The ’70s and ’80s were a crucial decade for video games. Genre forming games dominated arcades, including the likes of the original Donkey Kong, Defender and the original Pac-Man – each pushing game mechanics forwards. The “golden age” of arcade gaming, so they say!
One particularly popular game that blasted its way into neon spaces back in 1978, was the inimitable fixed shooter Space Invaders. A simple, yet addictive, concept: control a laser cannon that slides horizontally at the bottom of the screen, fending away hordes of pixel aliens. Don’t let these critters reach the base or else it’s game over. A perfect setup for churning through coins like butter. Despite a slow start initially, Space Invaders eventually dominated arcade spaces in the early ’80s, second only to ghost-gobbler Pac-Man. To arcade owners, it made bank.
With the incredible success of the fixed-shooter concept came similar attempts to capitalise on the formula – the likes of Galaxian, Galaga and Phoenix trying to gobble up their slice of the arcade pie. As the years went on, simply replicating a space setting could have run the risk of the idea growing stale. This is where Battlantis joined the party in 1987.
Instead of being yet another game that’s set in the cosmos, this fixed-shooter adopts a bit more of a fantasy, medieval flare. Think The Lord of the Rings meets God of War, all wrapped up in a neat Space Invaders wrapper.
Battlantis is very much inspired by the successful arcade hit at its core – there’s no denying it. Instead of a space laser cannon, it’s a mighty warrior, King Cripeuss III. Unfortunately, this royal chap and his castle are the prime target of an invading army lead by Asmodeus. Poor Cripeuss just cannot catch a break, it seems!
Much like Space Invaders, it’s a case of simply getting the King to slide to the left and, well, slide to the right. The action button shoots upwards towards the shuffling waves of enemies who are itching for a takeover. Once some do slip through the net, they’ll climb the castle walls and mark their territory by dethroning the sole defender. Owch! Battling through requires shielding behind castle walls, shooting down foes and trying to vanquish the odd boss battle or two. From the very opening stage, the setup is familiar for anyone that’s tinkered with a fixed-shooter, and that’s a good thing!
Getting through the 16 lengthy stages is a mighty challenge. The game is notoriously difficult, and having joined the King on his quest, it really is a case of simply not blinking. Keep those peepers open, blast away and just try to survive. With later levels, in particular boss stages, the precision requirement is incredibly high – having to stand in a pixel perfect spot just to avoid losing a life. Fortunately, this re-release does feature the option to toggle some of the game’s settings, including extra lives and upping the credits. Most importantly, like other Arcade Archives releases, there’s also the rather essential save state option. Crucial, as this reviewer found out, to making it through some of those rough spots!
Like some arcade entries of the decade, there is the risk of repetition and things becoming a little stale as the game continues. Fortunately, the medieval fantasy setting and late ’80s technology allows for more interesting set pieces. There’s a lot of intricate details in both the enemies and back-drops, capturing that grittier, rawer pixel art style. Enemy patterns also vary throughout, too – some popping out of holes, others flapping about. Some even teleport across the screen! It’s a truly difficult game to keep on top of, but can certainly be rewarding when getting the all-clear on a level. A solid soundtrack also complements the visuals well, bringing a Mega Drive feel to proceedings with crunchy synth and ’80s topless warrior man energy. Yes, that’s exactly the way to describe it.
Battlantis was an arcade exclusive for years and at risk of being lost in a collector’s garage to the depths of time. And spiders. It did have a brief flirt with a PC and Xbox 360 port in 2010, finally getting a dedicated re-release as part of the Arcade Archives collection thanks to publisher Hamster. It may not be the most influential or game-changing addition to the genre by any means, but an interesting slice of coin cab history.
The updated Switch 2 edition also includes extra modes and customisation, including online leaderboards, time attack and visual tweaks to push the emulation closer to the original arcade cab experience almost 40 years ago.
