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I like Arkanoid. It’s simple fun in short bursts, and the addition of power-ups and enemy characters keeps the formula fresh and appealing for long-term play.
The last few entries in Taito’s Arkanoid franchise have been underwhelming, though. The series never received the drastic reinvention that Space Invaders did with titles like Space Invaders Extreme and Space Invaders Infinity Gene, and the most recent sequels, Arkanoid DS and Arkanoid Live, were each disappointing in their own ways.
Arkanoid for the iPhone, however, might just be my favorite Arkanoid title since 1997′s Arkanoid Returns. It totally nails the core gameplay, and brings the series back to its roots while introducing just enough modern complexity to improve the experience.
It’s great to finally be able to play Arkanoid in its native vertical format, for one thing. Arkanoid DS tried to simulate a tall playfield by splitting the action between two screens, but the result only created greater distance between the ball and the bricks, making for a slower game. Other ports have tried to adapt the gameplay to a horizontal format, with mixed results. Here, it’s simply a matter of flipping your iPhone sideways to get an arcade-accurate experience.
Arkanoid’s control scheme also works much better here than in previous ports. Nothing can fully duplicate the original arcade version’s dial controller, but iPhone Arkanoid’s slide-based input comes very close. Tracking the ball’s movements comes naturally, and moving the Vaus paddle to any point on the screen quickly becomes an intuitive process.
iPhone Arkanoid’s best feature is its smooth difficulty curve. It’s remarkable that a difficulty curve exists at all — Arkanoid DS was an easy game from start to finish, while Arkanoid Live became extremely difficult, very quickly. Arkanoid for iPhone includes a branching level progression, allowing players to choose their own difficulty. It works marvelously, and I’m glad to see that Taito managed to create a balanced difficulty curve in an Arkanoid game after its recent missteps.
The iPhone version of Arkanoid only has a few small problems. Control issues are rare, but they’re frustrating when they pop up. Arkanoid’s slide-based control scheme allows players to move the Vaus left and right by touching and sliding across any point on a control bar at the bottom of the screen. The problem is that the slider mechanism doesn’t recenter the paddle when you lift your thumb and touch another part of the bar.
Press your thumb a little bit too far to the right of the slider, for instance, and you’ll run out of slide space before you can move the Vaus to the far right of the screen. It’s frustrating to lose a ball in the lower corners simply because your thumb ran out of available movement space.
iPhone Arkanoid’s presentation is also a little weak. The music is strangely subdued, especially in comparison to Arkanoid DS’s maybe-too-hyper soundtrack, and the animated backgrounds are often distracting. Thankfully, Taito included the option to disable the animated backdrops and replace them with still images.
Aside from these minor issues, the iPhone version of Arkanoid avoids many of the problems that sucked the fun out its less-successful sequels, and manages to duplicate the original arcade experience better than any port in recent memory. Arkanoid for iPhone remains a solid, fun experience throughout, and with more than 100 levels included, it’s very much worth a purchase.
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