Mark’s away and no-one else feels like singing for SingTaku today, especially after Lullyph immediately cracked Friday’s effort (it was Wonder Boy In Monster World — well done!). So this is a one-off revival of a previous lunchtime favourite: HaiTaku. But why solve one HaiTaku when you could solve eight?
Here is an octet of HaiTakus on a common theme: they all refer to well-known classic 8-bit arcade games of the 1980s.
#1
I eat endlessly
in endless corridors of
dark blinking terror.
#2
My feet become cold.
Those diamonds take forever.
What’s that buzzing noise?
#3
This looks familiar.
This reminds me of something.
Batteries are fine.
#4
Jumping and jumping,
some leaping, lots of scorching.
Don’t monkey around.
#5
Pulling over lose
energy, push on speed it’s
the issue of now.
#6
Closing in on me
Dark forces cold and unseen
Oh my hip pocket
#7
The layers of dirt
connect with my openings —
Watch out for the rocks!
#8
Get to two hundred
and fifty-six and you’ll find
every thing stops.
Some of these are obvious; some are more cryptic. Have at it, retro citizens! Let’s hear your solutions (to one or to all) in the comments.
Comments
47 responses to “HaiTaku Returns: 8-Way 8-Bit Extravaganza”
#6 is EA’s fetish for microtransactions.
Well I guess #1 is Pac Man, #7 might be Dig Dug? And #8 makes me want to say Donkey Kong.
Correct for #1 and #7.
Pac-Man had a kill screen, so the corridors aren’t technically “endless”. 😛
We know about the kill screen (see #8). The “endless” refers to the looped corridors from one side of the screen to the other.
#8
Get to two hundred
and fifty-six and you’ll find
every thing stops.
We got a possible kill screen coming up! (PacMan)
Correct, well-spotted.
Tricky 😛
#1 Pacman
#4 Donkey Kong
#7 Dig Dug
#8 Also Pacman?
Correct for #4. Half the list down in 10 minutes . . .
1. The Dig.
2. The Dig.
3. The Dig.
4. The Dig.
5. The Dig.
6. The Dig.
7. The Dig.
8. The Dig.
*releases long-held cathartic breath*
1# pac-man
2# Boulder-dash
3# Commander Keen?
4# Donkey Kong
5# Racing game of some kind, spy hunter?
On the right track for #2 and #5, but not quite right in either case.
#2 – rockford #5 – pitstop?
Nope #2 (though you’re right in seeing Rockford as the arcade version of Boulder-Dash) And not quite for #5, but on the right track.
#3 – pokemon or zelda 2
#2 is Repton.
Pitstop 2 – Electric Boogaloo.
Could #5 be Spy Hunter?
It could not.
Is #6 Space Invaders?
It is. But for full points you have to explain why.
To summarize for convenience –
#1 Pacman
#4 Donkey Kong
#6 EA (Possibly Space Invaders)
#7 Dig Dug
#8 Pacman
Unanswered from above, is #2 Repton?
I also think #3 is Labyrinth
Wait, maybe #2 is actually Pengo…
Was wondering the same thing myself (was the first thing that popped in to my head) but I couldn’t remember if it had an arcade release.
Absolutely it did! Cold feet (ice), three diamonds on each level were always hard to push together, I think the enemies made a buzzing sound when breaking up ice blocks?
Yes, Pengo it is. (The enemies were called Sno-Bees.)
haha, yeah I only ever played it on my Atari ST, and even then I think it was a clone.
Might even have been Pengi.
Is number three Manic Mansion?
For five I like Chase HQ but I think I’m off.
Is #5 RoadBlasters?
I’m thinking #5 might be F-Zero
I thought that fit reasonably well as well, but it was released in 1990.
Well done folks — only #3 and #5 to go. You may need to think laterally here, but there is only one possible game that fully fits each clue.
#3 is Frogger right?
Correct! Now explain why for bonus points.
#3 – Megaman Xtreame?
#5 – Milk Race?
No.
#5 Chase HQ?
No.
No.
And so now only #5 is left . . .
Any chance #5 is the Pole Position series?
Congrats, it is indeed Pole Position. But why is that the only possible answer?
I can explain lines 1 and 2 I think, but the 3rd eludes me. Line one – Go off track and explode against the signs. Line 2 – Cabinet featured a wheel, pedal(s) and a 2 position gear lever. Can’t figure out line 3