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Klax
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Name:
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Klax |
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| Company: |
Atari |
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Model #:
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CX-7888 |
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Programmer:
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David Dentt (Programmer) & Jerry Huber
(Graphics) |
| Year: |
1992 |
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Released?
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No
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Notes:
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Port of the 1989
Atari coin-op by David Akers and Mark Stephen Pierce |
If you were hanging out in arcades in the early nineties, then
you know they all had three things in common. Bright
colors, amazing sounds, and an unmistakable air of 'coolness'.
If any one game embodies the essence of the early 90's
it's Klax. Not only was Klax a refreshingly original
concept in an era of 'Me Too!' beat 'em up games, but it was
also amazingly addictive. It was the nineties, and it was
definitely time for Klax!
Klax is a puzzle game along the same lines as Dr. Mario and
Columns. The concept is simple, as colored tiles come down
the conveyer belt at the top of the screen you must catch them
drop them into the bin below. If you line up three tiles of
the same color you score a "Klax" (hence the name of the game).
Klaxes can be scored horizontally, vertically, or
diagonally. Each type is worth a different amount of
points. In addition to the simple Klaxes, there are advanced
patterns that are worth more points and can even trigger hidden
events!
Depending on the type of wave your goal is one of the following:
| Klax Wave |
You need to complete a certain number of
Klaxes (any type) |
| Diagonal Wave |
You need to complete a certain number of
Diagonals |
| Horizontal Wave |
You need to complete a certain number of
Horizontals |
| Point Wave |
You must score a certain number of points |
| Tile Wave |
You must survive a certain number of tiles |
The paddle can only hold six tiles, after that
they will begin to fall off. If you don't want a
particular tile you can temporarily throw it back by pressing
up, but eventually it will come back down the conveyer.
Every time a tile falls off a miss counter lights up, when
all your miss counters are lit up it's game over. To help
you in your task, occasionally you will get a special glowing
tile. These glowing tiles are a wild card and can be used
for any color. Wild tiles are necessary to complete some
of the more advanced patterns such as the Ultra Star and Tengen
Stax. , but use them wisely as they are few and far
between. For more information on these advanced
patterns check out KlaxWorld.com.
Of course Klax wouldn't be one of the greatest
puzzle games of all time if didn't contain a few secrets.
By completing the "Big X (a 5x5 X pattern) on certain
waves, you can warp ahead to the higher levels. Completing
the Big X is rather difficult as you must place the center tile
last (otherwise you'll just score a diagonal), but is the secret
to getting those amazingly high scores. The 7800 version
of Klax is unique as it contains three"Impossible" levels.
These secret levels can be accessed after beating all 100
waves.
Impossible Level 1
 
All you have to do is get one simple horizontal,
how hard can that be? Look, they even set you up with two
like colored tiles! Just drop one in and you're golden.
Unfortunately all you'll get on this level are rust
colored tiles, no yellows or greens. Hmm... They also seem
to have neglected to give you three empty spaces to make your
own rust colored Klax. How about using the two rust
colored tiles in column one and three by stacking four rust
tiles in the second column? Wait a minute, dropping the
3rd tile scores a vertical Klax! How on earth do you get
four in that column?
Impossible Level 2
If you thought the first impossible level was
bad, then you're gonna freak when you see this one. Here
you only have to get one diagonal, how hard can that be?
Once again they've set you up with several tiles, just
stack a few in the center column and you're done. Wait a
minute, all the tiles on this level are wild tiles! How do
we make a diagonal Klax without having a horizontal or a
vertical Klax first?
Impossible Level 3
Unlike the first two impossible levels, this one
doesn't have any devious puzzles involved. This level is
just a straight forward point wave. Unfortunately it's a
impossible point wave! True to the hint's words, the
game is cheating this time. Try as hard as want, you'll
never score those 140,000 points... Or will you?
Patience is the key....
While the 7800 version Klax may be one of the
best home versions out there, it was sadly never released.
Around the time Klax was completed Atari decided to drop
all support for the 7800, so many games that were completed or
nearly so were shelved. Thankfully in 2002 Lee Krueger
of ResQsoft was able to contact the programmer and obtain
permission to sell reproductions to eager Atari 7800
enthusiasts But one has to ask, if it's now the 2000's,
is there still time for Klax?
| Version |
Cart Text |
Description |
| ?/??/92 |
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Final Version |
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to 7800 Software
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