Manual Stimulation: Pitman (GameBoy)

There are all kinds of reasons to own a complete-in-box copy of Asmik's Pitman, called Catrap outside of Japan.

For starters, it's simply a great game--filled with a bit of action and a lot of puzzle-solving. Also, it sports some adorable sprites and animations. (You can see both in this video.)

Oh, and its soundtrack is pretty nice, too.

Besides that, this GameBoy title's packaging is easy on the eyes. Shockingly, I think I prefer Catrap's cover art to Pitman's, but both are lovely. (See this "Another Year of the GameBoy" post for photos of Pitman's box and cartridge.)

Also lovely: Pitman's instruction manual, which obviously is the focus of this write-up.



My favorite aspect of the Pitman manual is its illustrations. (A total shocker, I know.)



I think my favorite of the whole bunch is the one that's found on the booklet's back cover, but the ones showcased on the pages above are snazzy, too.



At any rate, the Pitman instruction manual is stuffed to the gills with such art. Nearly every page is home to some sort of drawing.



Unfortunately, the following spread, which explains how Pitman's password and edit modes work, is one of those illustration-free sections of the manual, but the one above contains a slew so don't look for me to complain.





By the way, does anyone else get kind of a 1970s vibe from the art style used throughout this booklet? Which is funny, as I'm usually turned off by that sort of thing. Here, though, I think it's fitting and adds to the manual's charm.



So, what do you think? Are you now a fan of Pitman and its instruction manual, or do you think it's the definition of "meh"?

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about Snow Bros. Jr., Taiyou no Tenshi Marlowe and Totsugeki Ponkotsu Tank

Another Year of the GameBoy: Pitman (aka Catrap)

I've mentioned this GameBoy title, which began life as a (Sharp MZ-700) computer game, a number of times on The Nichiest Podcast Ever, but I'm not sure I've ever mentioned it here.

That's a shame, as it's easily one of my favorite of the multitude of carts that were made for Nintendo's first handheld thanks to its unique blend of puzzling and platforming gameplay.

I also really like its rather rough-hewn graphics, which are made a lot more appealing by all of the little animations that are attached to them.

And then, of course, there's the packaging that was produced for Pitman, which is the name given to the Japanese version of this Asmik-made game. (It was called Catrap in North America.)

The photo below showcases Pitman's box, cartridge and manual art. Sadly, unlike some Japanese GameBoy titles, this one's various components don't feature different pieces of art.

Pitman's instruction manual goes a lot way toward making up for that, though--something that's made pretty clear from the get-go, as the snapshot below should prove.

I really like how the illustrations that are included in this manual look like they could have appeared in a cartoon made in the early part of the last century.

Above is another example of the sort of adorable drawings that accompany all of the instructive text and screenshots that otherwise fill Pitman's manual--although this particular drawing appears on the back of the manual rather than inside of it.

Getting back to how this game "plays" and why it's such a standout, even among all of the other sublime titles that were released for Nintendo's brick-like system in the many years it was on the market: for me, the gist is that it's an all-around fun--if also fairly challenging--experience.

Hopping around, pushing blocks, climbing ladders and bashing into enemies--all of which take place in your average Pitman (or Catrap) playthrough and can be seen in action in this video--just feels nice, and all of those actions are made even more enjoyable when accompanied by head-bopping, toe-tapping backing track.

A few other reasons this game deserves attention as well as praise: it allows players to choose between controlling a male or female character at the beginning of each and every stage, and it includes a really cool time-bending element that basically lets you rewind whenever you make an errant move. 

If you'd like to give Pitman or Catrap a try, but you're not the sort who collects GameBoy cartridges, you can pick up a digital version via the 3DS' eShop--assuming you have some iteration of Nintendo's latest entry in the portable-gaming arms race.

See also: previous 'Year of the GameBoy' and 'Another Year of the GameBoy' posts