{{Short description|1980 video game}} {{for|the 1958 Korean War film|Tank Battalion (film)}}{{for|the WW2 US armored unit|Separate tank battalion}} {{Infobox video game | title = Tank Battalion | image = Tank Battalion flyer.png | caption = North American arcade flyer | developer = Namco | publisher = {{vgrelease|JP|Namco|NA|Game Plan}} | designer = Shinichirou Okamoto<ref name="Szczepaniak">{{cite book |last1=Szczepaniak |first1=John |title=The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers |date=11 August 2014 |isbn=978-0992926007 |pages=201 |edition=First |url=https://archive.org/details/TheUntoldHistoryOfJapaneseGameDevelopersVol.2JohnSzczepaniak/page/n361?q=cutie+q |accessdate=12 August 2019}}</ref> | programmer = Kazukuni Hiraoka<ref name="Szczepaniak"/> | series = ''Tank Battalion'' | platforms = Arcade, MSX, Sord M5 | release = '''Arcade'''{{vgrelease|JP|October 1980<ref name="Akagi">{{cite book |last1=Akagi |first1=Masumi |title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) |trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005) |date=13 October 2006 |publisher=Amusement News Agency |language=ja |location=Japan |isbn=978-4990251215 |pages=52, 118 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n53/mode/2up}}</ref>|NA|March 1981<ref name="Akagi"/>}} | genre = Multidirectional shooter | modes = Single-player, multiplayer }} {{nihongo foot|'''''Tank Battalion'''''|タンクバタリアン|Tanku Batarian|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a multidirectional shooter arcade video game that was released by Namco in 1980. It was released in North America by Game Plan. A home conversion of the game released for the Sord M5 and MSX. The game was followed up by two sequels: ''Battle City'' for the Famicom in 1985 and ''Tank Force'' for arcades in 1991.
==Gameplay== 224px|thumb|left|The player destroying an enemy tank. The player, controlling a tank, must destroy twenty enemy tanks in each round, which enter the playfield from the top of the screen. The enemy tanks attempt to destroy the player's base (represented on the map as an eagle) as well as the player tank itself. A round is cleared when the player destroys all twenty enemy tanks, but the game ends if the player's base is destroyed or they run out of lives.
==Reception== ''Cash Box'' believed that "the real excitement" of ''Tank Battalion'' lied within its ability to modify the level design by destroying the brick walls.<ref name="Cashbox">{{cite magazine |title=Game Plan Bows 'Tank Battalion', Its Latest Upright Model Video Game |date=April 11, 1981 |magazine=Cashbox |page=42 |issn=0008-7289 |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox42unse_45/page/36/mode/2up?q=Namco+Tank+Battalion}}</ref>
Retrospectively in 2015, a writer for ''Beep!'' enjoyed the Sord M5 version for its improvements over the arcade original, such as the smoother movement of the player's tank, but disliked the squashed-looking graphics and narrow playing space. While the writer believed the MSX version was superior, they still recommended the M5 version for Namco fans and collectors.<ref>{{cite web |title=No.2 タンクバタリアン（m5）ROMカセット |url=https://www.beep-shop.com/column_entry/16963/ |website=Beep! |accessdate=October 1, 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227215316/https://www.beep-shop.com/column_entry/16963/ |archivedate=February 27, 2020 |language=ja |date=June 1, 2015}}</ref>
== Legacy == A theme based on the game for ''Pac-Man 99'' was released as free post-launch DLC, featuring visuals and sounds from the game.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{KLOV game|id=10026}}
Category:1980 video games Category:Arcade video games Category:Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises Category:MSX games Category:Multidirectional shooters Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games Category:Multiplayer hotseat games Category:Namco arcade games Category:Tank simulation video games Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Arcade Archives games Category:Game Plan games
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