an Arkanoid 2 Revenge of Doh! cocktail cab but sadly its been on the shelf for a few months waiting to get fixed :( I am currently trying to track down Arkanoid Returns for the PSX.

[Proclus]

I'm an Arkanoid fan too. I played it in the arcades in the late 1980s, and recently I've been playing it on a 260-in-1 NES pirate. I can set my number of lives (I need many dozens...), so I finally can beat it once in a while.

[DigitalSpace]

I own the SNES version and play it from time to time. Definitely a fun game. I plan on playing through the whole thing someday.

[ianoid]

Arkanoid - big fan.

Talking strategy, the question is, do you go for all the power ups and maximize your points or do you just try to elimiante the blocks and level up?

High score boards change the way you play. I had Arkanoid for the PC, which was good with the mouse, and reasonably challenging. I guess you can't beat the Arkanoid controller for NES.

[Cryomancer]

DUN DUN DUN, DUNDUNDUNDUNDUN


This game is awesome.

For a newer breakout-style game to try, "Gunbarich" is in MAME now, has characters from Gunbird.

[Jorpho]

You also combat Doh near the end of Rainbow Islands.

The problem with Arkanoid and similar games is that it's the sort of thing a computer could be made to play perfectly with very little effort - just follow the ball with the paddle. I've seen a few clones that manage to break this up a little, namely Electranoid (which is a bit lackluster after a while).

I've heard excellent things about Krypton Egg and Crystal Hammer (available for the PC, and probably the Amiga too), but I never got around to trying them.

The most bizarre Arkanoid clone I've seen is Mozpong (http://homepage3.nifty.com/mozpong/mpdx/mpdxw_e.html), and I do suggest you seek it out, as it is quite something...

[rbudrick]

I thought the continue code only worked until a certain level. If so, how did anyone manage to beat this game? Congrats!

I've played in emulator using save states and such to get to the last boss. Is it some glitch, or is it an emu only thing where there are instant deaths for no reason on the last boss? I can't quite figure that out. I believe I sometimes got n oending with emulators too....don't recall if I figured out whjy.

Are there different endings for this game? I mean, does it matter if you go through it again after you beat it?

For a TOUGH challenge, see if you can beat GB Alleyway...damn, that game's tough. However, I did manage to beat it once I got a Super GB...seems the bigger screen made the game a bit more feasible.

-Rob

[Gapporin]

Yes. I love Arkanoid.

On Strategy: I usually go for points, m'self. I'll try and grab all the power-ups within my reach, but if a power-up is in a precarious situation (i.e. it's on one side of the screen, while my ball is on another), I'll ignore it.

On Gunbarich: Seconded. You must play this game.

On the SNES Arkanoid: You can't really "beat" this game. After you finish Level 100, it'll show a cutscene and the credits, but after that, the levels just loop over again. I wonder if it does anything when you get to Level 255...

[chrisbid]

Alleyway is super easy as well :/

[rbudrick]

Alleyway is super easy as well

Bah! Now you're just mocking me! LOL j/k

I really had a nasty time trying to beat this game...no continues and all. On Super GB it was actually doable with a lot of practice...

-Rob

[vulcanjedi]

Doh

The community center where my kids go after school now has an arkanoid arcade machine.

For the first 3 months of the school year it was "C'mon kids let's get moving." Now some afternoons it more like "C'mon Dad, we wanna go home."

VJ

[Jorpho]

I thought Alleyway was awfully stale, actually, with its simplistic mechanics and lack of falling power-ups. At least the Mario characters were pretty cool. (I think the farthest I made it was the fourth round from the end.)

[LocalH]

Megaball AGA on the Amiga kicks the crap out of Arkanoid, and pretty much almost all other Breakout-style games. The exploding bricks are quite nice, as is the way the game handles otherwise endless bounce-loops off gold bricks (for a while, the game willl occasionally alter the trajectory of the ball in an attempt to break the loop, and after a really long time, the gold bricks will disappear).

DX-Ball is nice too, but I'm nostalgic for the Amiga version. DX-Ball is much closer to Megaball's gameplay than Pocket Tanks is to Scorched Tanks (STanks is much better), however.

[v1rich]

I cut the thing off after I beat level 99 and it rolled the credits and ended the story. If there's more to it I'll see. I am on level 99 and it is kicking my ass so I had to give it up for a few days. At least it has a password save feature. So I guess that many of the othe arkanoid games do not have the password or continue feature built in?