text: alleyway alleyway ( ) is a video game developed by nintendo and intelligent systems and published by nintendo as a global launch title for the game boy . it is a breakout clone and one of the first four games developed and released for the system . the game was released first in japan in 1989 , in north america later that year , and in europe in 1990 . it was later re - released via online distribution for the nintendo 3ds virtual console on june 6 , 2011 . the name alleyway references the in - game gateway that the player 's spaceship ( represented as a paddle ) must pass through . while alleyway is a portable clone of breakout , it adds several new features , including alternating stages , bonus rounds , and hazards for the player at later levels . while the game 's original box art featured an unidentifiable protagonist , later international releases of the game replaced the character with mario . alleyway was released with limited advertising , receiving moderate to low scores from reviewers who compared it to games like arkanoid . gameplay the player 's objective in alleyway is to clear all bricks in each stage using a ball and paddle while keeping the ball from falling into the pit below , similar to that of breakout . the paddle 's speed can be adjusted by holding either the b or a button on the controller while moving the paddle , which can move only horizontally at a fixed height . at the start of each life , the player can reposition the paddle before releasing the ball and commencing gameplay . when released , the ball will always begin at a 45 ° angle above the paddle aimed toward its center . the player starts the game with five paddles ; each time the ball falls into the pit below the paddle , a paddle is removed and the ball is reset . the game ends when all the player 's paddles are depleted . an additional paddle is granted for each 1000 points scored , until the player has over 10 , 000 points . the player may have up to nine paddles at once . the game lacks a continue feature , though the high score will be retained until the game is reset or turned off . as there is no battery - backed or password feature , alleyway can only be completed in one sitting on the game boy . this was later changed with the re - release of the game for the nintendo 3ds 's virtual console system , which allowed for in - game progress to be recorded to a single save state accessible at any time while playing the game . ball behavior the ball will only travel at 15 ° , 30 ° , or 45 ° angles . if the ball hits a brick , the brick disappears and the ball ricochets in a different direction at the same angle . the ball 's speed depends on the type of brick that it hits : gray and black bricks increase its speed , while white and square , indestructible bricks have no effect . a sound effect is also played when the ball collides with an object or wall , with walls producing the lowest pitch and black bricks the highest . the ball 's direction and speed can be controlled by the paddle 's velocity and point of contact . changing direction the moment the ball comes into contact with the paddle , called a snap technique , will bounce the ball upward with increased speed . moving the paddle quickly in the opposite direction than the ball is headed will result in the ball bouncing in the same horizontal direction as the paddle at a 15 ° angle . if the player contacts the ball with the body of the paddle before it falls into the pit below , it will bounce back into the playing field . however , if instead either corner of the paddle collides with the ball at that moment , it will be knocked directly into the pit . alleyway 's ball cannot be locked in an infinite loop of ricochets . whenever the ball starts to loop between objects such as the ceiling , indestructible blocks and / or the paddle itself , its velocity will change at a random point after the second cycle on its next collision . as a result , the ball will travel at a slightly raised or lowered angle depending on its current trajectory , and will break out of the loop . levels the game features 24 levels , based on eight block patterns in groups of three . after every three regular stages , the player proceeds to a bonus stage , giving the game a total of 32 levels . most levels follow a generic design , though one group is modeled after mario 's head as it appears next to the remaining paddles icon . the player progresses to the next level once all bricks are destroyed , where the same pattern of bricks appears but behaves differently . every second stage is a scrolling block screen , featuring bricks that move from left to right ; every third is an advancing block screen , where the bricks move downward the height of one regular brick in short bursts , increasing in speed as the ball bounces off the paddle . any part of a brick below a height of ten bricks above the paddle is automatically removed ; thus they cannot impede the player 's movement but cannot contribute towards the player 's score either . as the player progresses through patterns , new elements are added to the gameplay . after the fourth stage , if the ball comes into contact with the top of the area , the paddle 's size is halved until the stage is cleared or a life is lost . from this point on , the third stage variant features hidden bricks above the ceiling that descend progressively , using a similar — or same — layout that must also be cleared , meaning the pattern must be cleared twice . in later levels , bricks in the second stage variant may not move at the same speed or in the same direction . after the twelfth stage , indestructible bricks are incorporated into the brick patterns . bonus stages feature patterns based on various nintendo entertainment system super mario bros. sprites , such as a piranha plant , goomba or bowser . unlike regular levels , the ball will destroy blocks in these stages without ricocheting off them , and contact with the ceiling will not affect the paddle size . these stages are the only ones to feature background music during play , and cannot be paused . a timer is present for each bonus stage ; it starts at 95 for the first and is reduced by five for each subsequent bonus stage completed beforehand . if the timer ends , the ball falls into the pit ( no life is lost in this