Nice Package! (Mappy, Game Gear)

I don't know if you're aware, but I'll play pretty much any version of Namcot's--or, you know, Namco's--Mappy that comes my way.

If given a choice, though, I usually go with the 1991 Game Gear port that serves as the focus of this write-up.

Why? Well, it's portable, for starters--and these days, especially, I prefer on-the-go gaming experiences to those that require me to spend time in our basement. (That's where my consoles and our TV are situated.)

I also simply like how the wizards at Namcot/Namco were able to shrink this 1983 arcade classic so it could be played on Sega's GameBoy competitor. 

And then there's the extra mode that, as far as I'm aware, only can be found in this particular version of Mappy. If you want to know more about it, read through the handful of comments shared at the end of this old post.

The gist, though, is that it features stages that are quite a bit more sprawling than those found in the original quarter-muncher. They also look kind of grimy compared to the ones most Mappy fans are used to seeing.

As exciting as Game Gear-specific offering may seem, I almost always ignore it in favor of the traditional arcade mode.



Anyway, enough about that. How about this iteration's packaging? I especially love the illustration that appears on the front of its box and cartridge, of course.

Its instruction manual includes a bunch of great illustrations, too--as should be evident while taking in the pair of snapshots above.

Don't worry, I'll publish scans of the entire booklet as part of my "Manual Stimulation" series in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts on this or any other version of Mappy in the comments section that follows.

See also: my 'Great Gaymathon' review of Mappy's Famicom port

Shall We Do It Again? (Astro Rabby, Crush Roller, Mappy, Pac-Man, Puzzle Bobble and Tumble Pop)

If you were on Twitter last weekend, you may have noticed my mention that I spent a rather obscene amount of time playing old GameBoy and Game Gear titles on Saturday.

I also spent some time playing a couple of Neo Geo Pocket Color games--a fact I didn't mention on Twitter because, well, I ran out of characters.

Anyway, because I played so many of these "golden oldies," and because I so thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them (two of them in particular), I thought I'd write up a second "Shall We Do It?" post for the week that focuses on those experiences.

Before I get to all of that, though, I want to make one thing clear: I played all of these retro games via emulation (thanks to my soft-modded Wii).

Yes, I own a couple of GameBoys, and I own a Game Gear, too. (No Neo Geo Pocket Color, though--at least not yet.) I also own copies of four of the six titles mentioned here. I was too lazy to get them out of their hiding places, though; plus, I didn't want to deal with the battery drama--so, I took the easy route and emulated them.

With all of that out of the way, here are a few, random thoughts on the GameBoy, Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket Color carts--er, ROMs--that ruthlessly captured my attention this past weekend.

Astro Rabby (GameBoy)--Would you believe I've owned this Japan-only release from 1990 for some time now (over a year, if I were to guess), yet I'd only put a small handful of minutes into it before I fully acquainted myself with it a few days ago?

Er, yeah, I guess some of you would believe that based on my propensity to buy and then sit on games. (Not literally sit on them, of course.)

Whatever. That's not supposed to be the point here; what is supposed to be the point is that I'm now slapping myself across the face for taking so long to properly give this game a shot. It's actually quite a bit of fun--if you can overlook the totally lame "bonus rounds" that pop up every few stages.

As for why that is, well, try to imagine if someone had attempted to make something similar to Jumping Flash! for the GameBoy before the folks at Exact Co., Ltd. and Ultra Co., Ltd produced the beauty that launched shortly after the original PlayStation hit store shelves in Japan.

That's basically the gist of Astro Rabby, which puts you in the shoes (paws?) of a cyborg rabbit who, for some reason or other, is forced to hop through space in search of "power-up parts" while staying clear of evil frogs and bad octopi as well as keeping from plummeting into seemingly bottomless holes. This hopping-through-space action is depicted in a top-down fashion, by the way, which can make the titular hare's leaps kind of dicey from time to time, but after a few minutes it not only feels pretty natural but also feels pretty exhilarating.

Thankfully, it's OK to fail at the aforementioned bonus rounds, which boil down to a musical game of Concentration and are far more frustrating than my abbreviated description probably makes them sound. Still, I wish they were a bit more ... traditional in nature so I could enjoy the entirety of Astro Rabby and not just a good portion of it.

Crush Roller (Neo Geo Pocket Color)--I wrote about this colorful, portable take on the Pac-Man formula all the way back in 2013 (in a post titled, "It's Just a Little Crush Roller"), but haven't said a thing about it since.

