Elevator Action box art

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Elevator Action

Elevator Action

May 23, 1983

Main game

3.03 average rating based on 100 ratings

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Elevator Action is a 1983 arcade game by Taito. It debuted during the "Golden Age of Arcade Games". Innovative in gameplay, the game was very popular for many years. In the game, the player assumes the role of a spy who infiltrates a building filled with elevators. He must collect secret documents from the building and traverse the 30 floors of the building using an increasingly complex series of elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind closed doors. These agents must be dealt with via force or evasion. Successful completion of a level involves collecting … More
Elevator Action is a 1983 arcade game by Taito. It debuted during the "Golden Age of Arcade Games". Innovative in gameplay, the game was very popular for many years. In the game, the player assumes the role of a spy who infiltrates a building filled with elevators. He must collect secret documents from the building and traverse the 30 floors of the building using an increasingly complex series of elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind closed doors. These agents must be dealt with via force or evasion. Successful completion of a level involves collecting all the secret documents and traversing the building from top to bottom. In the lower floors of the building, the elevator systems are so complex that some puzzle-solving skills are needed. The game was available as a standard upright cabinet The controls consist of a 4-way joystick and two buttons, one for "shoot" and the other for jumping and kicking. The maximum number of players is two, alternating turns. The graphics are extremely simple, 2D color graphics and in-game music was composed by musician Yoshio Imamura. The game was followed by a sequel, Elevator Action II (also known as Elevator Action Returns). Less
Release Dates
May 23, 1983 Full Release (Japan)
Arcade
Oct 1983 Full Release (North_America)
Arcade
1983 Cancelled (Worldwide)
Atari 2600
1985 Full Release (Japan)
MSX
1985 Full Release (Europe)
ZX Spectrum
Mar 01, 1986 Full Release (Japan)
PC-8800 Series
May 1986 Full Release (Japan)
FM-7
1986 Full Release (North_America)
Commodore C64/128/MAX
1986 Full Release (Japan)
Sharp X1
1987 Full Release (Europe)
Amstrad CPC
User Stats
230
In Collection
16
Wish Listed
1
Playing
24
Backlogged
How Long Is Elevator Action?
Main story: 2.0 hours
Total completions: 3
GigaDeathNullGolem
GigaDeathNullGolem gave Jun 3, 2023
GigaDeathNullGolem gave Jun 3, 2023
Arcade is very similar in look and sound to the NES port
This review is for the Arcade version

I'm unsure of what I was expected but I was curious to take a look at the arcade version of Elevator Action.

Look and Sound is really close. In the basement/sublevel area the black backgroud blends in with an alternate sprite where the faces of the enemy agent is darkened (dont like this it makes it harder) also the muscle memory i've developed as a kid playing this on the NES doesnt amount for anything it would seem.

I was also hoping that by feeding this quarters I could make progress. Nope this is one of those where when you die it resets you back a bit... That'd be way too easy right?

Yungbeck
Yungbeck gave May 9, 2023
Yungbeck gave May 9, 2023
Bing!
This review is for the Nintendo Entertainment System version

Elevator Action is a pretty simple but entertaining game at its core. Noted I never played the arcade version, but I gave the NES port a run. Traditionally it gets harder and harder as you progress and I'm for damn sure not skilled or patient enough to reach the end, but I bet it loops back around like most arcade-to-NES ports of the time. It has its ups and downs, höhö, but generally it deserves its revered place in video game history.

[3.5] / [5]

scoopings
scoopings gave Mar 25, 2022
scoopings gave Mar 25, 2022
What A Fun, Excellent Arcade Game
This review is for the Arcade version

Look: 8/10 I love the intro video of you being a spy coming in with all the usual spy moves. Cute and simple level design, but very functional. I love the look when the lights go out and everything is a silhouette/shadow.

Sound: 8/10 Cute background music, could be a bit annoying but I didn't get annoyed by it. It could certainly get annoying with an allegedly infinite number of Buildings, but all through Building 3, I still enjoyed the perky, silly tune.

