Atomic Robo-Kid

• Title — Atomic Robo-Kid • Developer — UPL • Publisher — Nikom • Designer — Tsutomu Fujisawa • Platforms — Arcade, PC Engine, Sega Genesis, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, X68000 • Genre — Scrolling shooter • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer

• Illustration — Screenshot The player controls the titular character through six stages of increasing difficulty, facing an alien "governor" boss (which is so large as to be considered a level in and of themself, as some of the bosses take up several screens) at the end of each level, followed by a "duel" level against other Robo-Kid sized robots. Many levels branch into others, giving the player the choice over which zone to enter next, increasing replayability. Robo-Kid can collect four different weapons (whichever weapon is selected is lost when Robo-kid loses a life) in addition to his default gun, collect powerups for a shield that activates on enemy contact, plus rapid fire and speed powerups. The player can also encounter a friendly dinosaur-looking robot that sells weapons and shields to Robo-kid using extra lives as currency.

The game was ported to the PC Engine, Sega Genesis, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, and X68000. A demo was distributed of the ZX Spectrum version before it was cancelled.

In Japan, Game Machine listed Atomic Robo-Kid on their March 1, 1989 issue as being the eighth-most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

The game was released by Hamster Corporation (its current rights owner) as part of their Arcade Archives series on the PlayStation 4 in 2016 and Nintendo Switch in 2018.