That's a real shame, as Crush Roller is a treat. A tough, pull-your-hair-out-in-giant-clumps "treat" at times, but a treat nonetheless.

Unfortunately, although I became pretty skillful at playing this ADK-developed game the first time I gave it a go (I even made it all the way to the end credits, after some effort), this time around I found things quite a bit more trying.

Oh, well. Its paint-roads-while-desperarely-avoiding-Dragon-Quest-slime-like-enemies action still put a smile on my face--when it wasn't causing me to cuss at it under my breath, of course.

Mappy (Game Gear)--Here's another Japan-only handheld title that I've chatted about previously.

What prompted me to pick it up again this past weekend? I don't know, to tell you the truth. I guess I was just in the mood for a little classic, arcade-style, cat-and-mouse action.

Just in case I've never mentioned this before: the Game Gear port of Mappy--originally a Namco quarter-muncher--is top-notch. Everything about it is "correct," as the reviewer at Video Game Den used to like to say; plus, it's simply a blast to play.

So, if you've got a Game Gear and a wad of batteries (or an AC adapter, I guess), you could do far worse than buy a copy of this 1991 release and stick it in your system when you've got a couple of minutes to burn.

Re-introducing: Namco Gallery (GameBoy)

On my birthday last year, I bought myself the trio of games that can be seen in the photos throughout this post.

Even though they arrived on my doorstep shortly after, I failed to photograph them--or, you know, otherwise acknowledge their existence--until earlier this week.



Anyway, the boxes look pretty nice lined up as they are in the shot above, don't you think?

Something you probably can't make out by looking at said photo (unless you click on it to blow it up): the frames featured on each volume's box art include elements that tie in to one or more of the four games contained on that particular cart.



The frame featured on Namco Gallery Vol. 1's packaging, for instance, includes depictions of Mappy's titular police mouse (above) as well as Nyamco (below), the game's antagonist.

(The frames featured on the covers of the second and third volumes include similarly delicious depictions of Dig Dug, Sky Kid and The Tower of Druaga characters.)



The backsides of the Namco Gallery boxes aren't as thrilling as the front sides, unfortunately, but they do give folks a nice look at the colorized versions of each compilation's games.

Just in case you've forgotten which games are included on which Namco Gallery volume, the first one contains pint-sized versions of Battle City, Galaga, Mappy and Namco Classic (a golf sim); the second offers up portable iterations of Dig Dug, Famista 4 (baseball), Galaxian and The Tower of Druaga; and the third consists of Family Tennis, Jantaku Boy (mahjong), Sky Kid and Tower of Babel ports.



My favorites are the most well known titles of the bunch: Dig Dug, Galaga, Mappy and Sky Kid, with the first game's puzzlerific (no, that's not a real word) "New Dig Dug" mode alone being worth the price of all three cartridges, in my humble opinion.

This portable re-imagining of Dig Dug is the only one of the above-mentioned ports to earn a North American release, by the way. I've wanted to own a complete-in-box copy of it for ages now due to its striking box art, but price-gouging eBay sellers have kept me from realizing those desires.

See also: a previous post with a bit more information on the Namco Gallery games

Getting to know: Namco Gallery (GameBoy)

Remember how I posited in this recent post that the GameBoy version of Dig Dug never saw the light of day in the Land of the Rising Sun?

Well, it seems I was wrong.

Thanks to a helpful bit of cyber-sleuthing conducted by my Twitter pal Brian (aka iamnotagoomba, aka the guy behind the Japanese 3DS tumblog), I now know that the GameBoy version of Dig Dug was released in Japan--just not as a stand-alone title like it was elsewhere.

Instead, it was included on the second of the three Namco Gallery games that hit Japanese store shelves back in 1996 and 1997.

Each of these portable compilations contained four titles. The first Namco Gallery featured ports of Battle City, Galaga, Mappy and Namco Classic (a golf sim). The second included Dig Dug, Famista 4 (baseball), Galaxian and The Tower of Druaga. The third, Family Tennis, Jantaku Boy (mahjong), Sky Kid and Tower of Babel.

The fascinating thing about these ports is that although they're pint-sized--not to mention black-and-white, or rather green-and-white--versions of their arcade and console counterparts, they look and sound and play as much like the "real deals" as is possible given the hardware.

That's even more true when you stick one of the Namco Gallery carts into a Super GameBoy peripheral, as doing so injects each game with various amounts of color while also surrounding them with some pretty fabulous borders (see the screenshots placed throughout this post for evidence).

