Hyper Lode Runner, or ハイパーロードランナー, is a "sequel", in quotes, to the classic "Lode Runner", developed by Tose Software and distributed by Bandai. Officially, it was the first game released for the big Gameboy in 1989, and, well, it's certainly a game that exists...
As I mentioned, this isn't the first game in this franchise; in fact, it's the tenth. The first Lode Runner was released six years earlier on all possible and imaginable platforms and, in turn, was a "clone" of the also classic Space Panic.
Despite being a classic, nowadays many people don't even know that Lode Runner exists, although the franchise still exists in a way, with almost 30 games, the latest of which was released in 2017.
But back to the topic of the video, what is Hyper Lode Runner about? As a classic game, it's quite simple. The story is basically non-existent, with just a simple premise: you control a space soldier who fights an army of aliens to take back the gold they stole from humanity.
The gameplay revolves around this; the objective in each stage is to pick up all the scattered piles of gold and then escape. You can't actually defeat the aliens, only create holes in the ground so that they fall in and don't catch you. You also have to use the holes to escape from them or reach other places.
The gameplay is quite simple and, both in this version and in the classic one, which I also played to see what it was like, it's complicated due to the technology of the time. Sometimes you don't have much precision to create the holes, and the game has some problems with the artificial intelligence, which sometimes goes crazy for no apparent reason.
However, there's no denying that the game is addictive. Even with these problems, it finds a very good point in its simplicity; you get stuck in the game for hours without realizing it, trying to find other ways to get through the levels, which is a positive point.
As for the levels, the game has 50 of them, with different layouts and even innovations in the gameplay cycle at times. On the whole, however, they end up being quite repetitive. One positive point is that you can also create your own levels. Unfortunately, however, you can't save them, which makes this feature somewhat redundant.
Essentially, that's all I had to say about Hyper Lode Runner. It's a simple game with a few problems and it gets repetitive quickly, but it's a classic for a reason; it knows how to hold your attention.
My rating for it is: 2 stars.
As I mentioned, this isn't the first game in this franchise; in fact, it's the tenth. The first Lode Runner was released six years earlier on all possible and imaginable platforms and, in turn, was a "clone" of the also classic Space Panic.
Despite being a classic, nowadays many people don't even know that Lode Runner exists, although the franchise still exists in a way, with almost 30 games, the latest of which was released in 2017.
But back to the topic of the video, what is Hyper Lode Runner about? As a classic game, it's quite simple. The story is basically non-existent, with just a simple premise: you control a space soldier who fights an army of aliens to take back the gold they stole from humanity.
The gameplay revolves around this; the objective in each stage is to pick up all the scattered piles of gold and then escape. You can't actually defeat the aliens, only create holes in the ground so that they fall in and don't catch you. You also have to use the holes to escape from them or reach other places.
The gameplay is quite simple and, both in this version and in the classic one, which I also played to see what it was like, it's complicated due to the technology of the time. Sometimes you don't have much precision to create the holes, and the game has some problems with the artificial intelligence, which sometimes goes crazy for no apparent reason.
However, there's no denying that the game is addictive. Even with these problems, it finds a very good point in its simplicity; you get stuck in the game for hours without realizing it, trying to find other ways to get through the levels, which is a positive point.
As for the levels, the game has 50 of them, with different layouts and even innovations in the gameplay cycle at times. On the whole, however, they end up being quite repetitive. One positive point is that you can also create your own levels. Unfortunately, however, you can't save them, which makes this feature somewhat redundant.
Essentially, that's all I had to say about Hyper Lode Runner. It's a simple game with a few problems and it gets repetitive quickly, but it's a classic for a reason; it knows how to hold your attention.
My rating for it is: 2 stars.