Arcade Archives: Battlantis

[tepidsnake]

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This week's Arcade Archives release is... Battlantis (Konami, 1987)

Arcade Archives (previous-gen consoles)

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Arcade Archives 2 (current-gen consoles)

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Switch 2

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Both the Japanese and US ROMs are available (differences include the order of levels, pentagrams being removed from the US version and default number of continues until you're locked out), but there's no unique Preference Settings this time, only ones already available via dip-switches.

In the year 777X, a sacred island known as BATTLANTIS found itself under attack from the forces of evil, unrelenting in their march to conquer the land. However, the young King Cripeuss III refused to yield. Armed with a crossbow and his courage, he took to the many castle walls across Battlantis and defended them from the advancing enemy hordes who marched left to right then down a row in tight formation, with only the parapets as temporary defenses. Demons and monsters would attack the castle and even climb its walls to kill the king, but he saw to them with crossbow skills, as well as the special items some enemies would drop that granted him powers such as faster movement, side shots and even invisibility. Even gigantic boss monsters would challenge the king, but they stood no chance. As for how the legend ends, well, that's for you to find out, isn't it?

Oh boy, Battlantis. This was actually one of the launch titles for the Microsoft Game Room and it's, well, late '80s Space Invaders. Not entirely out of character for Konami, as in this era they were doing updated takes on early arcade games like Head-On with Fast Lane and Pengo with Kitten Kaboodle, so why not try a medieval Space Invaders-alike? This is not one of my favourites unfortunately, this game is probably a bit too difficult for its own good. The main issue is that once an enemy reaches your area, they'll climb the castle wall and then run into you, which is certain death unless you have invisibility or the side-shot, which are both time-limited items that you're not guaranteed to get. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for enemies that aren't part of the formation you're currently fighting constantly running in from off-screen to climb your wall! The second stage of the game even has flying enemies that make a beeline for you unless you shoot them down in the right order, and what the legends of King Cripeuss III don't tell you is that he's slow as all hell, making this a frustrating endeavour. I think there's a decent Space Invaders-like game hiding here, but it's hidden under layers of somewhat muddy presentation and brutal, somewhat unfair difficulty. I've tried to get into this one a few times and I just bounce off it, but hey, maybe the idea appeals to you, I'm just sorry I can't be more enthusiastic about this one!