Lode Runner

Genre: Maze Developer: Sega Publisher: Sega Players: 1 Released: 1984

In the mid-80s, before Skyrim and Doom, if there was a game you’d expect to see running on a refrigerator, chances are it’d be Lode Runner. Doug Smith mined a hit with his first video game, and though it sold quite well in the US, it was extraordinarily popular in Japan, selling millions. Lode Runner was ported to just about any platform which could run it, and Sega would license the game to create two versions of Lode Runner for the SG-1000: Lode Runner, released on a cartridge, and Championship Lode Runner, released on a Sega My Card. Both games may have the same core gameplay but are quite different in level design and features, and though Championship is the better game on paper, I quite prefer the first release.

I’m not good enough for the professional video game digging e-sports leagues, but I really like Lode Runner. I’ve always found the mix of action and puzzle elements to be rather compelling. The goal is simple enough – grab all the treasure in the level and escape via the ladder which appears only after all treasure is collected. In your way are anywhere from two to five enemies, red carbon copies of the player, who can pick up treasure themselves and traverse the level, climbing ladders and scaling across ropes, the same as the player. Thankfully, Doug gave players a gun that can dig to their left or right, which can be used to trap enemies, evade them, or tunnel out paths to nab some trickier treasures. Enemies are dumb but relentless, and while digging can be a means to dispatch them temporarily, using it to evade and stall incoming enemies proves to be the more valuable skill.

Sega reprogrammed the 1983 Apple II original for the 1984 SG-1000 port, and it’s a pretty close match. Sega did take some liberties here and there, such as a level constructed to spell “SEGA” along with necessary tweaks to accommodate the lower resolution of a TV display. The original game’s mazes occupy 16 rows of blocks, and Sega shrunk the level designs to fit across 11 rows. Compare them side-by-side, and the changes are apparent, such as the height reduction in stage 31’s two large “towers,” but when you play the level, you find that ultimately the challenges and solutions feel largely the same. Sega would go on to “fix” this with Championship Lode Runner which manages to match the Apple II’s row count. The expanded playfield should be a good thing; however, I find the visuals take too much of a hit, making the game look cramped and removing what little detail the game already allowed. They’re still just stick figures and gold sprites, but they look and animate better on the original cartridge game.

The game plays great and is quite snappy when only facing a few enemies, but as the enemy count reaches five, things start to slow down, which is disappointing but tolerable. I still can’t help but be impressed as this is running more or less on a ColecoVision, managing a “destructible” environment and numerous treasure and enemy sprites on screen, so I can give the slowdown a pass. What bothers me more is the collision detection, particularly when picking up treasures or walking over buried enemies. Sometimes the treasure just doesn’t want to be picked up, and the game won’t let you have it unless you completely run past it or fall over it. Enemies likewise will emit a tone when buried, and then you walk across them thinking it’s safe, only for them to still eat you (or whatever it is they do… no idea why they hate the player so much). These issues are annoying when they happen, but you kind of learn to play around them, same as you would in the original game.

Given the age of the game, you’d likely think that sounds miserable, dying to random jank and having to start it all over… and it would be, were it not for the built-in level select and infinite lives available. As there is no battery save or even password feature, Sega allows players to access a menu which will let them jump directly to whichever stage they want and boost the number of lives up to 999 if desired. The menu, accessed by holding down both buttons for a few seconds in-game, also provides a nice “escape” option if you accidentally fall into a pit with no way out. I also appreciate that the menu is in English, even if the four options aren’t exactly taxing to figure out.

Somewhat more involving is the level editor, and Lode Runner impressively allows console players the design their own stages with one caveat: it’s a keyboard-only feature. Plug the cartridge into the SC-3000 (a standalone SG-1000-based keyboard computer) or the SG-1000 with the SK-1100 keyboard peripheral to create levels from 81 through 256 and save to tape. Cartridge ROM size may have limited the stage count to 80 from the original game’s 150, but the level editor helps take some of the sting out of the reduced level count, at least if you’re willing to put in the effort. It’s just unfortunate that Sega didn’t allow us joypad peasants the same luxury. After all, Hudson left in the editor from its NVC-BS Nintendo Family Basic compatible Lode Runner game, and while Famicom-only players could not save stage designs, they could still have fun creating and playing their own custom levels.

Speaking of the Famicom game, that’s the one bulking up those sales numbers as it alone moved some 1.5 million units in Japan. It’s a fine game, and the new music, graphics, and presentation updates make it appear more advanced, but expanding Lode Runner to multiple scrolling screens from its single one makes it a far more pedestrian experience. Enemies become trivial additions, and the frantic pace and action-puzzle feel all but evaporate. It’s akin to wanting to play Robotron 2084 and getting Berzerk instead – not a bad time, but still a downgrade when you’re expecting Lode Runner to play like Lode Runner.

Lode Runner and its assorted sequels have graced over 30 distinct platforms, but the SG-1000 is surprisingly one of the better renditions of the original I’ve seen. I actually prefer the brighter colors and look of the Sega port to the Apple II original, whose brick lines are too thick, and the treasure graphics too muted, and the SG-1000’s sacrifice of the playfield height doesn’t bother me one bit. Sega’s Lode Runner boasts excellent control with the joypad, the built-in “cheat” menu makes it very user friendly, and it runs as well as the original or MSX version. Lode Runner is not a game which will wow newcomers to the SG-1000 on sight, but it’ll keep their consoles humming longer than most games on the system.

I know Doug Smith sadly isn’t here with us anymore, but I hope he appreciated what a solid game he designed. There aren’t many games from 1983 which can captivate people today as they did then, but Lode Runner absolutely deserves to be up there with the other classics of the era, and Sega’s SG-1000 conversion is a fantastic way to experience it.