Arkanoid & Athena retrospective: Big boxes, big pain | NES Works #049

Watch on Youtube

Youtube Video Description:

Two direct arcade ports hit the NES here, and boy golly are these things not necessarily created equal. About the only thing they have in common is that they're both incredibly difficult to complete. But Athena is a hot mess of a conversion, as is the Micronics way, while Arkanoid is a pretty spectacular adaptation. Of course, to be fair, Arkanoid has an advantage here: It came with its own pack-in controller, designed exclusive for use with this one game. But even without the Vaus paddle, it's still a far sight more fun than Athena. Which isn't to say Athena was necessarily a barebones package; in Japan, it came with a special bonus pack-in that Americans were denied... If you'd like to hear the full cassette tape, I've ripped the audio into a separate video upload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koGCAIlGMbE

Thumbnail

Video Series

Part of the series NES Works. View all in series.

About the Jeremy Parish Fanclub

This video is produced or associated with Jeremy Parish. He makes many excellent videos about video game history. See the About page for more information.