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Klax (video game)

(Redirected from Klax (computer game))

Klax is a 1990 puzzle video game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades; in Japan, it was distributed by Namco. The game was designed and animated by Mark Stephen Pierce, with software engineering by Dave Akers. The object of the game is to catch colored tiles moving down a conveyor belt, and arrange them in matching rows and patterns to make them disappear.

Klax
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Atari Games
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)
Programmer(s)Dave Akers
Artist(s)Mark Stephen Pierce
Composer(s)
  • NES
    LX Rudis
    Dave O'Riva
    Amiga, CPC, ST, C64, ZX Spectrum
    Matt Furniss
Platform(s)
Release
February 1990
  • Arcade
    NES/Famicom
    2600
    • UK: Mid-1990
    TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
    • JP: August 1990
    • NA: September 1990[6]
    Genesis/Mega Drive
    Lynx
    • JP: September 15, 1990[9]
    • NA: October 1990
    Game Boy
    • JP: December 14, 1990
    • NA: August 1991[10]
    X68000
    PC-88, PC-98
    • JP: December 1990
    Amiga, BBC Micro, C64, CPC, DOS, MSX, SAM Coupé, ZX Spectrum
    Atari ST
    Master System
    Game Gear
    Game Boy Color
    Game Boy Advance
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Klax was originally released in February 1990 as an arcade follow-up to Tetris (1989), about which Atari Games had been in a legal dispute. It was later ported to several home and handheld systems, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy, and Atari Lynx. The Atari 2600 version of the game, released in the UK in mid-1990, was one of the final licensed games for the console, which was discontinued in early 1992.[15]

Gameplay

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Arcade screenshot

Controls consist of a four-position joystick and a button. The player controls a small paddle at the lower end of a conveyor belt. Using the joystick, the player can move the paddle left or right to catch tiles in various colors as they advance down the conveyor. Below the paddle is a well that can hold up to 25 tiles in five columns of five; pressing the button causes the topmost tile on the paddle to fall directly downward and into the well, as long as that column is not full. The goal is to form "Klaxs", or unbroken horizontal/vertical/diagonal lines containing three tiles of the same color. Doing so awards points and causes those tiles to disappear, allowing any tiles above them to fall toward the bottom of the well. Bonus points are awarded for completing multiple Klaxs with a single tile (including lines of four or five matching tiles) and for Klaxs formed by the falling of already-placed tiles.

The paddle can hold up to five tiles at any given moment. The player is penalized with one "drop" whenever a tile falls off the conveyor without being caught or while the paddle is full. Pushing up on the joystick will flip the topmost tile on the paddle a short distance up the conveyor, while pulling down accelerates the motion of the tiles.

The game consists of 100 waves, presented as 20 groups of five waves each. At the start of the game and after every fifth wave, the drop meter is cleared and the player is presented with three options of which wave to play next; choosing a later wave awards bonus points and allows more drops. Each wave has an objective that must be reached, such as making a set number of Klaxs, scoring a certain number of points, or surviving a set number of tiles. At the end of a wave, bonus points are awarded for each tile still on the conveyor and paddle and for each empty space in the well. The game ends when the player either exhausts the available drops, completely fills the well, or finishes all 100 waves.

Development and release

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Akers programmed Klax in just a few weeks using AmigaBASIC, then ported each line to C. In a 1990 interview, he said he wanted to "produce something playable, compact and relatively quick to develop". His influences were Tetris and tic-tac-toe.[16] He chose the name from the sound that tiles make rolling across the screen.[17]

Atari Games first released Klax for arcades in February 1990, with Namco releasing the game in Japan a few months later,[5] and soon called it a "major arcade hit".[18] It quickly released several home versions under the Tengen brand. Akers created the Nintendo Entertainment System and Genesis editions.[19] Some 16-bit conversions feature improved graphics.[citation needed] Klax received the Parents' Choice Foundation's seal of approval in 1990, and won Best Mind Game at the 1991 European Computer Leisure Awards. Dennis Lynch of the Chicago Tribune named Klax the Best Cartridge of 1990.[20] Klax is the first game with versions for all three of the leading 1990s consoles: the NES, the Genesis, and the TurboGrafx-16.[21] After the arcade version, Klax was converted to most contemporary home computers and video game systems of the 1990s, including the Atari Lynx, Amstrad GX4000, and the Atari 2600 as its final official Atari-licensed release exclusively in Europe.[citation needed] The Atari 7800 version was programmed by David Dentt, who also worked on Ninja Golf for the same console.[22]

