Arkanoid

Arkanoid
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Taito
Publisher(s)	JP/EU: Taito[4] NA: Romstar[1]
Designer(s)	Akira Fujita Hiroshi Tsujino
Composer(s)	Hisayoshi Ogura
Series	Arkanoid
Platform(s)	Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Macintosh, MSX, NES, PC-88, PC-98, Thomson, TRS-80 Color Computer, ZX Spectrum,[5] iOS, Mobile phone
Release	JP: April 26, 1986[2] NA: August 1986[1] EU: November 1986[3]
Genre(s)	Block breaker
Mode(s)	1-2 players alternating turns

Arkanoid^[a] is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflecting a ball towards it without letting the ball leave the bottom edge of the playfield. Some blocks contain power-ups that have various effects, such as increasing the length of the Vaus, creating several additional balls, or equipping the Vaus with cannons. Other blocks may be indestructible or require multiple hits to break.

Created by Taito designers Akira Fujita and Hiroshi Tsujino, Arkanoid expanded on the concept established in Atari, Inc.'s Breakout, a successful game in its own right that was met with a large wave of similar clone games from other manufacturers. It was part of a contest within Taito, where two teams of designers had to complete a block breaker game and determine which one was superior to the other. The film Tron served as inspiration for the game's futuristic, neon aesthetic. Level designs were sketched on paper before being programmed and tested to make sure they were fun to play. The enemy and power-up designs were 3D models converted into sprite art.

Early location tests for Arkanoid surpassed Taito's initial expectations. It became a major commercial success in arcades, becoming the highest-grossing table arcade cabinet of 1987 in Japan and the year's highest-grossing conversion kit in the United States. The game was commended by critics for its gameplay, simplicity, addictive nature, and improvements over the original Breakout concept. The game revitalized the genre and set the groundwork for many games to follow. Arkanoid was ported to many home video game platforms, including the Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, ZX Spectrum, and (years later) mobile phones, and it spawned a long series of sequels and updates over the course of two decades.

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