Crazy Climber

• Release Date: 1980
• Genre: Action
• Style: 2D Action
• Similar Games: Donkey Kong (Arcade), Mappy (Arcade), Q*bert (Arcade), Front Line (Arcade)

Game Description

In Crazy Climber, you play a guy who wants to get to the top -- literally. The object is to guide the climber to the top of four different buildings without falling off. Along the way, there are many obstacles.

In each level of Crazy Climber, you must rely on open windows to make your trek to the top. Windows open and close randomly. If a window closes while you are hanging there, you fall off and lose a life. Players can move up, down, left, or right to avoid closing windows. In certain levels, there is a balloon that players can grab which will pull them up several floors before bursting.

In addition to closing windows, players must also avoid many other falling objects and bad guys. Birds, bird eggs, and bird droppings serve to knock the climber down, as do flower pots, electrical signs and roving gorillas.

Crazy Climber uses a two-joystick control layout. There are no jump buttons or weapons. Joystick one controls the left side of the climber's body. Joystick two controls the climber's right side. Both joysticks used in tandem make the climber move.

Crazy Climber features four buildings. After completing the fourth building, the game begins again with the first building and more obstacles. Crazy Climber stores the initials of the top ten players.

Crazy Climber was the first climbing coin-op game ever developed, predating Donkey Kong and other classic games.

Roots & Influences

Crazy Climber was developed early on in the history of videogames, so there are not a whole lot of influences. It is a pioneering game.

Review: Overall

As a videogame junkie, Crazy Climber was my first love. I was only seven or eight years old the first time I ever played it, and it was the first game that I could play really well. When I played Crazy Climber, people watched me. I was an Arcade star.

Some will argue that Crazy Climber was so easy that even a seven-year-old could master it. I disagree. There was something about that two-joystick layout that was appealing. The action of the game was also enticing. Here was an attainable goal: get to the top. That's all there is to it. Simply get to the top, and you win.

The obstacles to overcome in Crazy Climber are bizarre. Watching out for flowerpots and bird droppings gives Crazy Climber a campy feel. Like a lot of other early 1980s videogames, it featured a menacing ape. The obstacles do not comprise the meat of the game, however. The juicy action is in the climbing.

The dexterous actions required to climb are not that difficult. Moving the joysticks in tandem becomes second nature after just a few minutes of playing. The real trick is to know where to climb. Windows can close at any second. Get to the ones that have just opened. Always keep an eye open for an escape route. If you can get into a rhythm, just climb, climb, climb.

Crazy Climber's graphics are not stellar. Even when compared to its contemporaries, Crazy Climber is little more than boxes arranged to vaguely resemble a man climbing up a building. Most won't care about the graphics, though. The gameplay more than makes up for any deficiencies in the presentation.

When you consider that the graphics were not a priority for the developers of Crazy Climber, the sound is fairly amazing. The sound effects, though limited, are memorable. The gross "SPLAT" of bird droppings and the eerie "OH NO" that the climber screams as he falls are great. The sounds in Crazy Climber went beyond random tones and screeches heard in earlier games.

Crazy Climber will always be special for those lucky enough to find it in the Arcade. In the early 1980s, several of the Arcades in my home town had copies of Crazy Climber. By the late 1980s, I lost track of all of them. In 1998, I happened into a bar featuring Crazy Climber in a beautifully restored cabinet. Since then, I try to make it in at least once a week to continue my love affair with a crazy guy who likes to climb up buildings. My wife is getting jealous.

Review: Enjoyment

Nothing compares to the fun of Crazy Climber.

Review: Graphics

Not stellar, but they get the job done.

Review: Sound

For 1980, the sound is awesome.

Review: Replay Value

I cannot walk away from this game without struggle.

Review: Documentation

n/a

Production Credits

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