Roc'n Rope
| Roc'n Rope | |
|---|---|
 European arcade flyer | |
| Developer | Konami |
| Publishers | Coleco (ports) |
| Designer | Tokuro Fujiwara |
| Platforms | Arcade, Atari 2600, ColecoVision |
| Release | Arcade 2600, ColecoVision 1984[4] |
| Genre | Platform |
| Modes | Single-player, multiplayer |
Roc'n Rope[a] (written as Roc 'N Rope on the American flyer and in Konami Arcade Classics) is a 1983 platform video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It was designed by Tokuro Fujiwara, later known for his career at Capcom.[5] The player controls a flashlight and harpoon-gun equipped archaeologist who must ascend a series of rocky platforms to reach a phoenix bird. Coleco released versions of Roc'n Rope for the Atari 2600[4] and ColecoVision in 1984.
Hamster Corporation released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, as well as their Arcade Archives 2 series for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in December 2025.[6]
Gameplay
The player has to avoid ferocious man-sized dinosaurs and red-haired cavemen without any direct means of offense. The only ways to defeat the opponents are to either daze them with the flashlight, or wait for them to be suspended on a harpoon rope and cause them fall down, an element which adds a certain complexity to the game. Bonus items to collect include fallen phoenix feathers and phoenix eggs, which grant the player invulnerability from the prehistoric denizens for a short period of time.
Reception
Roc'n Rope was among Konami's early arcade hits, including Scramble (1981), Frogger (1981), and Yie Ar Kung-Fu (1984).[7]
Legacy
Roc'n Rope was the first "wire action" game. It became the basis for Capcom's 1987 game Bionic Commando, which Tokuro Fujiwara intended to be an expanded version of Roc'n Rope.[5]
Notes
References
- ↑ "News: Konami Buys Interlogic". Play Meter. Vol. 10, no. 23. December 1984. p. 9.
- ↑ "Overseas Readers Column: Konami Unveiled Its "Rock'n Rope"" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 210. Amusement Press, Inc. April 15, 1983. p. 26. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- ↑ Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 120–1. ISBN 978-4990251215.
- 1 2 "Roc 'n Rope". Atari Mania. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
- 1 2 The Man Who Made Ghosts’n Goblins: Tokuro Fujiwara Interview Archived March 7, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Continue, Vol. 12, 2003
- ↑ Yarwood, Jack (December 10, 2025). "An Early Arcade Title From The Creator of Ghosts 'n Goblins & Bionic Commando Is Heading To Consoles". Time Extension. Archived from the original on March 11, 2026. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- ↑ "A Conversation With... Kaz Kozuki: the Konami chief who put TNT into video's arsenal with TMNT". RePlay. Vol. 15, no. 6. March 1990. pp. 201–2.