Elevator Action

Elevator Action
Arcade flyer featuring screenshots and the cocktail version of the game
Developer(s) Taito
Micronics (FC/NES)
Publisher(s) Taito
Quicksilva
Composer(s) Yoshio Imamura
Platform(s) Arcade (original)
Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Game Boy, MSX, NES, SG-1000, ZX Spectrum
Release 1983
Genre(s) Platform, shooter
Mode(s) Up to 2 players alternating
Cabinet Upright, Cocktail
Display Raster, standard resolution 256×224 (Horizontal), 64 colors

Elevator Action (エレベーターアクション, Erebētā Akushon) is a 1983 arcade game by Taito Corporation.[1] It is a mix of the platform and shooter genres.[2]

The player assumes the role of a spy infiltrating a 30-story building filled with elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind closed doors. These agents must be dealt with 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 can be complex enough that puzzle-solving skills are needed. The controls consist of a four-way joystick and two buttons, one to shoot and the other for jumping and kicking.

Elevator Action was followed by the arcade game Elevator Action Returns in 1994 (released as Elevator Action II in North America) as well as several variations released only for home systems.

Gameplay

Screenshot of the first level of Elevator Action

The player assumes the role of Agent 17, codename: "Otto", a secret agent for an unspecified organization or government.[3] Otto enters a 30-story building at roof level and must work his way down to the basement, collecting secret documents whose locations are marked by red doors. Along the way, he must use the building's elevator and escalator systems to move from floor to floor and avoid or kill the enemy agents trying to stop him. After picking up all the documents, Otto can escape to the basement and drive away in a waiting car to end the level.

The player controls consist of a four-position joystick and separate buttons to control jumping and firing. Otto can move left and right, jump, duck, and fire up to three shots at a time from his pistol. While Otto is in an elevator, the player can push up or down to send him to a higher or lower floor; however, Otto cannot duck as long as he is inside. He can run or jump across an empty shaft as long as the elevator is above him, and can ride on its roof but not control its motion or cross to the other side. The player can push up or down to make Otto ride an escalator.

If Otto tries to leave the building without collecting all the documents, he will be transported to the highest floor that still has an unopened red door and must work his way back down. In addition, if he takes too long to clear a level, an alarm will sound; the enemy agents then become more aggressive, and the elevators will be slower to respond to the player's joystick movements.

Each building contains a section in which the lights are out, making it harder to see approaching enemies. On other floors, Otto can temporarily disable the lights by shooting one of the overhead fixtures. Otto can kill enemy agents by shooting them, jump-kicking them at close range, dropping a light fixture on their heads, or crushing them with an elevator. If he is shot or crushed, or if he falls down an open shaft, the player loses one life.

The background music is the same for all levels and only changes when the hidden time limit expires. As Otto lands on the first building's rooftop at the start of the game, Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, popularly known as Funeral March, is briefly heard.

A port to the original Game Boy includes the ability to acquire different weapons, such as a machine gun that fires more rapidly.

Ports

Elevator Action was ported to the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and Sega SG-1000.

A port was planned for the Atari 2600, but never released. A prototype of the game was published by CGE Services Corp. and sold at Classic Gaming Expo 2001.[4]

Legacy

Elevator Action Returns, called Elevator Action II in North America, is an official sequel released in arcades in 1994. Elevator Action EX is an updated version of the game released for the Game Boy Color in 2000. Elevator Action Old & New is a further update for the Game Boy Advance, published in 2002.

Revealed at AOU 2009, Elevator Action: Death Parade is a lightgun shooter that uses elevator doors when changing scenarios.[5]

A later 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.[6]

Elevator Action is included in the compilations Taito Legends and Taito Legends Power Up. On March 5, 2007, the NES port of Elevator Action was released for the Wii Virtual Console.[7] It was also released for the Wii U Virtual Console, but only in Japan.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Elevator Action". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 5 Oct 2013.
  2. ↑ Matt Fox, The Video Games Guide: 1,000+ Arcade, Console and Computer Games, 1962-2012 (page 96), McFarland & Company
  3. ↑ "Elevator Action". MobyGames. Retrieved 9 Nov 2013.
  4. ↑ "Atari 2600 - Elevator Action (Atari)". AtariAge. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  5. ↑ "Elevator Action Arcade Shooter Has Great name, Even Better Gimmick". Kotaku.
  6. ↑ "Square Enix shocks world with Elevator Action reboot on PSN". GamesRadar. 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  7. ↑ https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/Ur1c3301zARsJ0Hzy3cIf2vVODiA--aq
  8. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/titles/20010000005324
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