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Elevator Action

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The player assumes the role of a spy who infiltrates a building filled with elevators. He must collect secret documents from the building and traverse the 30 levels of the building using an increasingly complex series of elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind clos...

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Developer
Taito

Released on
1983

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Platform

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

The player assumes the role of a spy who infiltrates a building filled with elevators. He must collect secret documents from the building and traverse the 30 levels of the building using an increasingly complex series of elevators. The player is pursued by enemy agents who appear from behind closed doors. The player must outwit them via force or evasion. Successful completion of a level involves collecting all the secret documents and traversing the building from top to bottom. In the lower floors of the building, the elevator systems are so complex that some puzzle-solving skills are needed.

Elevator Action

Overview & History

Developed and published by Taito in 1983, Elevator Action is a definitive milestone in arcade history, pioneering multi-level vertical platforming long before the 16-bit era. Players assume the role of Agent 17, a suave, trench-coated spy codenamed Otto, whose mission is dangerously straightforward yet fiendishly difficult: infiltrate a massive, 30-story secret subterranean building, collect top-secret documents scattered across designated red doors, and successfully escape via the basement parking garage. Running on dedicated Z80-based hardware, the game stood out for its meticulous architectural design and smooth multi-directional scrolling across a sprawling cross-section of the skyscraper. Taito’s masterpiece combined tactical stealth with frantic gunplay, forcing players to constantly calculate the vertical risks of elevator shafts and escalators while evading legions of trigger-happy enemy agents.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay revolves around vertical traversal and high-stakes timing. Agent 17 must navigate a labyrinth of offices accessed exclusively through a complex network of working elevators and long escalators. The building is heavily guarded by enemy agents who can shoot, duck, or emerge suddenly from behind closed doors. Otto is armed with a standard-issue pistol, but survival requires environmental mastery. Players can crush enemies by riding elevators directly on top of them, severing overhead cables to drop elevator cars like lethal weights, or shooting ceiling light fixtures to plunge entire hallways into temporary darkness. Each level demands collecting all red-door documents while avoiding enemy crossfire. If Otto lingers too long on a floor, a blaring alarm sounds, speeding up enemies and introducing relentless, unkillable red snipers that force immediate descent.