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Arkanoid is a simple yet addictive arcade game developed by
Taito in 1986. Arkanoid is
a Clone and a simpler Version of the earlier
Segas Arcade-Game Gigas and Gigas Mark 2 based upon Atari's Breakout games of the early '80s.
Gameplay
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
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, Atari 8-bit, Apple II) were very popular in Europe in the 1980s. Console ports on the NES and Game Boy were also popular and the game was also ported for 16-bit computers Amiga and Atari ST. 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.
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