The Electric Yo-Yo is an obscure arcade game released by Taito in 1982. And, by the looks of it, it uses the same hardware as Qix, because there are similarities to that game.

The gameplay in The Electric Yo-Yo is similar to Qix in one way: there is an animated, triangular entity that patrols the screen, and touching it means instant death. In this the ‘thing’ is called a “Trion“, but it functions and moves pretty much the same as a Qix.

Similarities to Qix‘s gameplay end there, because in this you are a yo-yo, throwing its line out to cross gaps (almost like a ‘hookshot‘), and also collecting “blox“, which are these small blue things that are similar to dots in a Pac-Man maze.

To clear a screen you have to collect all the blocks, but that’s not your primary goal. Your primary goal is to score big points, and the only way of doing that is to use your yo-yo string to bridge gaps between blocks. Bridging gaps repeatedly will earn you some big points, whereas simply collecting all the blocks by walking around will net you far fewer points. In fact: the longer your line is between each successful jump, the more points you score.

Oh, and there are these small, cute things, called “The Bions“, that follow you around, but can only walk on blocks. They too will kill you if they touch you – unless you’re ‘energised’, in which case you can hoover them up like the ghosts in Pac-Man, for 1000 points each. Becoming energised means throwing your line at an electrically-charged block at just the right time. You have to look carefully for energised blocks (they sparkle) and try to get them quickly, before they disappear. Being energised also doubles the score you get from using your string to bridge gaps.

Once I figured out how to play this game properly, I had a blast with The Electric Yo-Yo. As I think most gamers will. It’s another great arcade ‘hidden gem’. The game is tricky to master, but very more-ish. Just what you need on a rainy Sunday afternoon! 🙂

More: The Electric Yo-Yo on Moby Games