Manual Stimulation: Peetan (GameBoy)

You may remember how, in my last GameBoy-centric "Manual Stimulation" post, I mentioned that belatedly discovering Irem's Noobow back in 2013 almost singlehandedly reignited my interest in Nintendo's first portable game system.

The key words there are "almost singlehandedly," as although that side-scrolling puzzler was the game that got me thinking about the GameBoy again (after more than a decade of completely ignoring it), a number of other titles kept the proverbial ball rolling and even helped it pick up speed.



Kaneko's Peetan, highlighted here, is one of those titles.

Of course, only a person with a heart of stone could fail to fall in love with a game that comes in such a wonderfully colorful and charming package, don't you think?



Add in the fact that Peetan's protagonist is a protective mother hen and that its gameplay revolves around launching her endangered chicks to the upper-reaches of a tree, and it should be easy to see how I quickly became smitten with this Japan-only release from 1991.

Am I as smitten with Peetan's instruction manual as I am with its gameplay, premise, and packaging? Not really, but don't take that to mean I think it's a dog.



After all, it offers up a number of nice touches. The line of illustrated chicks that runs along the bottom of every page is a good example. The larger drawings that pop up here and there are another.



I'm also pretty fond of the Peetan manual's overall color scheme, although it can make scans such as the ones showcased in this post somewhat hard to see.

My advice: click on them to blow them up a bit--or a lot. That'll make them far easier to enjoy.



Something else I love about the Peetan manual: the wonky screenshots that are scattered throughout its 15 pages.



That's nothing new to the world of GameBoy instruction booklets, of course. Most of them feature at least a few screenshots that could, at best, be described as fuzzy or hazy.



Oh, well. Not every Japanese GameBoy manual can be as eye-popping as the ones made for Bubble Bobble Junior, Pitman, Snow Bros. Jr., or Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank, right?



Plus, Peetan's booklet includes something not found in any of the just-mentioned ones: an entire page about something called an "EGG BONUS."

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts devoted to Astro Rabby, Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, Penguin-kun Wars Vs., and Tumblepop

Special delivery: Kaneko's Peetan for GameBoy

I don't think I've ever mentioned this here or anywhere else, but for some time now I've dutifully--some would say obsessively--maintained a list of "Holy Grail" GameBoy titles.

Basically, the games named on it are ones I desperately want to own before I kick the bucket.

The list used to be pretty long. I've been able to lop a number of games off of it in recent years, months and weeks, though, thanks to some timely perusals of eBay, Yahoo Japan Auctions and the like.



A few of the titles that have made the transition from my handy text file to my grubby little hands: Tumblepop, Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank, Taiyou no Tenshi Marlowe, Snow Bros. Jr., Painter Momopie, Noobow, Bubble Bobble Junior and Astro Rabby.

Oh, and Kaneko's Peetan.

Tracking down and acquiring a complete-in-box copy of that 1991, Japan-only release has been more difficult than you might think. After all, the game rarely pops up on any of the auction sites or online shops I eluded to earlier, and when it does, it usually goes for an obscene amount of money. (Here's a good example.)

So, when I came across the far-cheaper-than-four-hundred-dollars copy of Peetan showcased in the photos found throughout this post, you can bet I jumped on it.

It's not perfect. The colorful outer box is ever-so-slightly torn on its rear side, and the instruction manual is a bit crumpled. Still, it's complete and the game cartridge works like a charm, so I'm more than satisfied.

If you've never played, or even heard of, Peetan, the gist is that it's a lot like one of those old Game & Watch titles Nintendo produced during the 1980s. How so? Well, the whole she-bang is depicted in black and white (or black and green, if you're using an original GameBoy model), for starters. Also, each and every stage sticks to the confines of the brick-like handheld system's screen.

Beyond that, Peetan's gameplay is refreshingly simple. You control a mama chicken who patrols the top fifth of the play area. Below her are a trio of helpless chicks as well as a bunch of seesaws. Throwing a wrench into the works: a hungry mutt (or wolf) who has his eyes--and terrifying chops--set on the above-mentioned hatchlings.

As he stalks your offspring, you press the GameBoy's directional pad to move left or right and jab its A or B buttons to drop eggs that either knock the canid on the head or catapult your chicks toward safety (aka the top of the screen).

It's all rather stressful--something that probably isn't obvious in this Peetan gameplay footage--although the boppy tunes that percolate in the background help cut the tension a bit. (But only a bit.)

Would Peetan have earned a place on the "must buy" list mentioned early on in this post if its gameplay weren't so compelling and exciting? Honestly, I think it would have. Look at that cover art and tell me you wouldn't say the same--if you had any interest in collecting GameBoy titles, I mean.