Midway Games gained the rights to Klax upon purchasing Atari Games in 1996. A 1999 press release called it Midway's "tic-tac tile puzzle game".[citation needed] Mike Mika, who worked on the Game Boy Color version, placed a hidden wedding proposal inside the game, which took his girlfriend three years to uncover. Mika also inserted a hidden Snake-like game and a mini-adventure game as easter eggs.[23]

Klax has since been re-released in video game compilations for modern consoles. The game was included in Arcade Party Pak for the PlayStation. It was reissued in Midway Arcade Treasures, a 2003 compilation for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. It appears in Lego Dimensions.[citation needed]

Reception

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In Japan, Game Machine listed Klax as the seventh most successful table arcade unit of March 1990.[25]

On release, Famicom Tsūshin awarded the PC Engine version 30 out of 40.[26] Klax was ranked the 26th best game of all time by Amiga Power in 1991.[27] The NES version is ranked 44 in IGN's Top 100 NES Games.[28]

In a capsule review of the Lynx version for STart, Clayton Walnum commended the game in aspects of gameplay, graphics, music, sound effects and speech.[29] Julian Rignall reviewed the Atari Lynx version for CVG Magazine in January 1991, saying "the game is simple, but very, very addictive" and giving a rating of 93 out of 100.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 52. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  2. ^ "Cash Box Magazine, Feb. 3rd 1990". Internet Archive. Cash Box (New York). 3 February 1990. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Production Numbers" (PDF). Atari. 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2013.
  4. ^ "All Famicom games sorted from the latest release to the earliest". Famitsu. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Tengen sets arcade titles for NES, PCs; video games", HFD-The Weekly Home Furnishings Newspaper, June 4, 1990
  6. ^ "ProView" (PDF). GamePro. No. 14. International Data Group. September 1990. p. 82.
  7. ^ "Software List (Software Licensee Release)". Sega Hard Encyclopedia (in Japanese). Sega Corporation.
  8. ^ "Klax - MegaDrive Review" (PDF). Mean Machines. No. 14. November 1991. pp. 102–103. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-03.
  9. ^ "LYNX Soft" (in Japanese). GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08.
  10. ^ "Game Boy (original) Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2016.
  11. ^ "X68000のソフトとか". tkhr000.s601.xrea.com (in Japanese). 2019. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Power Previews: The Shape of Things to Come" (PDF). Sega Power. Future plc. p. 11.
  13. ^ "Game Boy Color Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2004.
  14. ^ Harris, Craig (September 14, 2005). "Marble Madness/Klax". IGN. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015.
  15. ^ Lapetino, Tim (November 2017). Art Of Atari. DK Games. pp. 290–291. ISBN 9780744018868. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  16. ^ "AEX - The most comprehensive exploration of Atari online". April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-04-10.
  17. ^ The A-Z of Sega Mega Drive Games: Volume 1 ISBN 978-1-785-38720-3 p. 72
  18. ^ "Tengen sales increase to more than $41 million", press release dated May 23, 1990.
  19. ^ "Classic Gaming Expo". September 29, 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-09-29.
  20. ^ "COMPUTING 1990'S BEST AND WORST - Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. 25 January 1991.
  21. ^ "They're hot, they're new, they're fun", by Dennis Lynch, Chicago Tribune, November 23, 1990.
  22. ^ Hawkin, Kieren (September 2014). "Atari 7800 ProSystem". Retro Gamer. No. 132. Imagine Publishing. p. 27. ISSN 1742-3155.
  23. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (July 30, 2013). "Man hid wedding proposal in commercial Game Boy Colour game". Eurogamer.
  24. ^ Game review, Crash magazine, Newsfield Publications, issue 77, June 1990
  25. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 377. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 April 1990. p. 25.
  26. ^ 30 Point Plus: KLAX. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.335. Pg.30. 12–19 May 1995.
  27. ^ Amiga Power magazine issue 0, Future Publishing, May 1991
  28. ^ "Top 100 NES Games - IGN.com" – via www.ign.com.
  29. ^ Walnum, Clayton (December 1990). "The Lynx Collection". STart. No. 39. Antic Publishing. pp. 70–71.
  30. ^ Rignall, Julian (January 1991). "Latest Lynx Lowndown". CVG Magazine. No. 110. p. 136. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
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