Line #15 VideoGame/BoulderDash


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/110617_boulder_dash_pc_booter_front_cover.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doooh-dooooooooh...]]
7	''Boulder Dash'' is one of the more popular action-puzzle games of the 8-bit era, and remains the archetypal DiggingGame. First released for Platform/Atari8BitComputers in 1984 and [[MultiPlatform endlessly ported]], including to the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and Platform/VirtualConsole. In it, the hero Rockford must explore a series of caves/levels, collect a certain quota of diamonds, and reach the exit without dying. Depending on how a level is designed, it could be evocative of {{Block Puzzle}}s like ''VideoGame/{{Sokoban}}'' or a hectic arcade game similar to ''VideoGame/DigDug'', minus the player's capacity to directly defend himself.
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9	''Boulder Dash''[='s=] primary feature is that boulders and diamonds are subject to gravity, [[SelectiveGravity but the player is not]]. A stack of rocks and diamonds will roll off of each other into a pile if there is room to do so. A careless player may find himself crushed or trapped beneath a mountain of rubble. Certain enemies, when killed, explode into diamonds which can either be collected or kill enemies or players beneath them. Other enemies simply explode, like highly mobile ExplodingBarrels, which can be necessary for blasting a hole in a wall.
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11	''Boulder Dash'' was also a technical achievement, with large, freely-scrolling multi-screen levels potentially filled with falling rubble and roaming enemies. It achieved this effect on relatively underpowered hardware by way of its InvisibleGrid; everything moved one "tile" at a time, and enemies were lethal if the player was simply adjacent to them.
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13	The series has received various entries throughout the years, including ''Boulder Dash EX'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2002, which stars a new character named Alex saving his friend Sonya from the Dark King. And ''Boulder Dash Rocks!'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS in 2007, featuring the return of Rockford ([[AdaptationSpeciesChange as some sort of alien creature]]) traveling through various planets trying to find the perfect jewel for his love interest Crystal.
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17	!! This work shows examples of:
18	* ArcadePerfectPort: ''Inverted'', as bizarre as that may sound. ''Boulder Dash'' was the first game to be ported from a home computer system ''to'' the arcade. (There were at least two coin-op versions, ''Rockford'' by Mastertronic and ''Boulder Dash'' by Data East.)
19	* BrutalBonusLevel: The V-shaped (and thankfully optional) bonus round, depicted [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BD_BrutalBonusLevel_2125.JPG here]].
20	* FanSequel: Visit sites that offer ROM files of C-64 games and you will find literally ''hundreds'' of home-grown ''Boulder Dash'' sequels. ''Megablasters'' for the Platform/AmstradCPC was also massive.
21	* LevelEditor: The ''Boulder Dash Construction Kit'' is a very robust editor, allowing full modification of everything in the original game. Full level sets can be constructed with their own title screens and distributed as self-contained games.
22	* MoneySpider: If killed, the butterfly enemies explode into diamonds.
23	* NothingIsScarier: The only music besides the title theme is heard [[SongsInTheKeyOfPanic when the clock is ticking out]]. Imagine if the last ten seconds were represented by ascending notes, coming in the same number.
24	* RemixedLevel: Each base layout is remixed five times, with a random sprinkling of boulders and the like. The random sprinkle sometimes forces you to use different tactics, especially in crowded levels. Other levels remain identical, changing only in time or gems needed.
25	* SelectiveGravity: An inversion of most video game examples- Everything is subject to gravity ''but you''.
26	* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Rockford doesn't seem to have any more trouble than usual breathing in Ocean World in the NES port. In fact, despite appearing to take place underwater, it doesn't play any fundamentally different from the other worlds.
27	* TunnelKing: Rockford is the only character in the game that can tunnel through dirt, and he's quite the quick digger to boot.
28	* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: Beyond the ability to ruin your own attempt at finishing a level, some levels are unwinnable.
29	** ''Boulder Dash'' Intermission 3 is unwinnable on PAL systems, with the player being spawn-killed. At worst, you don't get the extra life.

Context VideoGame / BoulderDash