Lode Runner III - The Golden Labrynth

[Seahawk]

Retro Uprising - Arcade - Lode Runner III - The Golden Labyrinth

This game deserves its own thread for discussion. So, discuss.

I remember having a version of Lode Runner for my MS-DOS/Windows 95 computer back in the mid 90s.

At first I thought I really hated this game, but I soon found myself liking it more and more. I still dislike the randomness of this game, which affects whether enemies pick up or drop treasure, where the initial super treasure is located, where a certain special enemy is buried on each stage, and most annoyingly, where the enemies spawn in the sky when they are buried. It's one hell of an RNG (random number generator) to be sure.

Aside from that, this game requires a lot of strategy to proceed, and since this is an arcade game, the puzzles ramp up in difficulty extremely quickly. Getting that gold will require creative block breaking. Also, the enemies, have an extremely basic route-planning AI that can be affected by your slightest change of position, whether you grab a ladder, your position on said ladder, etc. It basically manages to be so dumb that it manages to actually be effective in catching up with you.
Even if you have a stage route set up, the very sensitive nature of the enemy following program ensures a different game every time.

Still, it manages to be fun. It certainly can be a brain buster at times.

[Slime Slayer]

I don't see why you guys hate the randomness, it's the one thing that keeps this from simply being a trial and error game. That being said it has grown on me these last few days, that might just be because of I played the bejeezus out of it. It's definitely one that after the contest I won't be playing again.

[TrakMastaTom]

I wouldn't dislike the randomness if I didn't feel like I get ripped off so ofter.

Those little robot dudes dropping 8000 points instead of 3000 points could be the difference between first and second place. Which is very frustrating.

And sometimes on that fourth level when you kill enemies they spawn in the worst place possible. Actually, most the time.

But this game has actually grown on me a bit too.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by stevencassidy13

I don't see why you guys hate the randomness, it's the one thing that keeps this from simply being a trial and error game. That being said it has grown on me these last few days, that might just be because of I played the bejeezus out of it. It's definitely one that after the contest I won't be playing again.

I think you'll change your mind if someone beats your high score =P.

Originally Posted by TrakMastaTom

I wouldn't dislike the randomness if I didn't feel like I get ripped off so ofter.

Those little robot dudes dropping 8000 points instead of 3000 points could be the difference between first and second place. Which is very frustrating.

And sometimes on that fourth level when you kill enemies they spawn in the worst place possible. Actually, most the time.

But this game has actually grown on me a bit too.

That pretty much sums up how I feel.
It's very annoying on the third stage with the tall ladders, I have yet to manage a 3x bonus on that level.
I would have beat stage 7 on my latest score but when I dug a pit to trap the enemies I uncovered the secret robot by accident, which screwed me because the enemies walked on top of it to kill me =(.

[SolarLune]

It's a pretty crazy game, and yes the secret robot is hiding all of the time, which can be annoying. What's interesting is that this and Lode Runner 4, I think, has a completely different co-op campaign; me and my friend tried to beat it, but it wasn't going to happen.