Elevator Action
Encyclopedia
is a 1983 arcade game
by Taito
. It debuted during the "Golden Age of Arcade Games
". Innovative in gameplay, this game was very popular for many years, with game music created by musician Yoshino Imamura. The game was followed by a sequel, Elevator Action II
(also known as Elevator Action Returns).
who infiltrates a building filled with elevator
s. He must collect secret documents from the building and traverse the 30 levels of the building using an increasingly complex series of elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind closed doors. The player must outwit them via force or evasion. Successful completion of a level involves collecting all the secret documents and traversing the building from top to bottom. In the lower floors of the building, the elevator systems are so complex that some puzzle-solving skills are needed.
The game cabinet is a standard upright. The controls consisted of a 4-way joystick
and two buttons, one for "shoot" and the other for jumping and kicking. The graphics are extremely simple, 2D color graphics. The maximum number of players is two, alternating turns.
s while acquiring the documents. After retrieving all the documents, Otto must escape via the getaway car in the basement of the building and thus progress to the next level of the game. As the player progresses through more levels, the enemy agents will begin to shoot more frequently, their bullets will travel more quickly, and they will begin to take evasive action to avoid being shot, either going down to a knee to avoid high bullets or dropping into a prone position to avoid bullets at a lower level, and they will sometimes shoot from this position as well.
While there is no visible timer, the player does not have unlimited time with which to complete each round. At some point, the game appears to enter into a hurry-up mode, as evidenced by the background tune changing to something with a quicker beat, giving the impression of time running out. The enemy agents become more aggressive, as if the game were being played at an even higher level. The last characteristic of this mode is that the elevator response to commands deteriorates somewhat; an up or down command is likely to experience a small bit of lag, making it difficult to get or keep the elevator moving to avoid enemy fire, which can be problematic, especially toward the bottom level.
An extra life is earned when player reaches 10,000 points.
includes this game in its list of "Top 100 Video Games".
ElePaper Action is a parody of Elevator Actions title. The game's credits sequence features a mini-game similar to Elevator Action.
Two games for Palm OS
, Agent Z and its sequel, Agent Z 2 by Ellams Software, are based on Elevator Action.
Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage! released for Gameboy Color in 2000, is based on Elevator Action II
.
In 2007, 505 Games
released a game similar to Elevator Action for the Wii
. The North American release is called Spy Games: Elevator Mission
. It is called Elevator Combat for the European release.
A port to the original Game Boy
included the ability to acquire different weapons, such as a machine gun that fired more rapidly.
On March 5, 2007, the NES port of Elevator Action was released on the Wii
's Virtual Console
.
Revealed at AOU 2009, Elevator Action: Death Parade is a lightgun shooter that uses elevator doors when changing scenarios.
are named Elevator Action.
The "Nintendo punk" band 14 Year Old Girls
did a song about this game; the song is also called "Elevator Action".
to some home systems in 1985 for personal use. It was ported to the ZX Spectrum
, Amstrad CPC
, MSX
, Commodore 64
, Nintendo Entertainment System
, Game Boy
.
A port was planned for the Atari 2600
, but never released. However, a prototype
of the game was illegally published by CGE Services Corp. and sold in Classic Gaming Expo 2001. There are some issues with collision detection, and the game is only 95% complete, leading many to speculate that the video game crash of 1983
was a key factor in its non-release.
Sony published a mobile version of the game.
A remake of the game by Square Enix
, titled Elevator Action Deluxe, was released on PlayStation Network on August 31, 2011. The game contains single player and multiplayer modes, as well as the original arcade version.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
by Taito
Taito Corporation
The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
. It debuted during the "Golden Age of Arcade Games
Golden Age of Arcade Games
The golden age of video arcade games was a peak era of video arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. Although there is no consensus as to its exact time period, most sources place it around the early 1980s.-Overview:...
". Innovative in gameplay, this game was very popular for many years, with game music created by musician Yoshino Imamura. The game was followed by a sequel, Elevator Action II
Elevator Action II
, known as Elevator Action II in North America, is a 1994 arcade game by Taito.-Overview:This game is the sequel to the arcade classic Elevator Action from 1983. This game featured far superior graphics, faster gameplay, and smoother controls. The enemies were also much tougher than they were in...
(also known as Elevator Action Returns).
Description
The player assumes the role of a spySPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
who infiltrates a building filled with elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s. He must collect secret documents from the building and traverse the 30 levels of the building using an increasingly complex series of elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind closed doors. The player must outwit them via force or evasion. Successful completion of a level involves collecting all the secret documents and traversing the building from top to bottom. In the lower floors of the building, the elevator systems are so complex that some puzzle-solving skills are needed.
The game cabinet is a standard upright. The controls consisted of a 4-way joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
and two buttons, one for "shoot" and the other for jumping and kicking. The graphics are extremely simple, 2D color graphics. The maximum number of players is two, alternating turns.
Gameplay
The player assumes the role of Agent 17, codename: "Otto", a secret agent for an unspecified organization or government. As Otto, the player must "acquire" (steal) a series of secret documents from a tall building which Otto enters from the roof. Each room with a document is indicated by a red door. Otto must traverse the building's numerous levels via a series of elevators and escalatorEscalator
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
s while acquiring the documents. After retrieving all the documents, Otto must escape via the getaway car in the basement of the building and thus progress to the next level of the game. As the player progresses through more levels, the enemy agents will begin to shoot more frequently, their bullets will travel more quickly, and they will begin to take evasive action to avoid being shot, either going down to a knee to avoid high bullets or dropping into a prone position to avoid bullets at a lower level, and they will sometimes shoot from this position as well.
