Astro Boy (1983 video game)

Astro Boy (Japanese: 鉄腕アトム, Hepburn: Tetsuwan Atomu) is a 1983 side-scrolling arcade platform game developed and released by Namco based on the Manga series of the same name created by Osamu Tezuka and licensed from Tezuka Productions. It was distributed outside of Japan by Bally Midway. In the game, you control Astro as he fights his way through crooks, thugs and other robots while fighting a boss at the end of each level. Astro will need to avoid obstacles such as falling projectiles and explosives. Grabbing a large atom will make him temporairly invincible, causing enemies to be pushed back when they touch you.

Astro Boy was a commercial success in arcades, it was well recieved for it's gameplay, stage design, colorful graphics and soundtrack, although it was often criticized for it's difficulty. It's often cited as a jumpstarter for many future platform games like Namco's own Pac-Land as well as Super Mario Bros., Ghosts'n Goblins, Alex Kidd and Adventure Island. It was ported to several home consoles and computers including the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.