Arcade Hits - Joust & Defender (USA, Europe) (GBC)

Arcade Hits - Joust & Defender offers a dual experience with two legendary arcade titles. In Joust, players embody a brave knight riding a giant ostrich. Your primary mission is to soar above platforms and eliminate opposing ostrich-riding knights. The unique combat mechanic requires players to collide with opponents from a higher position to defeat them. Controlling your altitude and direction is done by pressing a button to flap, demanding precise timing and quick reflexes. Levels often feature multiple tiers of platforms and environmental hazards like molten lava at the bottom, making falls perilous. When an opposing knight is defeated, an egg falls, and players must collect it before it hatches into a new, more dangerous foe. The objective is to clear all enemies from the screen to advance to the next level, with difficulty increasing progressively.

Meanwhile, Defender places players in the cockpit of an advanced spaceship, flying through a continuously horizontally scrolling planetary landscape. The game is an intense battle for survival where you must protect a group of innocent astronauts on the ground. Alien enemies will appear from all sides, attempting to abduct the astronauts. Your task is to shoot down all threats, utilizing your laser gun and limited smart bombs. If an astronaut is abducted, you must quickly pursue and destroy the enemy before they carry the astronaut to the top of the screen where they will vanish permanently. Losing all astronauts or having your ship destroyed results in a game over. Defender is renowned for its fast pace, large variety of enemies, and a radar system that helps players track both enemies and astronauts. Both games demand precise control skills, tactical thinking, and quick reactions to overcome increasingly difficult challenges.