Editing Discs of Tron

{{Short description|1983 video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = Discs of Tron
|image = Discs of Tron Flyer.png
|caption = North American arcade flyer
|developer = [[Midway Games|Bally Midway]]{{efn|Ported to Xbox 360 and developed by [[Backbone Entertainment]].}}
|publisher = Bally Midway{{efn|Published by [[Disney Interactive Studios]] on Xbox 360.}}
|designer = Robert Dinnerman
|artist = Brian Colin
|release = '''September 1983:''' Arcade<ref name="CB">{{cite magazine |title=Manufacturers Equipment |magazine=[[Cash Box]] |date=February 2, 1985 |page=42 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1985/CB-1985-02-02.pdf#page=42}}</ref><br />'''February 13, 2008:''' Xbox
|genre = [[Action game|Action]]
|modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
|arcade system = Bally Midway MCR-III
|platforms = [[Arcade video game|Arcade]], [[Xbox 360]]
}}

'''''Discs of Tron''''' is the second [[arcade video game]] based on the 1982 [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] film ''[[Tron]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/arcade_dotron |title=Discs of Tron : Bally Midway |website=[[Internet Archive]]|year=1983 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7594 |title=Discs Of Tron |website=[[Killer List of Videogames]]}}</ref> While the first ''[[Tron (video game)|Tron]]'' is a collection of four [[minigame]]s, ''Discs of Tron'' is a single game inspired by ''Tron''{{'}}s disc-battles. It is set in an arena similar to the one in the [[jai alai]]–style sequence.

In 2008, a port to the [[Xbox 360]], via [[Xbox Live Arcade]], by [[Backbone Entertainment]] was published by [[Disney Interactive Studios]].

==Gameplay==
The gameplay of ''Discs of Tron'' is based on several scenes in the ''Tron'' film, combining the [[jai alai]]-like combat between Flynn and Crom with the disc combat between Tron and Sark. The player controls Tron in a one-on-one battle with Sark, presented in a fixed three-dimensional view behind Tron. Using a control scheme similar to that of the original ''Tron'' arcade game, the player moves around with a joystick, throws discs using a trigger button, and defends with a thumb button. The player uses a rotary dial to move a targeting reticle around the arena walls, and in later levels the player can also pull up and push down on the knob to aim up and down.

Each match takes place in a closed arena on top of platforms made of concentric disks, like in the jai alai sequence. Tron and Sark attempt to destroy each other by either directly hitting their opponent or causing him to fall off his platform. Tron and Sark can each throw up to three discs at a time. Assuming it is not destroyed, each disc automatically returns to the player (destroyed discs regenerate). Tron can defend himself by hitting Sark's discs with his own or by using a deflector, of which he has a limited supply. Sark can additionally attack Tron with high-speed missiles, chaser orbs, and "super chasers" (which consist of an orb and two orbiting disks), which cannot be deflected.

In later levels, platforms begin to move up and down vertically, requiring the player to aim up and down as well. Tron and Sark can bounce discs off the ceiling (similar to the energy ball in the jai alai sequence) with the goal of hitting one of their opponent's platforms. If successful, the platform flashes briefly and then disappears, reducing the character's movement or possibly causing him to fall and die. The platform reappears after about ten seconds. For some levels, a continuously scrolling wall of blocks appears between Tron and Sark; these blocks must be destroyed to open gaps in the wall before either character can hit the other.

The game has a total of twelve levels, with Sark becoming more aggressive throughout the game. Once the twelfth level is completed, levels repeat from six to twelve until the player runs out of lives.

==Development==
The game's concept originated as a fifth minigame in the original ''[[Tron (video game)|Tron]]'', which was cut due to time constraints.<ref name=EGM103>{{cite magazine |author=EGM staff |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly103/page/n93/mode/2up |title=The Tron Competition |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |issue=103 |date=February 1998 |page=90 |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref> The concept was then repurposed for ''Discs of Tron'', using more advanced hardware.<ref name=EGM103/>

==Release==
This game was released just before the [[video game crash of 1983]]. In 2004, it was released again in the [[Game Boy Advance]] game ''[[Tron 2.0]]''. [[Disney Interactive Studios]] released an updated port on [[Xbox Live Arcade]] for the [[Xbox 360]] in February 2008.

