Arkanoid vs Space Invaders (アルカノイド vs インベーダー, Arukanoido vs Inbēdā) is a mobile game developed by Taito and published by Square Enix worldwide in May 2017. The game is a crossover between the Arkanoid and Space invaders franchises, featuring a mixed gameplay taking elements from both games.
Story[]
The game starts with the message: "Invaders from another dimension have launched an all-out assault on the galaxy. Dubbed "Space Invaders", these mysterious life-forms have crushed countless planetary civilizations in their conquest.
To counter this dire threat, the surviving members of the human race have gathered their greatest heroes, and developed two space weapons to strike back at the Invaders: the photon-powered mothership Arkanoid, and the space skirmisher Vaus.
These weapons are mankind's only chance to repel the Invader threat and turn the tide of battle against the alien marauders. The Arkanoid and Vaus have been deployed to the front line. The time has come for the counter-attack that will decide the fate of the entire galaxy..."
After the message, the player is called by an emergency warning and encounters Nadia Vivie at Sector Nine. You battle a giant invader, and Nadia introduces herself afterwards.
Throughout the game, Nadia looses her stern appearance and reveals a softer and more playful nature.
After destroying all the invader forces, the player is informed that the remaining invaders are staging an attack on the nearby galaxy. After agreeing to fight off the rest of the invasion together, the game ends and is left open for a possible sequel.
Gameplay[]
The player controls the Vaus inside a "safe zone" on the bottom of the screen, using it to deflect the bullets from the Invaders, bouncing them back at them. Much like in Arkanoid the shots will bounce at different angles depending on which portion of Vaus they hit. Additionally, the player can make a "smash" by quickly swiping the Vaus up, making it travel straight up. While the Vaus cannot be damaged by enemy shots, each stage runs on a time limit, forcing the player to restart the level when the time is over. Each stage features a different formation of invaders which must be defeated, as well as bricks. In hard mode, each shot that reaches the bottom of the play field will remove time from the time limit.
Deflecting the enemies' attacks, as well as collecting orange items, will raise the "attack gauge", which makes the Vaus enter "attack mode" when full. When attack mode is activated, the Vaus will turn into a bow, which when fired will shoot a ball which will bounce off walls and bricks but pass through regular invaders. While attack mode is active the timer will freeze as well. Upon beating a boss every 15 stages, the player will unlock the opportunity to recruit a handful of characters from various Taito franchises as copilots in exchange for medals, each of the copilots that you can hire offering a special skill either immediately or during the attack mode.
Characters[]
| Unlock | Name | Game | Ability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Nadia Vivie | Original | none |
| Lv 15 | Bob | Bubble Bobble | Fires missies upwards |
| Soldier | Front Line | Extends the Vaus's length | |
| Bubby | Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 | Accelerates deflected bullets and the ball | |
| Lv 30 | Chack'n | Chack'n Pop | Grabs bullets and the ball, then fires them upwards |
| Nico | Spica Adventure | Allows the ball to pass through bricks | |
| Spy | Elevator Action | Slows down enemies, bullets and bricks | |
| Lv 45 | Iron Fossil | Dariusburst | Raises the ball's power, causing greater damage to grey bricks and bosses |
| Nico Kanzaki | Original | Summons a UFO which continually shoots at Vaus | |
| Monsta | Bubble Bobble | Extends the Vaus's length | |
| Lv 60 | Drunk | Bubble Bobble | Freezes enemies and bricks during attack mode |
| Ninja | The Ninja Warriors | Splits all bullets on the safe zone and bounces them back | |
| Yume | Groove Coaster 3EX | Splits the ball in two | |
| Lv 75 | Lufia | Lufia and the Fortress of Doom | Attracts enemy bullets |
| Bub | Bubble Bobble | Gives a bigger boost to the attack meter when deflecting bullets | |
| Kage | The Legend of Kage | Fires missiles upwards | |
| Nancy | Chase H.Q. | Deflected bullets and the ball home unto enemies | |
| Lv 90 | Proco | Darius | Slows down enemies, bullets and bricks |
| C-Mond | Puchi Carat | Grabs bullets and the ball, then fires them upwards | |
| Riga Pratica | Dariusburst | Allows the ball to pass through bricks | |
| Lv 105 | Mr. ESC | Exit | Control the ball's movement |
| Reika | Time Gal | Adds extra time when deflecting shots and the ball | |
| Wendy Ryan | Psychic Force | Accelerates deflected bullets and the ball | |
| Lv 120 | Ti2 | Dariusburst | Deflected bullets and the ball home unto enemies |
| Tetsu-Chan | Densha de GO! | Freezes enemies and bricks during attack mode | |
| Keith Evans | Psychic Force | Raises the ball's power, causing greater damage to grey bricks and bosses | |
| Lv 135 | Kunoichi | The Ninja Warriors | Splits all bullets on the safe zone and bounces them back |
| Emilio Michaelov | Psychic Force | Attracts enemy bullets | |
| Sayo-chan | KiKi KaiKai | Control the ball's movement | |
| Lv 150 | Patra-co | Cleopatra Fortune | Adds extra time when deflecting shots and the ball |
| Burn Griffiths | Psychic Force | Gives a bigger boost to the attack meter when deflecting bullets | |
| Ti2 (Overclock) | Dariusburst | The attack gauge never drains during attack mode | |
| Linka | Groove Coaster | Splits the ball into multiple ones | |
| Tap 10 Nadia icons | Nadia (Awakening) | Original | Gets more medals when collecting medal items |
| Use 8 boost items | Kaori Tachibana | Kirameki Star Road | Gets more medals when collecting medal items |
| Play Ranking mode once | Zac | Pu-Li-Ru-La | Creates a shield on the bottom to deflect shots and the ball |
| Get 25 gold badges | Tiki | The New Zealand Story | Creates a shield on the bottom to deflect shots and the ball |
| Perform 5000 smashes | Sonic Blast Man | Sonic Blast Man | Allows a smashed ball to pass through all invaders and bricks |
| Enter attack mode 300 times | Ptolemy | The Fairyland Story | The attack gauge never drains during attack mode |
| Defeat 20 bosses | Great Thing | Dariusburst | Summons a battleship which gives support fire |