After dabbling with each of them over the last few days, my favorite so far is the second release--thanks mostly to the "New Dig Dug" mode that's included in Dig Dug.

The others are nice, too, though; especially the colorized versions of Galaga, Mappy (above) and Sky Kid.

See also: 'Four GameBoy titles I'm surprised never saw the light of day in the Land of the Rising Sun'

'The ultimate game of cat and mouse'

I've long been a fan of Namco's arcade classic, Mappy--for proof, read through my "Great Gaymathon" review of its Famicom port--so it shouldn't be too surprising to hear me come out in support of the following print, produced by the über-talented Zac Gorman.

If you're in the mood for game-related illustrations, by the way, I'd highly recommend heading over to Gorman's site, Magical Game Time, to check out this compilation of doodles--which features a Bub (or is it Bob?) design that's miles better than the one currently used by Taito--as well as this recent-ish EarthBound comic.

It's like the soundtrack to the awesome Mappy sequel of my dreams ...

The header above is the gist of my reaction to hearing, for the first time, the song "Circus" by SEXY-SYNTHESIZER (featuring Chihiro).

Which, of course, means I enjoyed the hell out of that initial encounter--as, really, who wouldn't love to hear a song that sounds like the main backing track of an imaginary follow-up to the Namco-made, mouse-fronted arcade classic of yesteryear?




I can't claim to have come across this gem myself, by the way. That honor belongs to Bill Sannwald (aka Mister Raroo), who turned me on to it a few days ago. Thanks, Bill!

To hear more tracks from SEXY-SYNTHESIZER's just-released EP, check out sexy-synthesizer.bandcamp.com.

A little translation assistance, please?

So, I've been playing the Game Gear port of Namco's Mappy on and off over the last week or so. Why have I been playing this version as opposed to the arcade original, which I bought a few years back via the Wii Virtual Console, or the Famicom port (see a photo of it here) that I picked up in late 2009? I'm not sure, to tell you the truth. I guess I'm just in a Game Gear kind of mood right now.

Anyway, I bring all of this up here because this iteration's options screen, below, has me feeling completely stumped at the moment and I'm hoping one or more of you will be able to translate--into English, naturally--the second and third choices for me.



By the way, those of you who consider yourselves to be Mappy fans but have never played the Game Gear port might like to know that choosing the second option takes you to a set of levels that are much more expansive than those found in the arcade original. I'd almost liken them to playing in an apartment setting as opposed to a house setting, if that makes sense.

As for what happens when you choose the third option: Strangely, the answer seems to be nothing, at least at the moment. (Whenever I click on it, the carrot cursor simply moves back up to "MAPPY.") Maybe it's a series of more challenging levels that open up only after you've conquered the originals?

The Great Gaymathon Review #25: Mappy (Famicom)

Game: Mappy

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Namcot

Publisher: Namcot

System: Famicom

Release date: 1984

When I first encountered the Famicom versions of Namcot's arcade classics (Dig Dug, Pac-Man and this game, especially), I rolled my eyes. They weren't "arcade perfect," so I wanted nothing to do with them. It wasn't until I acquired a cherry-red Twin Famicom late last year that I gave these ports another chance--mainly, I have to admit, because I adore the art that appears on their box covers. So, what do I think of the Famicom version of Mappy now that I've finally played it? Surprisingly, I think it's pretty great. The most important aspect of the arcade original, its gameplay (which revolves around the titular "police mouse" trying to retrieve a stash of stolen goods from a mansion full of trampolines and thieving cats), is just as tight and, more importantly, fun in the home port. The game's graphics have made a similarly successful transition from coin muncher to console, as has its soundtrack--although the latter could be considered a bit tinny (if not downright grating) compared to its arcade counterpart. All in all, this version of the one and only "cat chase game" is well worth picking up if you own a Famicom. If not, there's always the Famicom Mini Series re-release, which can be played on all GameBoy Advances and GBA-enabled DSes.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Famicom Friday

The folks from UPS have dropped a number of packages at my doorstep over the last few days. The contents of those packages: Six Famicom games I purchased (via eBay) shortly after my birthday.

Five of those games--BurgerTime, Mappy, Pac-Man, Sky Kid and The Tower of Druaga (below)--were produced by the fine folks at Namcot.

As for the sixth game, well, I'm pretty sure most of you have heard of it.

(It's the original Super Mario Bros., in case you can't make that out in the photo above.)

Isn't that banana-yellow cartridge grand?

Check out my Flickr photostream (here) if you want to see more Glamour Shot-esque pics of my latest gaming haul.