Manual Stimulation: Penguin-kun Wars Vs. (GameBoy)

I hate to begin this post on a negative note, but I'm going to do it anyway: the Penguin-kun Wars Vs. instruction manual can't quite hold a candle to the game's eye-popping cover art or cartridge label. (Both can be seen in the previously published, "Surprise! The Year of the GameBoy Continues: Penguin-kun Wars Vs.")

That doesn't mean you should click away from this write-up. The Penguin-kun Wars Vs. manual has plenty to offer even though it lacks the wow factor of the rest of this Japanese game's packaging.



Before we get to the meat of the instructional booklet at hand, though, let's address the scan above, which is of its front and back covers. Rest assured I had nothing to do with the off-color splotches that dot its surface.

Sadly, that's the condition it was in when it landed on my doorstep some time ago. Which is weird, as otherwise this copy of Penguin-kun Wars Vs. seems untouched. Maybe it wasn't stored properly?



Regardless, those splotches basically are nonexistent inside the Penguin-kun Wars Vs. booklet, so let's not linger over them.

Moving on, boy, the penguin illustration above is adorable, isn't it? Stylistically, it reminds me of the similarly rough-hewn drawings that can be found in the manuals made for Bubble Bobble Junior and Penguin Land.



The text that sits behind that piece of art details the history of the Penguin-kun Wars series, by the way. Or at least that's what I was able to gather with my admittedly still-developing understanding of the Japanese language.

The pages above, on the other hand, detail the rules and controls of Penguin-kun Wars Vs., respectively.



The manual then moves on to explain the ins and outs of this GameBoy title's one-player mode.





This next handful of pages (above and below) explain the Penguin-kun Wars Vs. multiplayer tournament mode, which, as you probably can tell, utilizes the Game Boy Video Link.



Sadly, I can't tell you how good or bad that mode is, as I've never played it. I can say the single-player mode is a lot of fun, though--if you tend to enjoy fluffy, arcade-y games filled with cute characters.



Speaking of which, the Penguin-kun Wars Vs. cast is highlighted on the manual's final pair of pages. The penguin's name is "Penguin-kun," while the cow is "Ushi-kun" and the rabbit is "Usagi-kun." The bat is "Koumori-kun" and the mouse is "Nezumi-kun."

Those of you who know a bit of Japanese yourselves probably are giggling--or groaning--a bit at those names, as they're basically just "Cow-kun," "Rabbit-kun" and the like. Oh, well, at least the doodles that accompany their introduction are easy on the eyes.

See also: previous GameBoy-focused 'Manual Stimulation' posts