My Played Video Games Review: Arkanoid for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Arkanoid is a fun arcade block breaker game developed and published by Taito of Japan in 1986. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) during the same year.

The NES port was packaged with a custom controller called the Vaus as shown in the picture of the game's package box above. The Vaus NES controller enhances the feel and play of the game although the NES gamepad can also be used for the game.

I used to play this game along with Pinball whenever I got bored of the platform and action shooting games on the NES during the early 1990s.

The Story

In a fictional sci-fi space setting. After the "Arkanoid" mothership was destroyed, the spacecraft "Vaus" detached and flew away from it.

But only to be trapped in a warped space dimension by someone...

To save them, you must use your courage and skill to destroy the space walls and defeat the evil alien enemy forces.

The Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Arkanoid are simple but wonderful. They are bright images that are clean and clear. Your projectile gray ball bounces off walls, hitting colored brick walls and ricocheting off alien saucers. It is amazing that there is no slowdown, even when many balls and enemies are on the screen.

The sound is minimal. The sound effects of the ball hitting the bricks are nice. And that little piece of music when you start a new ball is unforgettable.

The Gameplay

Arkanoid is a simple game to play. You control a platform that can move left and right at the screen's bottom. The game's objective is to keep the ball moving and hitting while not letting it fall into the abyss at the bottom. However, each stage is filled with damn blocks. You gotta knock out all blocks with the ball to proceed to the next level.

There are also enemy flying saucers and witches too, flying about in an attempt to stop your ball. You gain points by destroying blocks and enemies

While you are destroying blocks, power-ups fall from them. There are over ten different variety of power-ups. They could be laser beams, many balls, a level warp, and platform length extenders.

The replay value is greatly dependent on the player. If it does not catch your attention within the first 5 minutes of playing, then the game sucks for you.

There is no variety really in the gameplay, just minimal increases in speed and block patterns for every level.

My Verdict

Even though is Arkanoid is short and can be beaten easily, you will likely come back for more. The game is living proof that great addictive gameplay lies in simplicity and not in awesome graphics. It may feel dated but it is still worth playing if you have never tried arcade block-breaker games before.

Get it on the NES (best with the Vaus controller) or play it on emulators.

Let's keep on gaming in the free world!