Performan (1985)

Performan was Toaplan's first shooter, and it's certainly not what one would expect from them, especially when looking at some of their later games. It's actually a strange, overhead shooter much like Robotron. The star is the titular Performan, a native in a jungle that wears a huge mask, who's being stalked by a squadron of drill-wielding robots. He must stop them using balls of energy, his ability to dig underground, and bombs that are set up in every level. He can also go into Power Mode by shooting ghosts that randomly appear, which turns him green and invincible for a short time. Needless to say, Performan is a very weird, very hard game. There are 99 levels and the game loops endlessly, as typical of most early arcade games. The main problem with Performan is that he's far too weak to survive for long. He can't move quickly, his shots are slow, and he can only have one shot on screen at a time, which can easily be dodged. The bombs are an easy way to get rid of two or maybe three at a time, but this usually requires setup, which takes a bit time, and by which point you're like to be killed. Read less