is a

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 ...

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

that was released 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 ...

in 1980. The only direct home conversion is for the

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

, although it was followed up by two sequels: ''

Battle City is a 1985 multi-directional shooter video game developed and published by Namco for the Family Computer. Released only in Japan, it is the sequel to arcade game ''Tank Battalion''. An arcade version for the Nintendo VS. System titled VS. Battle ...

'' for the

Famicom 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 ...

in 1985 and ''

Tank Force is a 1991 multi-directional shooter arcade game developed and published in Japan by Namco. It was designed by Yutaka Kounoe, whose works include ''Dig Dug'', '' Lucky & Wild'', and '' Point Blank''. The game is a successor installment to Namco's ...

'' for arcades in 1991.

Gameplay

The player, controlling 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; ...

, must destroy twenty enemy tanks in each round, which enter the playfield from the top of the screen. The enemy tanks attempt to destroy the player's base (represented on the map as an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

) as well as the player tank itself. A round is cleared when the player destroys all twenty enemy tanks, but the game ends if the player's base is destroyed or they run out of lives.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' believed that "the real excitement" of ''Tank Battalion'' lied within its ability to modify the level design by destroying the brick walls. Retrospectively in 2015, a writer for ''Beep!'' enjoyed the

Sord M5 The Sord M5 is a home computer launched by Sord Computer Corporation in 1982. Primarily the Sord M5 competed in the Japanese home computer market. It was also sold as the CGL M5 in the United Kingdom by Computer Games Limited and was reasonably po ...

version for its improvements over the arcade original, such as the smoother movement of the player's tank, but disliked the squashed-looking graphics and narrow playing space. While the writer believed the

version was superior, they still recommended the M5 version for

fans and collectors.

Legacy

A theme based on the game for ''

Pac-Man 99 is a battle royale maze video game developed by Arika and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Nintendo Switch. It was released through the Nintendo Switch Online service on April 7, 2021. Part of its ''Pac-Man'' franchise, its gam ...

'' was released as free post-launch DLC, featuring visuals and sounds from the game.

Notes

References

External links

* 1980 video games Arcade video games Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises MSX games Multidirectional shooters Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games Namco arcade games Tank simulation video games Video games developed in Japan {{arcade-stub