Play: 9/10 Wow I love the controls in this: you can jump, you can duck, you can shoot even while ducking, you can kick when close range, just such a nice variety for an action platformer. The mechanic to open the red doors for the secret documents is a bit goofy and convoluted for such a fast-paced game, but I eventually got the hang of it. Sometimes it was a bit clunky with getting out of the duck position, if only you could roll like the '98 game Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey! At least you can go straight from duck to jump tho! And I like the use of accuracy like with doors blocking bullets etc. A lot …

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Look: 8/10 I love the intro video of you being a spy coming in with all the usual spy moves. Cute and simple level design, but very functional. I love the look when the lights go out and everything is a silhouette/shadow.

Sound: 8/10 Cute background music, could be a bit annoying but I didn't get annoyed by it. It could certainly get annoying with an allegedly infinite number of Buildings, but all through Building 3, I still enjoyed the perky, silly tune.

Play: 9/10 Wow I love the controls in this: you can jump, you can duck, you can shoot even while ducking, you can kick when close range, just such a nice variety for an action platformer. The mechanic to open the red doors for the secret documents is a bit goofy and convoluted for such a fast-paced game, but I eventually got the hang of it. Sometimes it was a bit clunky with getting out of the duck position, if only you could roll like the '98 game Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey! At least you can go straight from duck to jump tho! And I like the use of accuracy like with doors blocking bullets etc. A lot of fun, really well-made game, and I thought I was just gonna do the first set of 30 floors but wound up sticking to it. And thanks to arcade games' capabilities, I truly felt like my reaction times were accurate and came in clutch when needed, rather than getting used to clunky response times and mechanics I was truly able to dodge bullets by quickly ducking down or jumping, etc. I almost kept playing after Building 3, but I played a bit and then decided to move on. Great game!

Feel: 9/10 Once I read that, allegedly, it goes on forever (I assume there's eventually a kill screen), I felt less motivated. That's one of my main issue with arcade games that are simply for higher and higher score. This was as I got to Building 3. To stick to my original goal of going real long, I decided I would at least finish Building 3, then I would consider myself done. Not that it was getting annoying or frustrating or too difficult yet, and I was enjoying the game, but when there isn't a set goal, I struggle.

Attachment: 9/10 Incredibly well-made game, quite addictive, executes its spy theme in a cute but grownup way. Even w hen I returned to this on 3/25 to finish up Building 3, I was still having a blast with the fast-paced gameplay and clear-cut controls+mechanics. I had gotten distracted with Old School Runescape, but this game reminds me how much more fun I am having playing through this backlog--so this should be my focus! And of course I'm so busy this weekend, I just want time to play backlog games and Runescape!! Heh

Completion: Completed 3 Buildings Playtime: ~50 mins

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ApramPepo
ApramPepo gave Jul 2, 2022
ApramPepo gave Jul 2, 2022
Not as good the arcade port, Not as bad as the rest of arcade ports on the NES.
This review is for the Nintendo Entertainment System version

The arcade port of this was so much fun, I loved playing it and it felt fair compared to what the NES got. Colors popped up greatly, the controls are solid and the Goons weren't shooting randomly.

Missed opportunity how this port was handled. Still, better than what I've seen so far.

scoopings
scoopings updated their status Mar 22, 2022
scoopings updated their status Mar 22, 2022

This was among the games I played today during breaks at work. But wow. It really deserves all the praise it's got. I'm on Building 3 rn, but I will save it for at work on breaks, when I can't use Internet etc. so I only play MAME and Stella Atari 2600 games since arcade and Atari 2600/VCS dominate this era. Until the true rise of Famicom, it is still just a footnote in late '83 (upon its release, mind you). But even Nintendo in general...

wisegmr
wisegmr updated their status Feb 23, 2021
wisegmr updated their status Feb 23, 2021

I used to play this a ton as a kid and never knew it could be beaten. Can it? I'd always die on level 3 or 4. Now I'm seeing it repeats after level 4. Used emulator to pass level 4.