Grobda is an arcade game developed by Namco and released in 1984. The game was designed by Masanobu Endō as spin-off of his previous hit Xevious, and the tank you control in the game originally appeared as an enemy in that game. Grobda runs on the Namco Super Pac-Man hardware,
The game is a top-down perspective multi-directional shooter. You control the titular Grobda, a powerful tank armed with a laser cannon, partake in a dangerous sport known as "battling", run by the National Battling Association (NBA). In each battling, you must destroy all of the enemy tanks without getting destroyed yourself. In addition to the laser cannon, the Grobda has a protective barrier, of which can be activated with the press of a button, but doing so will drain your energy gauge. When the gauge falls below certain levels, you will be unable to keep using the barrier, and attacks will destroy you. When enemies are defeated, they create a large circular explosion that destroy any other tanks that enter its range, including your own.
Grobda has been re-released multiple times throughout the years in the Namco Museum series. The Nintendo Wii compilation Namco Museum Megamix features a minigame based on the game called Grobda Remix, in which Pac Man drives the Grobda and is tasked with racking up a high score within two minutes.
Get ready:
- A Winner Is You: Upon clearing the final battling, the player is presented with a short message congratulating them for clearing all the battlings, before also showing the credits.
- Breakout Mook Character: The game puts the player in control of a tank enemy from Xevious.
- Brought to You by the Letter "S": Your lives on the HUD are represented by the letter "G".
- Deadly Game: The game is focused on a deadly sporting event where the player blows up their competitors' tanks and avoid being blownup themselves.
- Kaizo Trap: Even if you destroy all the enemies, it's possible to still lose a life if you drive into their explosion before it disappears, though you will still get to move on to the next stage.
- No Plot? No Problem!: The game has zero plot beyond piloting a tank in a hazardous sport.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: You can only take one hit before exploding. This goes for the enemies as well, but some have their own barriers, so you will have to hit them with enough shots to lower their power before you can hit them.
- One-Word Title: The game is known as simply Grobda.
- Promoted to Playable: The Grobda was previously an enemy in Xevious, but it's the main playable vehicle here.
- Tank Goodness: You drive a futuristic tank and fire lasers at other tanks.