Old Games: Encyclopedia Bombastica: Lode Runner

time for some lode runner

What a lode.

I love the old C64/Atari/etc Bombasticas! Keep 'em coming! At your own pace, I mean. No rush. No hassle.

Glad these are still a thing. I like the quaint quality of the home-recorded videos.

I love these! It be cool if Jeff did some Windmill Software games like Bouncing Babies or Moon Bugs.

I had Lode Runner on the Speccy and it frustrated the snot out of 10 year old me. Everyone else seemed to be playing Chuckie Egg, however, so I still felt superior.

I played a lot of this on my friend's old Tandy 1000 SL. They also had Alley Cat which was great

I got hooked on the black and white Macintosh version in 2nd or 3rd grade, probably the same year I first played Super Mario Brothers. I later enjoyed The Legend Returns, Lode Runner 2, Battle Lode Runner, and Lode Runner 3D, but the Tozai XBLA one is absolutely my favorite since they solved a lot of the level design and AI edge cases that made the older games occasionally repetitive and annoying, but still kept the full spectrum of variation in pacing, from muscle memory to long-term planning, with the between level mini-puzzles, arcadey hang on mode, and standalone puzzles.

I remember playing Lode Runner 95 on PC. The robots were dudes in robes.

This got me thinking, Jeff, or anyone, did you ever play King's Valley (or King's Valley II) on MSX? I used to love those games when I was younger, and the mechanics are pretty similar to Lode Runner.

I used to get this game and 3D World Runner mixed up all the time.

Cool to see more Bombasticas showing up lately.

Never played the original Lode Runner, but did spend quite a bit of time with the GB release.

I remember playing Lode Runner on one of those totally legit 100-in-1 GBC carts and knowing shit about the game and just dying over and over. Later when i found out you can kill enemies by letting them fall into the pits, i thought you needed to kill them all. When that didnt work, i just gave up.

Warning: LOUD

The level editing makes it seem like ye olde mario maker :p

I played some version of Lode Runner, or a Lode Runner-like on Amiga as a kid. All I know is that it looked and sounded different than this and I don't think I ever got farther than the second or third level. I HATED how all the guys chasing you always came back.

@ravelle: Lode Runner 95 and the DOS game Jetpack were probably the first two games I played with built-in level editors (and more importantly, level sharing), and I loved them.

Oh, and I guess there was 'Jetpack Lives!' before that too, but I think that was from a time when sharing levels with people was a bit more of a hassle, and while the built-in levels were amazing, the user created levels felt a little basic.

Always a fan of Bedroom Jeff :D

Interesting never heard or seen this game looks like I would have had fun with it at the time but I went from an intellivision to a genesis and then computers so never had a system this was on. Has anyone done a bombastica on the original populous? Doesn't seem to be one from what I can see. That on the genesis was one of my founding games. Never finished it all the way to the end (500 levels yeah no) but was great fun for a long time.

One of the greatest games ever made and one of the first games to have a full level editor. It was so ahead of it's time and still fun to play today.

Never played the Atari or Commodore version, but the original Apple II version. For the most part, they appear the same, but the sounds and even speed seems to be different. Still, an amazing game on any platform.

Didn't the enemies have robes in some versions? My friend always called them cannibal monks because in the version he had it looked like they ate you after you die.

See my previous post. ;)

They looked like evil cultists in the 95 version.

Oh weird, didn't know my grammar school band teacher made this game.

it seemed at the end of the video the Baffler showed up to play some lode runner.

Was one of the sets of initials "FUK"

I owned the gameboy version. It sucked. I RUNNER'D away from that game.

Omg Jeff is wearing that same tshirt (again) when he took a pic with me back at E3 2012 <3 http://postimg.org/image/e3f4r50nf/

I always love a Jeff bombastica during the holidays.

I played the shit out of this on Apple IIe.

It's amazing how simple the editor needed to be. Just plop blocks down and you're done. No options, no alternate blocks or triggers; the game mechanics are so strong, they take care of everything.

@kevin_cogneto said:

That's alright, I used to get Lode Runner and Logan's Run mixed up all the time. :P

Anyway, I never realized just how similar N+ is to this game. I wouldn't be surprised if the creators of N were inspired by this.

I was about to say the same thing, love me some plain old sitting at home and playing a good video game.

I played Chuckie Egg more.

It was a fantastic game.

Happy Lodesgiving

Happy laundry day.

I seem to remember owning this on my Master System many many years ago, very addictive little game.

Ive always heard about Lode Runner but never really played much of it. This looks pretty awesome. Seems like a good game to kinda zone out with, a la Pitfall / Lunar Lander.

Man, the atari 800 was my first computer. My dad was way into flying and be bought Flight Simulator 2 so he could practice IFR landings. We even had that machine hooked up to compuserve back in 86, I got to experience the proto internet.

Great stuff, but I'm still waiting on some robot odyssey content @jeff

Ugh.... is there any sound more annoying than a mechanical keyboard? That sound is so overpowering it makes this video super tough to watch.

I played so much Lode Runner Online: Mad Monks Revenge. I thought the game looked amazing, played great, and it had a level creator which ate up MANY hours of my life!

I remember seeing this game on store shelves as a child and being very confused because I just could not figure out what the hell "Lode" meant.

I played this on my uncle's Atari ST in 1986. It's in monochrome, but I really like how it looks compared to this version.

Looks smoother.

@CastroCasper: I think that's the problem with the decline in popularity with Lode Runner, it SEEMS like a relaxing "stay in the zone" arcade or light puzzle game, but actually it's constantly forcing you to switch mental modes with enemies interrupting your puzzle solving and complex pre-planned escapes needed for situations your arcadey reflexes will get you into.

Psikyo's Lode Runner: The Dig Fight arcade game is a pretty good version of Lode Runner. It has odd cutscenes between each stage that tell some storyline that doesn't relate to the game.

happy laundry day everyone

You're a monster if you don't do your laundry on Sunday.

hmm...i wonder if there are any 'modern' versions of Lode Runner that have a mario maker-styled custom level sharing?

Yep, this was the version I played. I remember liking this a lot.

jeff spitting history about shit he enjoys is always fun