This Inter State-made game's instruction manual's quite a looker, too, although I hesitate to compare it to its cartridge label. (Don't take my word for it; flip through the Peetan manual yourself.) Still, I'm sure you get the point: that Peetan's packaging is top notch all the way around.

What do you think? Also, have any of you played this old game? If so, what did you think of it?

See also: 'Nu-Bo, Nuubou, Noobow, New--oh, whatever...'

Five favorites: Sega Game Gear titles

You'd think that with the 3DS, DS, GameBoy, Neo Geo Pocket Color and WonderSwan (all of which I've been playing in recent weeks--sometimes using actual hardware and sometimes going the emulation route), my portable gaming bases would be covered for the time being.

Over the weekend, though, I ditched the systems mentioned above and instead spent some quality time with a few Game Gear titles (again, both via real hardware and emulation), an experience that prompted me to contemplate my favorite examples of that handheld's game catalog.

Here's what I came up with, in alphabetical order. (Note: the following games are my personal favorites. I don't necessarily consider them to be the "best" this Sega-made machine has to offer. Also, I have to admit I've yet to play Phantasy Star Gaiden, a title that surely appears on some similar lists.)

The Berlin Wall--Although I've been a fan of the single-screen platformer (think: Bubble Bobble) since I first got into gaming, I wasn't aware of this game's existence until a year or so ago. That's a shame, as The Berlin Wall is a lot of fun. How would I describe it? Don Doko Don blended with Lode Runner is the best I can come up with at the moment, although I doubt that means much to some of you. Regardless, check it out if you've ever gotten a kick out of games like Snow Bros. or Tumblepop.

Bubble Bobble--Those looking for a direct port of Taito's bubble-centric classic will want to steer clear of this version, as it ends up feeling more like Bubble Bobble Mini than a full-fledged port. That's because although each stage has been shrunken down to fit the Game Gear's tiny screen, the title's other elements--Bob, Bub and their many colorful enemies, mainly--were given a reprieve. The game's honestly a bit broken because of that fact, but it's still a lot of fun.

Madou Monogatari I--A first-person dungeon crawler from the makers of Puyo Puyo? Where do I sign up? That was my first thought upon hearing about this series (four of its entries ended up on the Game Gear) some years ago. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was even more enjoyable--and charming--than I assumed it would be. By the way, if you're too chicken to play through such a game in Japanese, this first one was translated into English courtesy of SSTranslations.

Magical Puzzle Popils--All you really need to know about this one is that it was made by the same guy, Fukio Mitsuji, who brought Bubble Bobble to the world. Like that game, Magical Puzzle Popils features more-adorable-than-they-have-any-right-to-be protagonists and tunes but takes the gameplay in a different direction altogether by tasking players with getting from each level's start to its exit (a trapped princess) in as few steps as possible.

Puzzle Bobble--If you're looking for the best-possible portable version of this classic puzzler, look no further than this old port. Sure, it's far from perfect, but it's miles better than its GameBoy, Neo Geo Pocket Color and WonderSwan counterparts. (I'm especially fond of how Bub and Bob look here.) Plus, this release actually features the original arcade soundtrack, which alone makes it well worth checking out.

Honorable mentions: Galaga '91, Ganbare Gorby, Magical Taruruuto-kun, Mappy, Shining Force Gaiden

Kaneko's Peetan: another import-only GameBoy title I desperately want to own

Despite the headline above, I'm not at all sure if this obscure, Japanese GameBoy puzzler should be called Peetan, Piitan or Pitan.

Based on what I've learned about katakana so far, I'd be far more likely to use either Pitan (perhaps with a macron over the "i") or Piitan than Peetan, but since the double-e version seems to be the most common usage on the good ol' Interwebs, I'll go with it here, too.

Anyway, who really cares how you're supposed to spell the game's name? The real reason you're reading this is to find out why I want to own it, right?



My response: it's a single-screen action-puzzler that stars a bunch of cute chicks--and I'm not talking about the kind who have big chests and wear tight skirts.

It helps, of course, that Peetan was produced by the fine folks at Kaneko, who also had a hand in making the similarly obscure Game Gear title called The Berlin Wall.

Sadly, I doubt I'll be buying a copy of this one anytime soon, as I've yet to see one pop up on ebay or any of the online Japanese game shops that I frequent, so while you wait for that to happen you might want to check out the video above as well as Retro Collect's admirably thorough review.

Manual Stimulation: The Berlin Wall (Game Gear)

I have to be honest here: The main reason I'm dedicating a "Manual Stimulation" post to this particular instruction manual is its last two pages.

Also, I'm pretty sure scans of this game's manual are fairly hard to come by in the English-speaking portion of the Internet.

That's not to say The Berlin Wall's instruction manual is a dud. Actually, it's quite nice thanks in large part to the adorable illustrations that pop up here and there.



