The NES version of Arkanoid was originally packaged with what's considered one of the rarest of all NES controllers, the Vaus Controller: a small gray controller featuring one button, a small spinner (with limited turn radius), an adjustment port, and the Taito logo. Digital controls (many joysticks and control pads, and keyboards) are considered less desirable than analog controls (most mice, trackballs, and paddles) while digital controls limit the player to single-speed control, analog controls allow the player to move the Vaus at nearly any desired speed across the screen. The two basic control methods are digital and analog.

The controls used by various conversions differ from machine to machine, and some conversions allow for multiple control methods. The ultimate goal is to reach the final confrontation with Doh, who holds the Vaus ship captive in these playfields.īecause of the game's popularity, five other versions of the game were developed for the market: Tournament Arkanoid and Revenge of Doh ( Arkanoid II) both in 1987, Arkanoid - Doh It Again and Arkanoid Returns both in 1997, Arkanoid DS in 2007, Arkanoid Live, and, most recently, Arkanoid Plus! on WiiWare. Occasionally, a block will release a power-up capsule that will give the player various abilities: expanded Vaus, capture and release, slowed-down energy ball, multiple energy balls, Vaus with lasers, warp into the next screen, and an extra ship. Some blocks require two hits in order to be destroyed, while some blocks are indestructible. The player must keep the ball in play or else a Vaus ship is lost. The player controls the Vaus, a paddle-shaped ship that must deflect an energy ball toward an arrangement of blocks in the playfield to destroy them.

Arkanoid ds wiki