93. Championship Lode Runner (Hudson Soft, PC (Famicom) 1983)

Championship Lode Runner is the sequel to the previous game, #92 Lode Runner. This version doesn't change anything about the gameplay, but contains levels that are much more difficult than the original, intended for players who had already mastered Lode Runner. Championship Lode Runner was originally released on the Apple II computer in 1983 (the same year as the original), but this version was ported to the Famicom in 1985.

I didn't love or hate the original Lode Runner, and the prospect of playing harder levels made me assume that I would enjoy Championship Lode Runner even less, but I found it to be at least an interesting experience. While the levels in the original Lode Runner were all fairly normal video game levels, the championship edition ratchets things up by trying out much stranger levels designs that were maybe more fun to think about than they were to play. Levels generally fell into one of 3 categories:

- I have no idea what to do (these were typically the more puzzle oriented levels centered around the digging mechanics which I haven't fully been able to wrap my brain around).
- I know what to do but do not have the patience skill to pull it off (knowing exactly how long it takes a hole to fill itself in is crucial).
- And then one level required almost no digging so I was actually able to beat that one.

The level skipping functionality continued to be a blessing, though in this version you can only freely skip through levels 1-10.

3/5, harder but more interesting than the original