Keywords: Arkanoid, Spain, 3d to do 2d, physics engine, particle effects, and so on.
Very nice!
Another game which could have been done in Java! 
So it’s not using 3d hardware, but real 2d software…
You could use Java2d then?
You don’t even need Java2D. Good old Java 1.1 MemoryImageSource will do the job. You could do a software renderer with sub-pixel accuracy, antialiasing and alpha blending wich is more than fast enough. The limiting factor is the uploading of the image to the graphics card.
Have a look at some of the crystalsquid games.