While there is no visible timer, the player does not have unlimited time with which to complete each round. At some point, the game appears to enter into a hurry-up mode, as evidenced by the background tune changing to something with a quicker beat, giving the impression of time running out. The enemy agents become more aggressive, as if the game were being played at an even higher level. The last characteristic of this mode is that the elevator response to commands deteriorates somewhat; an up or down command is likely to experience a small bit of lag, making it difficult to get or keep the elevator moving to avoid enemy fire, which can be problematic, especially toward the bottom level.
Scoring System
- Retrieve secret documents = 500 points
- Knock out an agent by falling light = 300 points
- Crush an agent using elevator = 300 points
- Knock out an agent by jumping/kicking = 150 points
- Eliminate an agent by gun = 100 points
- There is a 50 point bonus for shooting/kicking agents on the dark floors or when the lights are shot out.
- Bonus points are given with completion of each round (1,000 points per round up to a maximum of 10,000 points)
An extra life is earned when player reaches 10,000 points.
Legacy
The Killer List of VideogamesKiller List of Videogames
The Killer List of Videogames is a web site featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for players."....
includes this game in its list of "Top 100 Video Games".
Games
The title of the dojin gameDojin soft
, also sometimes called , are video games created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups , more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games. Most of them are based on pre-existing material, but some are entirely original creations...
ElePaper Action is a parody of Elevator Actions title. The game's credits sequence features a mini-game similar to Elevator Action.
Palm OS
Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...
, Agent Z and its sequel, Agent Z 2 by Ellams Software, are based on Elevator Action.
Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage! released for Gameboy Color in 2000, is based on Elevator Action II
Elevator Action II
, known as Elevator Action II in North America, is a 1994 arcade game by Taito.-Overview:This game is the sequel to the arcade classic Elevator Action from 1983. This game featured far superior graphics, faster gameplay, and smoother controls. The enemies were also much tougher than they were in...
.
In 2007, 505 Games
505 Games
505 Games, formerly known as 505 Game Street, is an Italian video game publishing division of Italian company Digital Bros. group founded in 2006...
released a game similar to Elevator Action for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. The North American release is called Spy Games: Elevator Mission
Spy Games: Elevator Mission
Spy Games: Elevator Mission is a first person shooter, where player tries to go through 50-story building. Along the way, player must recover 5 hidden data disks for each level.The building data are randomly generated.-Reception:IGN editor Lucas M...
. It is called Elevator Combat for the European release.
A port to the original Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
included the ability to acquire different weapons, such as a machine gun that fired more rapidly.
On March 5, 2007, the NES port of Elevator Action was released on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
.
Revealed at AOU 2009, Elevator Action: Death Parade is a lightgun shooter that uses elevator doors when changing scenarios.
Other media
Some of the chapters in the Hellsing mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
are named Elevator Action.
The "Nintendo punk" band 14 Year Old Girls
14 Year Old Girls
14 Year Old Girls is a self-described Nintendocore band. It has released two full-length CDs on the Retard Disco label.Media coverage includes an appearance playing live on G4TV ....
did a song about this game; the song is also called "Elevator Action".
Ports
Like many games of this era, Elevator Action was portedPorting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to some home systems in 1985 for personal use. It was ported to the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
.
A port was planned for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, but never released. However, a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
of the game was illegally published by CGE Services Corp. and sold in Classic Gaming Expo 2001. There are some issues with collision detection, and the game is only 95% complete, leading many to speculate that the video game crash of 1983
Video game crash of 1983
The North American video game crash was a serious event that brought an abrupt end to what is considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. Beginning in 1983, the crash almost destroyed the then-fledgling industry and led to the bankruptcy of several companies producing...
was a key factor in its non-release.
Sony published a mobile version of the game.
A remake of the game by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
, titled Elevator Action Deluxe, was released on PlayStation Network on August 31, 2011. The game contains single player and multiplayer modes, as well as the original arcade version.
Compilation Releases
The original Elevator Action has been included in various compilations, including:- Elevator Action EXElevator Action EXElevator Action EX is an update to the Game Boy version of Elevator Action published by Taito in 1991. In addition of colour, player can choose between three characters: Mike, Guy and Sarah.-Gameplay:...
(Game Boy Color) - Elevator Action Old & NewElevator Action Old & NewElevator Action OLD&NEW is an update to the Elevator Action video game. The game consist of the old and new game modes. In the old mode, it is a straight port of the NES game....
(Game Boy Advance) - Elevator Action Returns (Sega Saturn)
- Taito LegendsTaito LegendsTaito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in October 2005. The games were originally developed by Taito Corporation. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games from Taito and developed the compilation...
(PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows) - Taito Legends Power Up (PSP)
- Elevator Action Deluxe (PlayStation Network)
External links
- Elevator Action NES review at X-Entertainment
- High Score Rankings for Elevator Action from Twin GalaxiesTwin GalaxiesTwin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...