How to play Crazy Climber online
- Reach up with the arms: up arrow
- Pull the climber up to the next ledge: down arrow
- Move sideways: left and right arrow keys (only when the arms are straight)
- Choose a game variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Start the game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Climbing speed: F4 toggles the Player 1 difficulty switch, F9 the Player 2 switch
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
To climb, you push the stick forward to raise the climber’s arms, then pull it back to haul him up to the next ledge. Rocking the stick up and down in a steady rhythm is the fastest way up. Each row you climb scores points, and each building is worth more than the last: 100 points per row on the first building, rising to 400 on the fourth.
The buildings fight back. Windows slide shut, and if one closes on both of your hands, you fall. A Mad Doctor leans out and drops flowerpots, fruit baskets and buckets of water. A white condor dive-bombs you with eggs. If you are holding a ledge firmly with both arms straight, these objects bounce off harmlessly, but if they hit you between windows, they knock you off. Every hit costs you 100 bonus points either way. A live wire hanging from an electric sign shocks you as you climb past, and 11 shocks will make you fall. Nothing protects you from a steel girder, so get out of its way.
Bonus points work like a timer. Each building starts with a bonus that drops by 100 every ten seconds, so a fast climb is worth much more. At the top, you have 30 seconds to catch the helicopter, or you lose the whole bonus. You start with five climbers, and a new one appears where the last one fell.
Variations and switches
There are ten variations: five for one player and five for two. Four of them let you choose which building to start on. The fifth, Novice, always starts on the first building, and you only fall if a window shuts on your hands or the live wire shocks you more than eleven times. The difficulty switch sets the climber’s speed: in position A he moves slowly and has trouble grabbing ledges, and in position B he moves faster.
Tips
- Keep the difficulty switch on B. The faster climber is much easier to control.
- Stop with your arms straight. When something falls towards you, finish your move and hold the ledge so it bounces off.
- Watch the windows above you. Don’t reach into one that is closing; move sideways to an open column.
- Hurry past the sign. Every shock costs bonus points.
- Start with Novice to learn the climbing rhythm safely.
History
Crazy Climber was developed by Nichibutsu and Jorudan and reached arcades in Japan in October 1980, with Taito handling distribution in North America. It was the third highest-earning arcade game of 1980 in Japan, and its two joysticks each controlled one side of the climber’s body.
The 2600 version was one of four games sold only through the Atari Club, Atari’s mail-order service, although some copies later turned up in toy store clearance sales. Because it was hard to buy in shops, it is one of the rarer Atari-published cartridges and is sought after by collectors.
Similar games to play next
- Spider-Man – climb a skyscraper by web to stop the Green Goblin
- Towering Inferno – rescue people trapped in a burning skyscraper
- King Kong – climb a building to rescue a captive from a giant ape
- Donkey Kong – another 1980s arcade climbing classic on the 2600