Elevator Action is an action game that Taito released in Japanese arcades in June 1983 and in North America in July 1983. The player is Agent 17, codename Otto, who enters a 30-story building from the roof, collects secret documents hidden behind red doors and escapes to a car waiting in the basement. Enemies can be shot, jump-kicked, crushed by elevators or hit by falling light fixtures, and Otto can shoot out the lights to darken an area.
It was Taito's first game sold as a conversion kit in North America. The Famicom version, ported by Micronics, came out in Japan on 28 June 1985, and the NES version followed in North America in August 1987. Ports for MSX, Sega's SG-1000, Game Boy and many home computers followed, and the arcade sequel Elevator Action Returns arrived in 1994.
Hamster added the arcade game to Arcade Archives on PS4 in 2017 and on Switch in 2019, and Elevator Action -Returns- S-Tribute, released on Steam in November 2022, also contains the original for one player.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Elevator Action | Arcade | July 1983 | Taito | 1 |
| NA | Elevator Action | NES | August 1987 | Taito | 1 |
| NA | Elevator ActionVirtual Console (NES version); Japan April 2007 | Wii | March 2007 | — | 1 |
| JP | エレベーターアクションErebētā Akushon | Arcade | June 1983 | Taito | 1 |
| JP | エレベーターアクションErebētā AkushonFamicom; port by Micronics | NES | Jun 28, 1985 | Taito | 1 |
| JP | エレベーターアクション | MSX | 1985 | Taito | 3 |
| JP | エレベーターアクションSG-1000, made by Sega under license from Taito | Other | 1985 | Sega | 1 |
| EU | Elevator ActionAmstrad CPC and Commodore 64 versions also 1987 | ZX Spectrum | 1987 | — | 3 |
| JP | エレベーターアクションReworked version with power-ups and new weapons | Game Boy | Aug 9, 1991 | Taito | 3 |
| JP | Elevator Action / Elevator Action ReturnsJapanese Wikipedia gives 14 February 1997, Spanish Wikipedia 28 February 1997 (Taito Variety Pack) | Saturn | February 1997 | Taito | 3 |
| JP | アーケードアーカイブス エレベーターアクションArcade Archives | PlayStation 4 | Oct 26, 2017 | Hamster | 3 |
| JP | アーケードアーカイブス エレベーターアクションArcade Archives | Switch | Mar 14, 2019 | Hamster | 3 |
| JP | Taito MilestonesCompilation | Switch | Feb 24, 2022 | — | 3 |
| WW | Elevator Action -Returns- S-TributeThe original arcade game is included (one player only); also on Switch, PS4 and Xbox One | Windows | Nov 30, 2022 | — | 2 |
Also known as: エレベーターアクション JP3Erebētā Akushon JP3Elevator Action EX WW1Elevator Action Old & New WW1
Box art by region
NA Elevator Action 
JP エレベーターアクション
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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DifficultyFamicom (JP)
In the Famicom version, enemies become aggressive after about three minutes, much sooner than in the arcade, and the music does not change when it happens.3
-
GraphicsSG-1000
Sega's SG-1000 version draws the hero entirely in brown and the enemies in blue without hats, and drops the opening scene where the spy lands on the roof on a rope.3
-
GameplayGame Boy
The Game Boy version is closer to a remix: it adds a health bar, new enemies such as dogs and robots, special weapons from question-mark doors and a final bonus stage where the hero climbs up to rescue a heroine.3
Where to play legally today
-
Steam Purchase
Elevator Action -Returns- S-Tribute
Original 1983 arcade game included, one player only
Checked: 2026-10-132store.steampowered.com
Reception
Game Machine named it the most successful new table arcade unit of July 1983, and it topped the magazine's table cabinet chart from September to November 1983. In the US it was one of the five highest-grossing arcade games of 1984 in street locations and won a Certificate of Merit at the 1985 Arkie Awards.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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