case ) , or all bricks are destroyed , the bonus stage ends . destroying all bricks before the timer expires yields additional bonus points , which vary depending on the level . once cleared , the brick pattern changes and gameplay reverts to the normal cycle . after finishing the final bonus round , the player is given a congratulations screen using the mario graphic from the original mario bros. game . the game then loops back to the first stage , allowing for infinite play . scoring points are awarded for destroying bricks based on their shade , with one point awarded for the lightest and three for the darkest . the player may earn additional points for completing the bonus stages , with the bonus starting at 500 for the first and reaching 1500 for the last five . the player 's highest obtained score is recorded until the game is turned off . the game only displays four digits of the player 's score , yet it has a maximum value of 65 , 535 . scores of 10 , 000 and above are displayed as a combination of icons and the numerical display . for every 10 , 000 points , a sprite from the nes super mario bros. game is shown below the numerical score . a fire flower is shown for 10 , 000 points , a mushroom for 20 , 000 , and a for 30 , 000 points and above . the game stops changing the sprite after awarding the icon . as a result , the highest score that can be displayed is 39 , 999 ; however , the maximum score of 65 , 535 is shown as 35 , 535 . once the maximum score has been reached , the score will roll over only if the player completes a bonus stage . a roll over does not affect the recorded high score . development based on classic ball - and - paddle arcade games such as breakout and arkanoid , alleyway was a launch title for the game boy in 1989 for japan and north america , alongside super mario land , baseball , and tetris , though only with the first two in japan . the game 's release predates tetris ' by two months , due to legal battles between nintendo and tengen over the tetris property . on june 6 , 2011 , the game was re - released as a launch title for the nintendo 3ds virtual console system via online distribution . it was first released in japan , and then north america a year later . alleyway marks one of the first appearances of mario on the game boy system alongside super mario land , although its original box and cartridge art showed an unidentified character in a spacesuit piloting the paddle . the artwork was changed to show mario at the controls on the game 's international release , but neither the manual nor the back of the box refer to the nintendo mascot 's presence in the game . nintendo power 's preview made no mention of mario in the title other than note of the pattern of bricks in mario 's shape for the first bonus level . official confirmation of the pilot being mario only came about in 1990 with club nintendo 's preview of the game 's european release . the game was one of the first titles made by the nintendo r & d1 development team , alongside tetris and radar mission . years later , the game 's designer gunpei yokoi would reuse much of alleyway 's source code ( such as paddle behavior and adapted physics engine ) for the game boy game kirby 's block ball while working with shigeru miyamoto 's team . alleyway was re - released for download onto the nintendo power cartridge , occupying one memory block on the device . promotion of the title in nintendo published material consisted of a segment taking up a third of the page the articles were on . advertisements for alleyway were grouped with those for the game boy itself and other titles for the system . years after its initial release , a two - page section in the super game boy nintendo strategy guide bundled with the super game boy accessory appeared , which gave advice and color codes for the game . reception although alleyway sold well enough during its production run , it has not been re - released as a nintendo player 's choice title , and reviews of the game have been mostly mixed to negative . mean machines gave the game a score of 33 % , criticizing its repetitiveness and stating " this variant doesn 't have much more to offer than the original [ breakout ] " . the magazine 's staff added " once you 've finished a couple of screens , you 'll be bored stiff " and compared the game to its predecessor , arkanoid , regarding the lack of power - ups in alleyway . electronic gaming monthly staff also reviewed the game , with four separate reviews giving the game scores of 6 / 10 , 6 / 10 , 5 / 10 , and 3 / 10 . all four reviewers compared it to arkanoid , complaining about the lack of enhancement over the breakout format . gamesradar shared the sentiment in their review of the 3ds re - release , with reviewer nathan meunier giving it a score of 5 / 10 and stating " alleyway wasn 't so hot when it first came out , and it still pales when put it side - by - side to other similarly priced offerings " . he further added at times the game appeared to " hate " the player with its difficulty , though acknowledged that the addition of save states " takes some of the sting out of losing " . retro gamer 's darran jones called it " pretty piss - poor all the way back in 1989 " , noting the bland levels and lack of power - ups found in arkanoid , and that many similar clones had outperformed it . not all comments about the game have been negative . the two electronic gaming monthly reviewers that gave the highest scores did state they felt the design was perfect for the game boy , one adding " it 's also a very good game that combines some new features ... with the original break - out theme " and concluding " alleyway is good — but a bit long " . german magazine power play gave the game a rating of 48 % , but also praised the game 's level variety . the book rules of play discusses the game as an example of improved design over a base core mechanic , citing the inclusion of distinct sound effects for ball collision as a means to praise the player for destroying bricks , and the varied level designs as " well done " and giving the player " an element of discovery to the overall experience . " allgame noted that despite the simplicity and variety , " alleyway is fun to play " , further adding that games of its kind " always play well on the game boy " .