| Championship Lode Runner | |
|---|---|
| [[File:|Championship Lode Runner]] Box art of Championship Lode Runner | |
| Developer(s) | Brøderbund (Apple II) [1] |
| Publisher(s) | Hudson Soft (NES) [2] Brøderbund[1] |
| Designer(s) | Douglas E. Smith[1] |
| Series | Lode Runner |
| Platform(s) | NES,[2] Apple II,[1] Commodore 64, IBM PC compatible |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle[2][3] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player[4] |
| Distribution | Physical, download |
| Media | 0.2 megabit cartridge[3] or 5.25" floppy disk (IBM PC and Apple II versions) [4] |
| System requirements
Intel 8088 / Intel 8086 processor, 64 kilobytes RAM, CGA monitor, and PC Speaker (IBM PC versions) | |
Championship Lode Runner (チャンピオンシップロードランナー Chanpionshippurodoranna)[5] is the champion's version of Lode Runner and its sequel. The game may also be found on a pirate NES cartridge under the names Super Load Runner or Load Runner 2. This game shares the same status with the Ultima and Wizardry games which had sizeable spin-offs in Japan that were mostly unknown in North America.[6] Far more Lode Runner games were released in Japan than there were in North America.[6] Expect a very long game with either this or any other game in the Lode Runner series.[6]
[[File:|200px|thumb|left|This is a sample level of Championship Lode Runner being played.]]
The object of the game is to pick up all the gold pieces (which appear as piles of gold) and get them to the top.[6] Using non-violent methods, enemies had to be overcome. Bumping into enemies cost the player a life and all of his hard-earned gold pieces. Fifty of the hardest levels ever designed are used and they had to be tackled in proper sequential order.[4] While games can be saved, the player automatically loses a life for restoring his game.[4]
The Apple II version offered players a certificate for completing the game. Players sent in a code that was on the package's sticker along with a countercode (to prove that the game was beaten). However, the NES dumps the player straight back to the first level. The Apple II version allows monsters to be suppressed until they about to appear while the NES version makes their resurrection completely fatal to the player. NES players can start at any of the first ten levels while needing passwords to skip to the next levels.
The game is an example of the "trap-em-up" genre, which also includes games like Heiankyo Alien (1979) and Space Panic (1980).
| |||||
Lode Runner | Table of Contents | Walkthrough
| Lode Runner | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Douglas E. Smith |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund Software, Hudson Soft, Irem |
| Japanese title | ロードランナー |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| System(s) | Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64/128, Commodore VIC-20, MS-DOS, Mac OS, MSX, NES, Sega SG-1000, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Wii Virtual Console |
| Players | 1 |
| Series | Lode Runner |
Lode Runner broke the mold for platform/ladder computer games when it came out. Not only did it include 150 different levels for the player to tackle, it also included a complete level editor that allowed players to continue the fun long after the 150 levels were beaten. What started as a side project for Doug Smith while he attended college, became a phenomenal success after Brøderbund bought the rights to publish his game for the Apple II, on which it was developed, as well as just about every other system that could handle it.
Lode Runner captured many players' imaginations, as well as their dollars, so it went on to great commercial success. The first sequel to appear was Championship Lode Runner which contained 50 of the most difficult levels designed for the original by fans, and intended for play by experts only. Following Championship, many sequels and ports, including an arcade version, were developed to cater to new and old fans of the series alike. Even to this day, the license is still alive with developments like a version of Lode Runner for the Nintendo DS.
Hudson Soft brought the first 50 levels of Lode Runner to the NES, albeit slightly altered due to vertical resolution restrictions. The Famicom version of Lode Runner was the tenth best selling Famicom game released during 1983 and 1984, selling approximately 1,100,000 copies in it's lifetime. Hudson later brought all 50 levels of Championship Lode Runner to the Famicom as well, staying more faithful to the original level designs by providing vertical scrolling in addition to the horizontal scrolling, although the first level is different. Hudson is still the current development license holder in Japan.
Irem developed an arcade version of Lode Runner, which was followed by three sequels. Most of the arcade levels consisted of the original 150 levels distributed among the various arcade versions, while some levels were entirely original. Irem brought many of their arcade inspired levels to the Famicom Disk System under the names Super Lode Runner and Super Lode Runner II.
Lode Runner has been presented in such a variety of ways that the premise changes from version to version, but the object of the game is always the same. Simply put, you are a (police man, criminal, treasure hunter) who is attempting to (recover, steal, gather) all of the (loot, boxes, gold) from the (crooks, security guards, island natives). You're pretty much free to make up any story that you like.
|
|
Wikis
Search
