"THE FASTEST, MOST EXHILARATING ACTION-PLATFORMER TO HIT THE Wii"
BIT.TRIP RUNNER, (occasionally written as BIT.TRIP Runner following the release of Runner2) is the fourth mainline entry in the BIT.TRIP Hexalogy and the direct sequel to BIT.TRIP VOID. The game revolves around CommanderVideo traveling the galaxy, Along the way, He meets new friends and encounters an adversary in the form of Mingrawn Timbletot, who would go on to be a central antagonist in the series.
The game is known in Japan as BIT.TRIP RUNNER: リズム星人の激走 (rizumo hoshi hito no geki sou), which roughly translates to "Flat-Out Run of the Rhythm Alien". This goofy-sounding subtitle was the primary source of inspiration for Runner2's subtitle, "Future Legend of Rhythm Alien".
The game is perhaps the most widely known entry in the original Hexalogy. Its presence and reception resulted in it gaining a spin-off subseries, with two sequels: BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien in 2013, and later, Runner3 in 2018. Finally, the game received a remake in 2023 called BIT.TRIP RERUNNER. In the mainline series, however, the game is succeeded by BIT.TRIP FATE.
The title theme, Blackout City, and the credits theme, Mermaid, are provided by guest composter Anamanaguchi
OVERVIEW[]
Unlike previous titles you play directly as CommanderVideo, who had only appeared during cut-scenes prior to this Game.
GAMEPLAY[]
in Gameplay, CommanderVideo runs automatically right. To complete a Challange, the player must use his abilities to avoid or destroy obstacles and enemies. If CommanderVideo is hit by any object, he is immediately warped back to the beginning of the level and starts running again.
In the original WiiWare release the game is played with a sideways Wiimote and uses 2 button, similar to a NES Controller, CommanderVideo's abilities includes:
- Jump (Pressing the 2 Button, Holding it allows him to glide)
- Slide (By holding D-Pad Down)
- Kick (Pressing the 1 Button, to kick down crystals, stop boards, or boxes)
- Spring (By holding D-pad Up on Springs)
- Block (By holding D-pad Right. CommanderVideo will use his paddle to block Yellow Beats)
BIT.TRIP RUNNER Bonus Challange
CommanderVideo is also able to collect gold bars distributed through the course of the Challanges - if all the gold bars in a level are acquired, the player is given access to a short Bonus Challange based on Pitfall, the famous Atari 2600 game programmed by David Crane.
MODES[]
During Challanges, the player obtains Cores that upgrade the score multiplier, starting at 'HYPER' and progressing through 'MEGA', 'SUPER', 'ULTRA', and finally 'EXTRA'. As these multipliers are gained, the background music becomes more advanced accordingly, with new melodies being added and modern instrumentation layered on top.
CUTSCENES[]
on part Three of his second mission "TO EXIST" CommanderVideo explores the world and visits many places while meeting new friends (and enemies) along the way.
CHALLANGES[]
RUNNER was the first BIT.TRIP game to truly shed the usual three-level structure of previous games. While there are still three levels, they serve more as Worlds would in a traditional platformer, These worlds are called "Zone", and are known as "IMPETUS", "TENACITY" and "TRIUMPH" respectively, Each of the three Zones contains eleven regular stages, as well as a respective Bonus Challange for each (66 in total), in addition to one boss per zone.
This brings the overall total number of playable stages to 69 (135 counting retro stages), the second highest of main levels in the series, behind Runner2 at 120, and just ahead of Runner3, at 63.
IMPETUS[]
This world is where our protagonist, CommanderVideo awakens and uses the energy in him to run.
- First Contact
- A Wake of Dust
- Gestersmek
- Crater Raider
- Unstoppable Mr. Video
- Junior Melchkin (Meet)
- Jabol Smabbler
- Smabbler's Groan
- Beat Deposits
- End of the Beginning
- Odyssey
- BOSS: Mingrawn Timbletot
TENACITY[]
As CommanderVideo continues to run through the world that he explored, he tries to get a hold of something in his life to be proud of.
Non Trotski
- Lesser Timbletot
- Hairy Knorwhisp
- Flyss Whizzle
- Wizened Elderbend
- Pandinkoris Plains
- Moint Moint
- Radbot (Meet)
- Slobbering Falls
- Beats Mines
- Middle of the Middle
- Watcher's Watch
- BOSS: Non Trotski
TRIUMPH[]
CommanderVideo went through many trials throughout this journey and soon will triumph in the end.
- Paradise Lost
- Leaky Krinkston
- Withering Moint
- Sewer Snark
- Congestion
- Tubular Unders
- Gall Blaster (Meet Meat Boy)
- Ginger Pit
- The Gauntlet
- Beginning of the End
- Rusty Warren
- BOSS: The Source
LEGACY[]
Following the game's success, CommanderVideo would see a sudden surge in popularity. A majority of his cameos in modern games being a result of RUNNER's unprecedented popularity. This would come to a peak when a standalone sequel, Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien was released. For a time, Runner2's establishment lead to the original RUNNER often being referred to as "Runner" without the series' trademark ALL-CAPS titling format. Runner3 would eventually follow, dropping the elongated subtitle of its predecessors, and removing the BIT.TRIP branding altogether.
With the release of the remake, BIT.TRIP RERUNNER, the status quo has seemingly rectified itself.
TRIVIA[]
- Though the game is the only one in the original series to lack a NETHER MODE, the Retro Challenge bonuses could be considered a sort of NETHER MODE. All music is removed and the sound effects become discordant and simplistic, the sound effect for grabbing Gold is a unique sound that only appears in NETHER MODE in FATE and FLUX and failing boots the player back to the Level Select.
- This is the last BIT.TRIP game to see a WiiWare release in Japan
- This is the only game in the hexalogy whose subtitle is not a 4-letter word.
SCOREBOARD[]
See the BIT.TRIP RUNNER Scoreboard
GALLERY[]
