Dexanoid

Dexanoid is the largest and most complete homebrew game for the Nintendo 64 made by the folks at Dextrose . It’s an Arkanoid clone for the Nintendo 64 that adds a bit of a twist on the concept. It was developed by Protest Design, and released in December 1999.

You can find the ROM for Dexanoid here.

Dexanoid gameplay

The gameplay for Dexanoid is quite simple: Avoid missing ball for high score. You move the paddle from left to right to knock the ball back against a breakable wall until all the bricks are gone; and then you move on to the next level. There are 50 levels in total, and they contain a variety of blocks. Some require one hit, others multiple hits, some are indestructible and the special blocks drop upgrades for your paddle and ball. I only managed to make it to The Ridge, since I encountered a glitch that made the ball get stuck at the top of the level.

What sets this game apart from other Arkanoid style games is that it has a scrolling screen as well as several terrain features that make the level never be a perfect rectangle. This might not seem like a big difference at first, but it adds a whole level of challenge. Half of the time you’re playing, you can’t see the ball, so you have to familiarise yourself with the layout of the level and predict where it is going to bounce ahead of time.

As with most Arkanoid and Pong games, the centre of the paddle bounces the ball straight up, and the edges shoot it off in either direction. One odd thing that I noticed is that the vertical speed is always constant. The horizontal speed varies depending on where the ball enters contact with the paddle. This makes a bit strange when there’s a sudden change in angle since it appears that the ball is rapidly accelerating or decelerating and lacking any sense of momentum.

This is definitely worth having a look at it, as it’s the largest and most complete unique N64 game out there.

Dexanoid gallery

The main menu.

First page of credits.

Gameplay from the first level.

Level complete screen.

Description from dextrose.com

Title : Dexanoid R1

Author : Protest Design
Group : Protest Design
Date : 20.12.1999
Platform : N64
File : PD-DEXR1.zip
Size : 6742016 bytes
Downloads since December 1998 : 4749

Description :

This is a very professional looking Breakout/Arkanoid Clone which can compete easily with at least 90% of the commercial N64 Games in my opinion..
50 Levels, 20 backgrounds, 10 Musictracks, 40 different types of bricks, dozens of Soundeffects and Goodies are packed in this 128mbit rom.
Also most good emulators like Nemu, UltraHLE or TrWin for instance should run Dexanoid fine.

Long-Time Value due to High Score Tables, a bunch of Cheats and large amounts of levels.
Level-Editors and Information about Dexanoid are available on the Offical Dexanoid Homesite

Check it out, its worth the huge download!