Lode Runner Legacy Sneaks Onto The Switch eShop Today

Looks terrible!

The timing is quite funny. I've been writing my thesis and there's a section about Lode Runner thanks to its level editor. Thanks to the research I've been doing, I can say that the statement about Lode Runner being the first game with level editor is not true. There are at least couple of games that came before it. One of them is Munchkin (also known as K.C. Munchkin!).

The research made me curious to try the game out. I've never played any of the Lode Runner games.

EDIT: Just watched the trailer on eShop while downloading the demo and I can already say I'm pretty much sold.

Played the demo last night, it's actually alright. In the full game there are 50 adventure levels and 50 puzzle levels plus 3 other modes that are locked in the demo, these are classic levels, world levels and extras. The world levels are those created by players in the craft mode. There's a 2 player mode as well.

My favorite GB games of all time were DK94 and (you might guess) Mole Mania. This looks to be in my wheelhouse.

The screenshot is really low quality and is not a good indication of what the game looks like when you're playing. The game is voxel based so you can create your own characters and other stuff. They show in the trailer how you can create the football that's in the image.

Used to play this on my Apple IIc back in the day. Classic game. I'm looking forward to this hitting the U.S.!

Edit: Looks like its on the U.S. eShop now. Yay!

Pah. Just a cheap knock-off of JNKPlat!!

I wad pleasantly suprised with the Demo.

@youkoaoshi
Really? I hope so. I would love to play it as well.

I used to own Hyper Load Runner on the original Gameboy when I was a kid. That game was infuriatingly difficult for me to figure out.
I wonder if the logic of it would click with me better as an adult.

snag

The original that I played on borrowed Apple ][e computers was one of those games I kept going back to. Quite solid. I remember editing a few simple levels. Fun stuff. (Apparently, the developer had neighborhood kids play test the game and they developed quite a few of the levels that were included in the original release... or something like that.)

It's interesting to see it so popular in Japan, but I think it's because they got a release on the Famicom while the game was still new, while others had the NES later and Lode Runner was old news by then. I think that's why the later releases look a bit odd and chunky; they are playing on nostalgia and what made it stand out at the time (large chunky characters and the block stages).

It’s load runner...I’ll pick it up.

I'd love a good version of Lode Runner on Switch. So the question that remains is, is this a good version?

@Muddy_4_Ever Both games directed by the mysterious Masayuki Kameyama and overseen by Miyamoto. Always wondered if Masayuki Kameyama was just a pen name or something. 2 games I still reply every couple of years. That and Wario Blast.

Certainly be giving the Demo a try with a view to a purchase.

No mention in the title that this is for EU, not US? It's not even listed on the NoA website.

@Captain_Gonru
Played the demo here in NA this morning. Give it a go. 😊

Doh. It is on the US eShop, but wasn't on NoA's website earlier. odd. Looks like it just didn't show until the eShop updates went live.

@Captain_Gonru
Opening Day! Nice.
Who’s your team?
Sadly, my team is the Mariners. Longest playoff drought of any major professional team in America.

@Captain_Gonru
Very nice. Baseball season is always great. I usually make it to safeco field for a few games a year.
Enjoy the season!
Do you play any games on Switch online?

@Dang69 Holy cow! This whole thing is a mystery I was unaware of:

https://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/04/24/game-boys-25th-anniversary-who-exactly-is-masayuki-kameyama/

The games themselves feel like Miyamoto, but if he produced them, why would he hide that he directed them? This Kameyama (if he's even real) clearly had an absurd amount of talent. No other puzzle platform games were as well-executed as DK94 or Mole Mania. And he just "disappeared..."

Thanks, you've given me a day long project (and I really need to get some work done, lol).

@Captain_Gonru
Very nice. I play Rocket League a little bit most nights. It's a great game for sure, but there's a pretty long learning curve to it.
Splatoon 2 is the only other game I play online.

The demo was pretty good so I bought this. Very unexpected, but the price was right. It does a great job of capturing that 1980's gameplay but with an update.

@sketchturner I just played Hyper Lode Runner. The kid version of you was correct. Even for adults, the controls are not intuitive. For one, I think it uses the B button to dig left and A button to dig right.

Still, I will give this demo a chance.

Very interesting. I need to check out the demo first.

I loved the game on the NES as a kid. So much fun and the music was super melodious. I used to make levels for my brother and vice versa. Even loved the Bomberman sprites chasing The Runner. If this game included THE original game on the package, it'd be an instant buy for me. Otherwise it still looks pretty decent!

*crosses fingers for the catchy intro song *

@Magrane Depends by what you call "THE" original game. It has Classic Mode, which is basically the Apple II/Commodore/IBM/etc levels with the pulled back camera. The actual gameplay is.. SLIGHTLY different as a result of the updated game engine pushing a per-stage scoring mechanic based on speed and giving bonuses for not pitfalling or killing enemies.

@Firehawke Thank you for that! In my head I'm referring to the NES one. But after your post and re-reading what Classic mode has to offer, I may lean on getting it now. 👍🏻

I wish the classic mode had an option for 2D sprites instead, but I think I may have to pick this up for some retro Lode Runner action on my Switch, it's been so many years since I played the original on a computer.

Tried the demo...bought!

Nothing can compare to Lode Runner the Legend Returns by Presage and Sierra, but I’ll give the demo a spin.