==Reception==
In 1996, ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' listed the arcade version as number 87 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time". Calling it "one of the first games to attempt a 3D environment", they remarked that the fast-paced and complex gameplay works due to the responsive controls. They also praised the enemy AI as advanced for its time, though they complained that a head-to-head multiplayer mode was an obvious feature that had not been included.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_21/page/n41/mode/2up |title=Top 100 Games of All Time (#87) |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=21 |date=September 1996 |pages=39, 43 |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>

===Xbox Live Arcade===
{{Video game reviews
| MC = 44/100<ref name=MC>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/discs-of-tron/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-360 |title=Discs of Tron for Xbox 360 Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Fandom (website)|Fandom]] |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>
| EuroG = 5/10<ref>{{cite web |last=Parkin |first=Simon |date=February 13, 2008 |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/xbox-live-arcade-roundup-review?page=2 |title=Xbox Live Arcade Roundup (Page 2) |website=[[Eurogamer]] |publisher=[[Gamer Network]] |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>
| GSpot = 4.5/10<ref>{{cite web |last=Francis |first=Don |date=February 14, 2008 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/discs-of-tron-review/1900-6186076/ |title=Discs of Tron Review (X360) |website=[[GameSpot]] |publisher=Fandom |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>
| GRadar = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Sewart |first=Greg |date=February 15, 2008 |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/discs-of-tron-xbox-live-arcade-review/ |title=Discs of Tron - Xbox Live Arcade review |website=[[GamesRadar+]] |publisher=[[Future plc]] |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>
| GameZone = 2.9/10<ref>{{cite web |last=David |first=Mike |date=February 21, 2008 |url=https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/discs_of_tron_360_review/ |title=Discs Of Tron - 360 - Review |website=GameZone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006162504/http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r32462.htm |archive-date=October 6, 2008 |url-status=live |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>
| IGN = 3/10<ref>{{cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Hilary |date=February 11, 2008 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/02/12/discs-of-tron-review |title=Discs of Tron Review |website=[[IGN]] |publisher=Ziff Davis |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>
| OXMUK = 2/10<ref name=OXMUK>{{cite magazine |title=Review: Discs of Tron |magazine=[[Official Xbox Magazine|Official Xbox Magazine UK]] |publisher=Future plc |date=August 2007 |page=103}}</ref>
| OXM = 8/10<ref name=OXM>{{cite magazine |title=Discs of Tron |magazine=[[Official Xbox Magazine]] |publisher=[[Future US]] |date=July 2007 |page=79}}</ref>
| TX = 3/10<ref>{{cite web |last=Chapman |first=Davis |date=February 12, 2008 |url=http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1469/Discs-of-Tron/p1/ |title=Discs of Tron Review (Xbox 360) |website=[[TeamXbox]] |publisher=IGN Entertainment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113032631/http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1469/Discs-of-Tron/p1/ |archive-date=January 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 9, 2022}}</ref>
}}

The Xbox Live Arcade version received "unfavorable" reviews according to the [[Review aggregator|review aggregation]] website [[Metacritic]].<ref name=MC/> ''[[Official Xbox Magazine]]'' gave it a favorable review, while its UK edition gave it a negative review, nearly a year before its release worldwide.<ref name=OXMUK/><ref name=OXM/>

{{clear}}

==Competition==
According to [[Twin Galaxies]], David Bagenski of Syracuse, New York, United States, scored a world record 418,200 points on June 28, 1986, during the 1986 [[Video Game Masters Tournament]].{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{KLOV game|id=7594}}
* [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=646 Entry on the arcade-history site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100102131856/http://twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22 Twin Galaxies High Score Rankings for Discs of Tron]
* {{moby game|id=/discs-of-tron}}

{{Tron}}

[[Category:1983 video games]]
[[Category:Arcade video games]]
[[Category:Backbone Entertainment games]]
[[Category:Disney video games]]
[[Category:Midway video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Tron video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Xbox 360 games]]
[[Category:Xbox 360 Live Arcade games]]