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Elevator Action NES Review
User Submitted Elevator Action NES Reviews
Date: 2006-08-22
Elevators a main draw here
I can't believe a) this game is on Amazon, and b) nobody's reviewed it yet.
What a release. This was an arcade game by Teito from 1983 that had long-lasting appeal in the coin-op world. The NES version appeared in 1987-1988, I believe, with nary an improvement in sight, but who cared? Finally, the magic that was Elevator Action could be played any time at home. The home version was virtually identical to the arcade. (Then again, given it was already five years old, this wasn't difficult).
And low-budget it was. Boxy graphics, limited colors, that awesome 8-bit sound. Fans of this baby wouldn't have it any other way. You play some guy named Otto, or Agent 17, from what agency, I don't know. No story. You're a secret agent and you need to steal documents and blow away anybody who gets in your way. Fair enough.
The action was simple---ride the elevators from the top of the building down, collecting documents from marked doors and taking on the various suited minions (who look like the Spy vs Spy guys from MAD) who try and stop you. Problem was, the game was freaking impossible after a few boards. It was the same thing, over and over, with the doors re-arranged, meaning you had to navigate the elevators carefully, watch out for walls, and watch out for bullets, since it took only one for Otto to buy it. You were armed with your trusty piece, plus you could karate-kick enemies with a hilarious boot to the head (complete with a blippity-blip jumping noise). Otto sported really high, Conan O'Brian hair that was also a good target for bullets. You could shoot lamps so they fell on people's heads, crush people with boxy elevators, and if you were patient, you could even hold the elevator so long that some hapless goon two floors down would get upset and throw himself into the elevator shaft. Magic. And let's not forget the car Otto always had waiting in the street. It looked like he jumped into a giant turnip and sped away (more great sound).
A real fan favorite, cheese and all. While the NES had far, far superior games in terms of graphics, sound, gameplay---indeed, everything---this title is fondly remembered, even though I don't think it ever ended and it got curse-at-your-TV difficult after about two boards.
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