Zoo Keeper

Released by Taito in 1983 for arcades, Zoo Keeper is an action game where players take on the role of a zookeeper tasked with capturing escaped animals and returning them to their enclosures. The game featured a uniquely strategic premise for its time: players navigate a maze-like zoo, completing animal paths by encircling specific areas. Its simple yet suspenseful gameplay balance has cemented its status as a classic of early 80s arcade gaming, one that continues to be beloved by retro game fans today.

Set in a zoo where the animals have broken out of their cages, this is the story of Zeke the zookeeper’s mission to rescue his girlfriend, Zelda. To recapture the animals roaming free, Zeke must run through the zoo while building walls. His goal is to jump over the animals blocking his path and finally reach Zelda.