2019-04-01_Retro_Gamer

Q The two-stick layout for

Robotron

came about because Eugene’s arm was in plaster after an automobile

accident and he wanted to improve upon

Berzerk

’s

control scheme.

Robotron: 2084 fact

E

ugene Jarvis certainly didn’t like to be conventional when it came to control setups for his numerous arcade games.

In our last issue we looked at the challenging layout

of

Defender,

with its distinctive five-button layout, and this time

we’re going in the complete opposite direction by focusing on a game of Eugene’s that has no fire buttons at all.

Whilst

Robotron

’s setup is certainly unusual for the time, it

certainly wasn’t original as Taito’s

Gun Fight

beat it to the punch

by a good six years. Having said that,

Robotron

’s identical-looking

sticks are a lot more pleasing to the eye than the configuration used by Taito, and they feel a lot nicer, too. And it’s important that

Robotron

’s joysticks are comfortable to the touch, as you’ll be

using them a lot.

Robotron

is an extremely physical game; those

sticks need to put up with a lot of abuse as you’re constantly being assaulted by enemies from all sides, and those two controllers are your only way out. You know when you’ve had a game of

Robotron

because it was one of the few arcade games

 DEVELOPER: of the time that challenged your brain as well as your stamina.

Vid Kidz

 YEAR:

19 8 2

Robotron: 2084