Arkanoid Builds on Breakout

Arkanoid was a seriously addictive game released in 1986 by Taito. It was very similar to Atari’s Breakout which was an attempt to turn Pong into a single player game. Arkanoid was a much more developed version of the same idea and it really chewed up the hours.

You controlled a paddle at the bottom of the screen and basically had to move left and right to bounce a ball up the way and hit bricks which would then disappear. The aim was to clear each screen of coloured bricks and advance to the next level. This simple premise was the basis for increasingly complex patterns of bricks with indestructible elements and a range of power ups to complicate matters further.

The game actually had a back story although you wouldn’t really know it. The paddle you controlled was called Vaus and after escaping the crumbling mother ship Arkanoid you were up against a mysterious baddie known as Doh. For some reason Doh was trying to trap you and if you made it to the final round, which was number 33, then you would face off against the villain which looked like a big head. The ball was actually supposed to be an energy bolt. This new back story was probably just an attempt to distance it from Breakout which it was obviously based on.

It was released as a stand up cabinet and as a cocktail table and the controls were a rotary wheel and a single button. You could play two player games but it was basically just turn about. One of the best things about the game was the range of power ups that you could get. When you hit certain bricks power ups would fall to the ground and you’d have to balance returning the ball with trying to catch them. Sometimes you’d get lasers which you could use to shoot out troublesome bricks, sometimes the power up would increase the size of the paddle and you could also get power ups which slowed the ball down or allowed you to catch it and then aim it before firing it off again. You would also sometimes hit a brick that made the ball speed up and later versions added evil power ups which shrank your pad.

Taito injected a lot of good small ideas into the basic premise and made the game-play a bit more tactical. It was a really addictive title which was popular with male and female gamers and it spawned loads and loads of sequels. Arkanoid also made its way onto home computers and consoles and most recently there was a version released for the Nintendo DS.

Arkanoid was a real arcade classic and it required some serious concentration particularly on the final level where there were no continues allowed. Later versions improved on the game-play with further additions and the original is actually much tougher than I remember. If you fancy trying it out you can play the game in your browser at this website.