Elite is a landmark space trading and combat simulator developed by Acornsoft and Firebird. Released in 1984 and available here in its NES incarnation, this pioneering action game gives you command of a lightly armed Cobra Mark III spaceship and drops you into a vast, open-ended galaxy. Your objective is entirely up to you: trade goods between planets, bounty hunt, pirate, or mine asteroids to amass wealth, upgrade your ship’s armaments and drives, and eventually climb the combat rankings to the coveted title of “Elite”.
How to Play
Navigate your ship through 3D space, managing your speed, pitch, and roll while monitoring your scanners for nearby vessels and space stations. You will need to carefully align your ship to dock at stations or engage enemy fighters in dogfights.
- Arrow Keys: Move / Pitch and roll
- Z: A button (Fire / Select)
- X: B button (Speed / Cancel)
- Enter: Start
- Shift: Select
Tips
- When approaching a space station, match its rotation before attempting to dock to avoid crashing and destroying your ship.
- Focus on safe trade routes in the early game to build up your credits; invest your first profits into a docking computer or better lasers before taking on dangerous combat missions.
- Keep a close eye on your scanner to differentiate between neutral trading vessels and hostile pirates before they get into firing range.
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