Those illustrations are present on the front cover of this import-only Game Gear title's manual, unsurprisingly enough, but they're also present on its back cover, which I think is a nice change of pace.



They can be found on its first few pages (above), too, which help spruce things up a bit.



Strangely, illustrations aren't used to tell The Berlin Wall's backstory (above). Instead, in-game visuals are given that task.

Acquisition #144: The Berlin Wall (Game Gear)

Considering my last two "Acquisition #123" posts focused on Japanese Game Gear titles, it probably didn't shock many of you to see that this post will focus on one, too.

Specifically, this entry in the "Acquisition #123" series will focus on Kaneko's The Berlin Wall, a rather adorable Bubble Bobble/Fairyland Story clone that hit the streets of Japan in 1991.

Although the game began life in the arcades, Kaneko's crack team of programmers did an admirable job of downsizing and squeezing it onto a comparably tiny Game Gear cartridge. In fact, I actually prefer the cuter, simpler looks of this portable port to its quarter-munching cousin.

Unfortunately, I've yet to actually give this cart a test drive, so to speak, as I still don't own a Game Gear. (I'm waiting for a particular UK-based eBay vendor to offer another refurbished, banana-yellow Game Gear system for sale before adding one to my collection.)

I've played and enjoyed this hammer-centric single-screen platformer (which, to tell you the truth, has as much in common with Brøderbund's Lode Runner as it does Bubble Bobble and its boppy, bouncy ilk) enough via emulation, though, to know that I'll continue to have an absolute blast with it as soon as I finally get my hands on one of Sega's brick-sized handhelds.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to stare at its package (that's what she said) and its similarly, er, "stimulating"--not to mention adorable--instruction manual.

Speaking of the former, I've just uploaded a number of additional photos of both the front and back of The Berlin Wall's box to my Flickr photostream, so please check them out if that's your kind of thing. (I also uploaded a bunch of shots of Banana's, Ganbare Gorby's and Magical Puzzle Popils' packaging, in case any of you are interested.)

See also: 'Another Bubble Bobble/Fairyland Story clone approaches'

Another Bubble Bobble/Fairyland Story clone approaches

Actually, this game is more of a Don Doko Don clone than a Bubble Bobble or Fairyland Story clone, but I'm sure most of you understand where I'm coming from regardless.

As for which game I'm talking about in the headline and sentence above: The Berlin Wall.

Specifically, I'm talking about the 1991 Game Gear port of this Kaneko-developed and -published quarter-muncher.

I'm not sure how or why, but I only learned about this game last week while perusing my bank account's least favorite website ever (aka eBay).

The premise of this single-screen platformer, for those of you who are in the same pixelated boat: Players are placed in the shoes of a boy who must use his hammer to break the blocks that form the platforms that fill each stage. The resulting holes act as traps for the many enemies (including penguins and porcupines) that patrol said stages--as in, after a baddie falls into a hole, the player can bop them in the head with his hammer and send them crashing into the platform or floor below.



Strangely (or not, if you're at all used to the single-screen platformer genre), that last bit causes the defeated enemy to transform into various power-ups and food items that can be collected.

As is the case with many of these Bubble Bobble/Don Doko Don/Fairyland Story clones, The Berlin Wall is almost insultingly easy at the beginning but the difficulty quickly ramps up--about halfway through the second world, in my opinion--to a level that can only be described as "maddening."

A little trivia for anyone who cares about such things: Kaneko basically re-skinned and re-released, in 1992, this game for the Sega Mega Drive. Called Wani Wani World, this single-screener stars a green crocodile who wields his/her hammer against a bevy of platform-stalking baddies.

See also: 'You say Bubble Bobble clone, I say Fairyland Story clone'

An artful look at Bonk's arcade cousin, BC Kid

Like any good Bonk--or, PC Genjin, as he's called in Japan--fan, I consider the character's PC Engine outings to be (basically) the only ones worth my attention. As a result, I've ignored pretty much all of the spin-offs that have been released for the GameBoy, the Famicom and the Super Famicom--I'm just going to ignore the later atrocities--over the years.

I haven't ignored all of the Bonk spin-offs, though; the arcade-only BC Kid, for instance, has always intrigued me despite the fact that it was developed by Kaneko rather than Red and Atlus.

Artist and blogger Curtis Bathurst seems to share my interest in BC Kid, at least as far as the game's aesthetics are concerned. In a recent post, Bathurst critiques the game's promotional art (right) as well as its in-game graphics.

Although he isn't a big fan of either, he ends his post on a positive note saying, "I find it wildly exciting that there was ever a coin-op Bonk’s Adventure and I love rummaging through the ‘net in search of bits and scraps about the game."

If you're at all interested in graphic design--especially as it relates to the world of gaming--I highly recommend heading over to Bathurst's site and reading his post about this quirky quarter-muncher.