Show Notes

Lode Runner Interview | Championship Lode Runner | The Lode Runner Museum | Lode Runner’s Rescue | Lode Runner 3-D

OUR THOUGHTS

MIKE

Possibly the first port on NES that got lost in translation. Not a literal translation, but check out the original versions of Lode Runner on computers and then look at this scrolling, blocky, bomberman enemy looking abomination and you’ll see that while the concept and even the levels remain the same, the execution doesn’t hold up. Lode Runner doesn’t require a ton of strategy, but it benefits from showcasing all of its enemies, map, and gold on one screen for the player to plan their execution. When you switch this to a scrolling level layout you lose a lot more than just being able to see the screen. There’s nothing entirely remarkable about the gameplay loop to begin with. Having this come after games like Solomon’s Key put it way past its welcome. Lode Runner was one of the first games to come to Famicom, but having it take this long to make it to North America makes it just another system to port to instead of an essential requirement. In 1983, this stuff was good. In 2019, it’s not the same.

THE VERDICT - NOT ESSENTIAL

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