Drop Off
Drop Off is a Breakout clone by Data East. The game was published in 1990 for the PC Engine as Drop Rock Hora Hora and subsequently saw a US release for the TurboGrafx-16 as Drop Off.
Gameplay
The game is a Breakout clone, where the player moves a paddle back and forth in order to destroy objects. Each stage has a set of the same object. Unlike Breakout and other comparable games, the player in Drop Off does not automatically lose a life if the paddle touches the floor and the player is never required to hit the objects in order to clear the stage. Instead, the player must avoid the series of objects that are scrolling vertically downward to move on to next stage, and the gameplay is practically identical to Cluster Buster, an earlier title on the DECO Cassette System. The player has the option of switching the direction of their paddle from vertical to horizontal during the game and is free to move the paddle anywhere on the screen.Drop Off contains 16 stages divided in 5 rounds.
Release
Drop Off was re-released on Nintendo's Virtual Console in North America on July 30, 2007 and in Japan on August 28, 2007. It was released for the first time ever in Europe by Nintendo on August 3, 2007 on the Virtual Console. The publisher was G-Mode which currently owns the rights to most of Data East's video games. The game was delisted from the Virtual Console in early March 2012.Reception
Drop Off received mixed reception from critics since its release on the TurboGrafx-16, most of which reviewed it as an import title. Famitsus four reviewers called it "a deformed Breakout-type" game that felt more modified than Arkanoid due to its ruleset, but they commended the ability to freely move the paddle around the screen was commended. Génération 4s Philippe Querleux regarded it as a "grape breaker" because of the title's use of fruits instead of bricks. Joysticks Jean-Marc Demoly also noted its use of fruits instead of bricks and limited animation in the anime-style introduction sequence. Regardless, Demoly stated that Drop Off was a "well realized" game inspired by Arkanoid and similar titles on computers, giving positive remarks to the audiovisual presentation, animations and controls. Tilts Alain Huyghues-Lacour compared it with Addictaball for Atari ST due to both titles sharing similar principles. Nevertheless, Huyghues-Lacour found the game to be fun and interesting than other Arkanoid clones, noting that the descending fruit pieces added pressure into the gameplay and praised the visuals, animations and sound effects, but criticized the controls for being less ergonomic than a mouse for these types of games.Power Play Henrik Fisch regarded Drop Off as a nice but non-addictive title, criticizing the audiovisual presentation and other aspects. VideoGames & Computer Entertainments B.W. noted the ability to freely move the paddle around the screen but expressed mixed thoughts about the game's playability, and criticized both the visuals and sound. TurboPlays Donn Nauert concurred with B.W. when reviewing the title, giving a mixed remark to its playability and criticizing the graphics and sound. In contrast to the other reviewers, AllGames Shawn Sackenheim called it "one of the best puzzle games on the system." Sackenheim praised its fast action and "tried and true breakout formula", but criticized the visuals for being sparse and repetitive gameplay.