Screenshots
Water Ski
水上滑雪
Water Ski is an action arcade game released by Taito Corporation in 1983. The player controls a water skier being towed across a body of water, maneuvering left and right to dodge obstacles such as buoys, rocks, and other hazards that appear in the path. The game uses a top-down or behind-the-skier perspective and requires quick reflexes to navigate the increasingly crowded waterway. Players steer using a joystick or directional controls, timing movements to avoid collisions that reduce their score or end the run. The game progresses through stages with growing obstacle density, testing the player's reaction speed and precision. Scoring is based on distance covered and successful obstacle avoidance.
- Developer
- Taito Corporation
- Released
- 1983
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Rating
- 4.3 / 5 (4.9K)
- Last updated
Water Ski Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Water Ski on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Water Ski Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Water Ski on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Water Ski" Arcade longplay 1983
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Water Ski released?
Water Ski was released in 1983 for the Arcade.
Who developed Water Ski?
Water Ski was developed by Taito Corporation, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
What type of game is Water Ski?
Water Ski is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Water Ski for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Water Ski runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Water Ski in the browser?
No. Water Ski streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Water Ski?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Water Ski work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Water Ski this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Water Ski. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
