Arkanoid (NES) - Authentic Taito Cartridge, Plays on a Standard Controller

The game that reinvented Breakout

Taito’s Arkanoid took Atari’s Breakout and gave it everything it was missing: power-up capsules (laser, catch, split ball, slow, enlarge, and a warp to the next round), enemies drifting through the bricks, silver bricks that take more hits, gold ones that never break, and a final boss, DOH. It was Japan’s most popular arcade game in August 1986, and Computer Gaming World named the NES version Best Arcade Translation.

Playing Arkanoid on the NES without the Vaus controller

The NES game originally came boxed with Taito’s Vaus paddle, and this listing is the cart alone. You don’t need the Vaus: I’ve played it on a standard controller, with the D-pad moving your paddle and A launching the ball and firing the laser. The trade-off is that the D-pad moves the paddle at one fixed speed, where the Vaus knob goes exactly as fast as you turn it, so the later rounds get much harder on a pad. If you own a Vaus, it plugs into controller port 2.

Pick a grade

Every copy is opened, cleaned and tested by playing, in the grade you pick on my condition scale. The Near Mint copy happens to be an early five-screw cart (photo 2). The Fair copy’s label is lovely, but its top edge has gouges dug into the plastic. No battery inside, nothing to wear out.

For another 1980s arcade conversion, see Double Dragon.