When Atari unleashed Breakout on an unsuspecting world in 1976, it was an immediate hit, as players did their best to hit layers of bricks using a mere paddle to control a ball similar to the company's earlier success, Pong. Imitators followed in droves but one game stands out as a worthy competitor – Taito’s Arkanoid, released a decade later and full of interesting variations.

While the game looked much like its predecessor at first glance, looks can be deceiving. Sure, there was a paddle and a ball, and should said paddle ever miss the ball, leaving it fall to the bottom of the screen, one a player’s three lives was sacrificed as a result. It was the fundamentals of pinball, designed for a new generation. This is where the comparison between Breakout and Arkanoid ended.

With each level, blocks were introduced in a new pattern and some were even impervious to damage, meaning they would have to be worked around. Some blocks were a little more robust and had to be hit multiple times before they would destruct. Then there was those pesky brick wall that surrounded some of the blocks. With only a small opening that exposed the block’s vulnerability, it took careful aim to penetrate this brick fortress.

Perhaps the most exiting innovations were to the paddle itself. Certain blocks were labeled with color-coded letter. Knock one of these babies out, then intercept the falling letter, and soon that regular paddle was ready to do some amazing things. Hitting the letter “D” for example would split the ball into three. An “S” acted to slow the ball down considerably, giving better opportunity to aim and react. “E” increased the paddle size and “B” opened up a welcome escape hatch at the bottom of the screen, which immediately moved a player to the next level, without having to complete the task at hand. The letter “P” had alternate abilities – the pink version gave you an additional life and the red version armed your paddle with a gun, allowing you to shoot as many blocks as you could muster. And if all of this became too frantic, too confusing, hitting the letter “C” would mercifully return everything to the original settings. And that could be quite a relief.

Far from just being a clone, Arkanoid earned a solid reputation of its own, thanks to its unique approach to a time-tested classic. As a result of its overwhelming popularity, Taito followed up with a sequel in 1987 called Arkenoid 2: Revenge of Doh which added even more interesting twists to an already entertaining game. And ten years after it’s introduction, the game got a facelift for its debut on the Sony Playstation console as Arkenoid Returns, introducing the experience to legions of gamers too young to have ever heard of that mysterious thing called Pong.