Atomic Robo-Kid

Atomic Robo-Kid
Atomic Robo-Kid
	North American sales flyer
Developer(s)	UPL
Publisher(s)	UPL; Nikom (US)
Designer(s)	Tsutomu Fujisawa
Platform(s)	Arcade, PC Engine, Genesis, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, X68000
Release	JP: November 1988;
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer (arcade)

Atomic Robo-Kid (アトミック・ロボキッド) is a horizontally scrolling shooter released in arcades by UPL in 1988.^[1] In the US, the game was published by Nikom. The PC Engine version is an adaptation of the arcade original and published as Atomic Robo-Kid Special.

Plot

In the 21st century, a blast of cosmic radiation bombarded Terra-12, a deep-space outpost of Earth, hideously mutating all transplanted life. A fleet of savage beings followed the radiation wave and invaded the planet and began the systematic destruction of all remaining sentient life. Years of battling the alien 'governors' have gone by, and now only one hope survives to avenge the desperate terran colonists.

Gameplay

The player controls the titular character through six stages of increasing difficulty, facing an alien "governor" boss (which is so large as to be considered a level in and of themself, as some of the bosses take up several screens) at the end of each level, followed by a "duel" level against other Robo-Kid sized robots. Many levels branch into others, giving the player the choice over which zone to enter next, increasing replayability.

Robo-Kid can collect four different weapons (whichever weapon is selected is lost when Robo-kid loses a life) in addition to his default gun, collect powerups for a shield that activates on enemy contact, plus rapid fire and speed powerups. The player can also encounter a friendly dinosaur-looking robot that sells weapons and shields to Robo-kid using extra lives as currency.

Ports

The game was ported to the PC Engine, Sega Genesis, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, and X68000.

A demo was distributed of the ZX Spectrum version^[2] before it was cancelled.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Atomic Robo-Kid on their March 1, 1989 issue as being the eighth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.^[3]

Legacy

The game was released on the Nintendo Switch in the Nintendo eShop in November 2018 by Hamster Corporation (its current rights owner) as part of their Arcade Archives series.^[4]

References

^ "Atomic Robo-Kid". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 1 Nov 2013.
^ "YS issue 64: Magnificent Seven 1 - World of Spectrum". www.worldofspectrum.org. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28.
^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 351. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 March 1989. p. 29.
^ Lane, Gavin (2020-03-13). "Guide: Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-03-28.

External links

Atomic Robo-Kid at the Killer List of Videogames
Atomic Robo-Kid at Arcade History
Atomic Robo-Kid at Atari Mania
Atomic Robo-Kid at Lemon 64

[1] "Atomic Robo-Kid". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 1 Nov 2013.

[2] "YS issue 64: Magnificent Seven 1 - World of Spectrum". www.worldofspectrum.org. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28.

[3] "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 351. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 March 1989. p. 29.

[Aca-4] Lane, Gavin (2020-03-13). "Guide: Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-03-28.

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