Arkanoid is a block breaker arcade game created in 1986. It is a clone of Atari’s Breakout. But the gameplay of Arkanoid, the simplicity, the addictive character, and the improvements helped this clone revive the Block Breaker genre. Due to the success of this game, it has been ported to many different platforms, including Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, ZX Spectrum, cell phones, and more.
Gameplay (excerpt from Wikipedia)
Arkanoid is a block-breaker video game. Its plot involves the starship Arkanoid being attacked by a mysterious entity from space named DOH. A small paddle-shaped craft, the Vaus, is ejected from the Arkanoid. In the game, you control the Vaus, which moves along the bottom of the screen.
You need to move the “Vaus,” which acts as the game’s “paddle,” to prevent a ball from falling from the playing field and attempt to bounce the ball against a number of bricks. If the ball strikes a brick, the brick disappears. When all the bricks are gone, you advance to the next level, where another pattern of bricks waits for you. There are game variations (bricks that have to be hit multiple times, flying enemy ships, etc.) and power-up capsules to enhance the Vaus (expand the Vaus, multiply the number of balls, equip a laser cannon, break directly to the next level, etc.), but the gameplay remains the same.
On the final stage (33 on most versions, but 36 on the NES), you take on the game’s boss, “DOH,” a head resembling moai. Once this point is reached, you can no longer continue after running out of lives, making this segment more difficult. The game is over, regardless of the outcome.
This classic video game was one of the most popular video games of its time. Other popular retro video games include Pong and Pacman.
How to play after 2020
After December 2020 you won’t be able anymore to play Flash games through Adobe’s regular Flash Player. The support for this format will be stopped (for a good reason). However, you might still be able to download the .swf file. If you have the .swf file, you can play the game following the steps on this webpage.
(In the Chrome browser, right-click on the button above and choose “Save link as..”)
