You say you need a little blast from the past? Maybe there’s something that tickles your fancy for vector graphics? Cabinette fever? Ok, stop here before the editors hurt me (they know where I live).
Let’s look at the old Atari titles from a Switch perspective. Akka Arrh started out as a cabinet arcade game in the 80’s (not to be confused with Capella’s High Tier from Star Trek TOS).
it’s good to be high tier (original aka…)
The original arcade game version was released in 1982 but did not do as well as expected. To be fair, the competition in arcades included impressive titles like Pole Position, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, and Galaga.
The Switch version still feels like an arcade game from 1982. Colors, lines and fades are much smoother, but the game retains some of the original geometric patterns and vector graphic visuals. Some may be leery of my usual rants about retro looks, but this is an honest revival of a vintage game, so the old visuals are perfectly on point. Movement and color transitions and fades are more modern and pleasing to the eye.
The audio effects are of the late 80’s new age backdrop but match well with the slightly psychedelic look. Overall, the effects are a little trippy, but fun.
Akka Arrh’s gameplay is what you’d expect from an older arcade title. As the game progresses, it’s a bit one-dimensional, but it works well.The basic premise is to shoot everything that comes your way and survive as long as possible. Your avatar is basically a turret in the center of the screen. There are two types of ammunition he can launch at his enemies: bombs and bullets. Don’t expect either to look like what you expect. Similarly, enemies are not visually detailed. Often they are little pink balls of pain.
This is where the game mechanics get interesting. Firing a bomb on the game field creates a shockwave that explodes and expands. Enemies touched by the shockwave (or the slowly dissipating energy field left behind after the shockwave) are destroyed. There are two pleasures here. The first is that small pink spheres of pain are blown to pieces. Helps extinguish enemy fire. If you hit properly, he will fire one bomb and for half a round you can see a new shockwave explode. This is good because the fewer bombs you use, the more bonus points you get.
The playing field starts out as one large open area and the shock wave is circular. As the level increases, the layout of the field becomes a little more complicated and the shape of the shock wave begins to change. Also, at higher levels you’ll encounter some new floating shapes that you can shoot with bullets to gain points and power-ups. is to provide a field divided into bands or other types of different areas (usually distinguished by different colors). Each area limits where the bomb shockwave will stop. Oncoming enemy fire has no restrictions on movement within the field, so be careful where you drop your bombs. Dropping it in the wrong place can cause the shockwave to miss its target. The game throws a “lower level” to shoot it to protect some of your critical resources at close range.
The game can feel a little disjointed at times, but it lends itself to character. We recommend playing this on a TV, as the Switch’s smaller screen makes it difficult to read everything the game has to say. We recommend turning off Info, and Tips. Sometimes it has a timer, so you have to read it quickly. Blinking lights and all-caps fonts can be difficult to read.
The text can be a little cheeky, so pay attention to the game ratings for your performance in each round.
Akka Arrh is actually very simple. All you need to do is keep the turret spinning and shoot whatever comes your way. There isn’t much to do, but this is a pure and simple vintage arcade shooter. Success comes the old fashioned way. As you level up, the board becomes harder to manage and more things can destroy you. , will work. If you lose focus, you will die quickly.
If I keep starting my review with a pun, as I do.
