Roc'n Rope
(written as Roc 'N Rope on the American flyer and in Konami Arcade Classics) is a 1983 platform video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It was designed by Tokuro Fujiwara, later known for his career at Capcom. The player controls a flashlight and harpoon-gun equipped archaeologist who must ascend a series of rocky platforms to reach a phoenix bird.
Roc'n Rope
- Date
- 1983
- Genre
- platformer
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
(written as Roc 'N Rope on the American flyer and in Konami Arcade Classics) is a 1983 platform video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It was designed by Tokuro Fujiwara, later known for his career at Capcom. The player controls a flashlight and harpoon-gun equipped archaeologist who must ascend a series of rocky platforms to reach a phoenix bird.
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wikidata · Q7353649 · wikipedia · Roc'n Rope
In this article
The object
The object
Coleco released versions of Roc'n Rope for the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision in 1984. Hamster Corporation released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, as well as their Arcade Archives 2 series for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in December 2025.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Roc'n Rope • Developer — Konami • Publisher — Coleco (ports) • Designer — Tokuro Fujiwara • Genre — Platform • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Arcade, Atari 2600, ColecoVision • Released — Arcade 2600, ColecoVision 1984
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Gameplay screenshot The player has to avoid ferocious man-sized dinosaurs and red-haired cavemen without any direct means of offense. The only ways to defeat the opponents are to either daze them with the flashlight, or wait for them to be suspended on a harpoon rope and cause them fall down, an element which adds a certain complexity to the game. Bonus items to collect include fallen phoenix feathers and phoenix eggs, which grant the player invulnerability from the prehistoric denizens for a short period of time.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Japan
Named but not plotted · 1
Roc'n Rope is associated with Japan.
Country
Reception
Reception
Roc'n Rope was among Konami's early arcade hits, including Scramble (1981), Frogger (1981), and Yie Ar Kung-Fu (1984).
Legacy
Legacy
Roc'n Rope was the first "wire action" game. It became the basis for Capcom's 1987 game Bionic Commando, which Tokuro Fujiwara intended to be an expanded version of Roc'n Rope.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.News: Konami Buys Interlogic. Play Meter. 10. 23. 9. December 1984.
- 2.Amusement Press, Inc. Overseas Readers Column: Konami Unveiled Its "Rock'n Rope". Game Machine. 210. 26. 15 April 1983.
- 3.Akagi, Masumi. アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005). Amusement News Agency. 120–1. 13 October 2006. 978-4990251215.
- 4.Yarwood, Jack. An Early Arcade Title From The Creator of Ghosts 'n Goblins & Bionic Commando Is Heading To Consoles. Time Extension. 2025-12-10.
- 5.A Conversation With. Kaz Kozuki: the Konami chief who put TNT into video's arsenal with TMNT. RePlay. 15. 6. 201–2. March 1990.
- 6.The Man Who Made Ghosts’n Goblins: Tokuro Fujiwara Interview , Continue, Vol. 12, 2003
- 7.Roc 'n Rope. Atari Mania.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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