Lode Runner on SG-1000 is Awesome

[Rev. Rob]

ロードランナー

Lode Runner

Released: 1984

Platform: SG-1000

Publisher: SEGA

Developer: Broderbund

Genre: Puzzle

 

This game is fucking excellent. I haven't had this much fun with a 2nd generation console since I bought my Astrocade. SG-1000, by the way, as very little in common with most 2nd generation consoles like 2600 and Channel F. This system, and Colecovision, are really a generation ahead of the 2600.

 

In doing some reading, I see that Lode Runner has been around in various forms for the past 25 years, and has seen US releases on consoles like the NES and Gameboy Advance, and several PCs. So, perhaps some of you were already familiar with this. It's even set for an XBLA update.

 

Judging by the box art, you're a smuggler of some kind, and security robots are trying to capture you. You can't jump, and you don't have a gun. What you do have is some kind of gun "device" that dissolves the floor.

 

Each level is one screen, like other classic games of the era. The objective is to collect all of the "loot" and evade capture by using vertical and horizontal ladders, and your "device."

 

Blowing holes in the floor serves several purposes. The enemies can get stuck in the hole, and then you can simply walk over them. If timed right, the enemy can be killed if the floor regenerates while the enemy is trapped. A hole serves as a great escape route when options are limited. Don't worry about the fall, there are no falling deaths here, ridiculous ones or otherwise. Sometimes, holes are required to get loot.

 

Once all of the loot has been gotten, then an escape ladder appears which leads to the next level. Each level is obviously more difficult than the previous, and presents their own challenges.

 

I read that one thing revolutionary about this games was that it had a built in level editor. If I had a Sega SG-1000, supposedly I would be able to use the level editor, which is pretty cool, especially for a game from 1984.

 

As dated as it is, Lode Runner's action is still fast, the AI may not be the best, but it can still throw down a challenge. This game is just plain fun, and I have a big grin from playing it. The only way this could be better is if I were playing it on an actual SG-1000. (I have a DINA 2-In-One, but that's a whole other thread.)

 

YouTube video:

 

Box Shots:

[Pixelboy]

You'll be happy to know that the ColecoVision port of the SG-1000 version will be re-released later this year by CollectorVision. Steve Bégin (the original author of the port) is currently doing some minor modifications to the ROM in preparation for this re-release, and one of these modifications will make the level editor more directly accessible from the title screen. From what I understand, you could only access the level editor in the original game if you were playing it on the SC-3000 computer.

Edited September 26, 2009 by Pixelboy

[gtmtnbiker]

I'm a big fan of Lode Runner having played it on my Atari 800 and the Apple II back in the days. Most recently, I played Lode Runner Online on the PC. I'm currently on level 180 although I haven't played the game for a few months. It's a classic.

[pinball22]

I've been a fan of Lode Runner since playing it on the C64 and Apple II when it came out. There are lots of sequels you should look into if you like it -- some I like are Battle Lode Runner (originally a JP-only PCE game, now available on the Virtual Console), Lode Runner 3-D for the N64, and Cubic Lode Runner for the GCN (JP-only as well -- FreeLoader will load it, though.)

[darthkur]

I remember getting to play Lode Runner on my step-fathers C64 a few times and really liking it. Many, many years passed before I got to try it again and now I have it for multiple platforms. It really is a great classic and what's very nice about the SG-1000 version is that it's on cart.

 

 

Here's some screen shots of the many different systems the game has been ported to. I still need to get a few of them:

 

Lode Runner Screenshots

[Rev. Rob]

From what I understand, you could only access the level editor in the original game if you were playing it on the SC-3000 computer.

 

I meant to type that. Whoops!

 

 

 

Lode Runner Screenshots

 

 

Very cool!

Edited September 30, 2009 by Rev. Rob