is a 1985

multi-directional shooter Twin-stick shooter is a subgenre of shoot 'em up video games. It defines a multidirectional shooter in which the player character is controlled using two joysticks: the first for movement on a flat plane and the second to shoot in the direction th ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

for the

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...

. Released only in Japan, it is the sequel to arcade game ''

Tank Battalion is a multi-directional shooter arcade video game that was released by Namco in 1980. The only direct home conversion is for the MSX, although it was followed up by two sequels: '' Battle City'' for the Famicom in 1985 and '' Tank Force'' for arc ...

''. An

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

version for the

Nintendo VS. System The is an arcade system that was developed and produced by Nintendo. It is based on most of the same hardware as the Family Computer (Famicom), later released as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). As Nintendo was planning to release the ...

titled VS. Battle City would follow, along with a

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

version in 1991, which was developed and published by Nova Games. The Famicom version was later included as an unlockable in the Japanese release of '' Star Fox: Assault'', and would eventually be digitally re-released via the

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

for

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

and

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

. The arcade version was released by

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 360 titles are distribut ...

as part of their ''Arcade Archives'' series for the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

and

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

on September 12, 2024. Although the Famicom version was never officially released outside Japan, ''Battle City'' was one of the most common inclusions in unofficial

famiclone In video game parlance, a famiclone is a hardware clone of the Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System. They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the Famicom and NES. Hundreds of unauthorized clones and ...

multicart In video game parlance, a multicart is a cartridge that contains more than one game. Typically, the separate games are available individually for purchase (such as '' Sega Smash Pack'') or were previously available individually (such as '' Final ...

Gameplay

The player controls a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

and shoot projectiles to destroy enemy tanks around the playfield. The enemy tanks enter from the top of the screen and attempt to destroy the player's base (represented on the screen as a phoenix symbol), as well as the player's tank itself. A level is completed when the player destroys 20 enemy tanks, but the game ends if the player's base is destroyed or the player loses all available lives. Note that the player can destroy the base as well, so the player can still lose even after all enemy tanks are destroyed. ''Battle City'' contains 35 different stages that are 13 units wide by 13 units high. Each map contains different types of terrain and obstacles. Examples include

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

walls that can be destroyed by having either the player's tank or an enemy tank shoot at them,

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

walls that can be destroyed by the player if they have collected three stars, bushes that hide tanks under them, ice fields that make it difficult to control the tank and patches of water which cannot be crossed by tanks. The game becomes more challenging in later levels, as enemy tanks may act as decoys to lure players away from their base so that another tank can destroy it. In addition, flashing red tanks releases a random power-up when destroyed. There are several types of power-ups, such as a clock that stops all enemies, a protective shield, and a bomb that eliminates all on-screen enemies. The enemy tanks come in four different sizes, with the largest one requiring four shots to destroy. The original Famicom version of ''Battle City'' provides a

co-op multiplayer A cooperative video game, often abbreviated as co-op, is a video game that allows players to work together as teammates, usually against one or more non-player character opponents (Player versus environment, PvE). Co-op games can be played locall ...

mode and a built-in

level editor A level editor (also known as a map, campaign or scenario editor) is a game development tool used to design Level (video games), levels, maps, campaigns and virtual worlds for a video game. An individual involved with the development of game levels ...

, one of the earliest video games to do so. Due to its simplicity, ''Battle City'' hosts an extensive

ROM hacking ROM hacking is the process of Modding, modifying a ROM image, ROM image or ROM file to alter the contents contained within, usually of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, Level (video games), levels, gameplay, and/or other elemen ...

scene.

Development and release

Reception

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Spoken Wikipedia, date=2024-04-06, En-Battle City-article.ogg 1985 video games Arcade Archives games Arcade video games Cooperative video games FM-7 games Game Boy games Hamster Corporation games Multiplayer and single-player video games Namco games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo VS. System games Sharp MZ games Sharp X1 games Shoot 'em ups Tank simulation video games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console games for Wii Virtual Console games for Wii U