# Old arcade game: Crazy Climber **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826 "2005-05-14T15:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/1 "2005-05-14T15:17:23Z")
If you never saw it, [here](http://www.basementarcade.com/arcade/climber/climber.html) is a good page all about it; I liked this game a lot. The arcade machines seemed to have a fairly brief lifetime- I think it might be because the game used two joysticks, and they both took a beating with constant use. Considering how much better memory and graphics are now, I’d LOVE to see an updated version. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/2 "2005-05-14T22:53:10Z")
Heck, there were plenty of two-joystick games, including the original Karate Champ and Battlezone and whatnot. I have vague memories of Crazy Climber, mostly of being frustrated by the tricky controls and running out of quarters before mastering them. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/3 "2005-05-15T00:56:15Z")
My eyes! :eek: Somebody needs to tell this guy how to design a web page that can be _read_. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/4 "2005-05-15T12:41:44Z")
Don’t know if you saw it, but there was a thread not too long ago about favorite pre-1985 arcade games. I gave Crazy Climber a mention, but I have to say Marble Madness was my favorite. The issue I have with updating games is that advanced graphics don’t tend to do much for the gameplay. Having photorealistic flower pots wouldn’t make the game more fun to play; things like that just seem pretentious to me. Part of the beauty of Crazy Climber was the simplicity that still managed to be a lot of fun. Now something like Zaxxon might benefit (I’m guessing there _was_ a Zaxxon II or somesuch). OTOH, I understand the allure of eye-candy. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/5 "2005-05-15T12:54:59Z")
For those who have not yet ripped their eyes from their sockets after viewing that website, [here is another, less annoying Crazy Climber page](http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=C&game_id=7426). ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/6 "2005-05-15T14:49:10Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Heck, there were plenty of two-joystick games, including the original Karate Champ and Battlezone and whatnot. And **Robotron 2084**. Can’t forget Robotron! It had one entire joystick devoted **just** to the direction your character fired his shots in. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/7 "2005-05-15T15:01:10Z")
[Robotron: 2084](http://www.tripoint.org/robo/robotron.html). Greatest. Arcade. Game. EVER. Those are my suggestions, btw, under my old AOL address [JThorn...@aol.com](mailto:JThorn...@aol.com). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/8 "2005-05-15T15:48:10Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > And **Robotron 2084**. Can’t forget Robotron! > It had one entire joystick devoted **just** to the direction your character fired his shots in. A somewhat updated version (well, two, but they’re related) of _that_ game exists: _Smash TV_ and _Total Carnage_. Screw saving humanity; you’re playing for game show prizes and cash! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/9 "2005-05-15T16:16:54Z")
I loved Robotron and its two joysticks. There was a rumor that it was actually a sequel to Defender, after the guy in the spaceship landed or crashed. I hated Defender, never could get a hang of all those buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/10 "2005-05-15T16:34:33Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I hated Defender, never could get a hang of all those buttons. Well, see, the key to playing _Defender_ is to tell yourself that the humanoids are members of your family… ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/11 "2005-05-15T18:24:36Z")
Pretty cool game for its time, although even at its peak it was never that popular where I lived. Double joystick was just a bit too complicated. (Being able to set individual control assignments in MAME really, really helps.) There was a Crazy Climber 2 (which I never saw in any arcade, unfortunately), and yes, it did have updated graphics and gameplay. There was even a companion game, Mountain Climber, with somewhat simplified controls. There was also a similar game…Fire Trap, I belive…released in 1986, IIRC; very fast paced, lots of variety in the buildings, and you could attack all those nuisances flying around. Smash TV was a game show. Total Carnage was a military operation VERY heavily based on Operation Desert Storm, right down to the “Scud Missiles”. I’ve never heard of Robotron being a sequel to Defender. Stargate was the companion game. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/12 "2005-05-15T20:55:53Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > Smash TV was a game show. Total Carnage was a military operation VERY heavily based on Operation Desert Storm, right down to the “Scud Missiles”. Smash TV and Total Carnage were developed by the same team, and both had similar, Robotron-style gameplay and both also had a “Pleasure Dome” at the end of the game (you had to collect keys that had been fallen by enemies). As for the two games, they are unrelated in terms of plot, but Carnage references Smash a number of times (the announcer and his ladies from Smash are hostages you have to save, a level opens with a statement that all Smash TV veterans should vacate the controls now, and General Ackboob’s phony Arabic rambling sometimes contains the phrase “I’ll buy _YOU_ for a dollar!” > [@dkw](#): > > I’ve never heard of Robotron being a sequel to Defender. Stargate was the companion game. I believe that Defender, Stargate (aka Defender II), Robotron, and Blaster are supposed to be related to each other. The link between the two Defenders and Robotron is very thin, but Blaster’s attract mode features a line that mentions that it is the year 2085, and you are searching for a new home now that the Robotrons have destroyed the earth. All we are making is baby milk! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/13 "2005-05-15T22:40:12Z")
I never could get the feel for Crazy Climber. But it might be cool to update it with realistic structures to climb. Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Petronas Twin Towers ect,. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-arcade-game-crazy-climber/303826/14 "2005-05-16T02:50:02Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > A somewhat updated version (well, two, but they’re related) of _that_ game exists: _Smash TV_ and _Total Carnage_. Screw saving humanity; you’re playing for game show prizes and cash! Total Carnage wasn’t just the best video game ever. It was the best THING ever.