We are kicking off 2017 with a competition between two beloved yet very different arcade games from the 80s: Joust and Double Dribble!
One of the most enjoyable two player games from the golden age of arcade games, Williams Electronics’ 1982 classic Joust is also enjoyable as a single player, fantasy-action game. You play a medieval Knight, riding a mighty steed (actually it’s an ostrich, or stork) into battle against other Knights mounted on flying Vultures of Evil. The competition of course is the Joust. Your goal is to slay the opposing knight and then catch him before he turns into an egg and tries to get away. If you fail to catch your enemy in time, the egg he has become will hatch into an even more difficult enemy whom you will have to perform the joust with once more, and so on. The opposing Knights start out as Bounders, then Bounders become Hunters and Hunters become Shadow Lords, and if you are unable to keep them from evolving, they become quite a challenge.
Konami released Double Dribble in arcades in 1986 as a follow-up to their first basketball arcade game, Super Basketball. The game boasts realistic features including five-player teams with specialized characters, official quarters and half-time switch as well as a national anthem ceremony, cheerleaders, mascots and fans. The player can replicate all of the actions of a real basketball player: dribbling, passing, shooting, and even attempting a slam dunk, shown in a slow motion zoom shot. Referees keep an eye on the game, calling fouls and sending players to the free-throw line. The game is timed so that a credit must be added to continue game play after every minute if the computer’s team is winning, so try your best to get an early lead on the scoreboard! At the end of four quarters, the winning team holds a victory celebration.
After its release, Double Dribble quickly gained popularity and was considered the most realistic basketball game at the time due to the innovative cinematic shot and dunk animations and the impressive attention to detail. The game was then ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987 and then later released in Japan for the Family Computer Disk System under the title Exciting Basketball.
Will Joust sink a lance into its competition or will Double Dribble slam dunk its way to victory? As always, it’s up to you to defend your favorite contender and help us decide which game is more worthy of Ground Kontrol real estate. We’ll monitor each game’s earnings between Thursday 1/5 and Wednesday 1/11 and announce the winner shortly thereafter. Clash of the Classics is on NOW, so grab some quarters, tell some friends and enjoy some classic 80s arcade action!