Land of the waka-waka

Oops, I did it again! So, before today’s game, let’s go over some cool games from 1983 besides Mario Bros: Dragon’s Lair (The first video game to use cel-animated video instead of computer generated graphics), Elevator Action (many hours spent playing it), Star Wars (oh yeah!) and I Robot (the first commercially produced 3D-polygonal game).

Without further ado, let me introduce the first side-scrolling platform game: Pac-Land. And let’s not forget that 1984 was the year where 16-bit processors were used in arcade machines for the first time, resulting in much more detailed and faster graphics.

This side-scroller for 1 or 2 players (not simultaneous) with a cartoony feel to it, featured parallax scrolling for some of the background elements, a feature that would not become usual until much later.

This time around, Pac-Man actually has arms, legs and even a distinguishable face and his mission is to help a lost fairy get back to her home in Fairy Land. That task will prove to be no piece of cake though, because as he travels through Pac-Land, the usual suspects (the enemy ghosts Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde and Sue) will chase him on cars, aeroplanes, pogo sticks and even flying saucers trying to stop his quest. Other obstacles will appear on the way, such as water spurts and quicksand traps. On the other hand, he’ll get flying boots, fruits, and other bonuses along the way.

The game is split into trips, and in each of these trips the objective is to get the fairy (that is kept under Pac-man's hat) to Fairyland and also to return back home to Pac-Man's house. Each trip is divided into a number of rounds, the end of which provides Pac-man with bonus points depending on how much time he has left and also his position in jumping at the end of each round. During each round, our hero can grab a power pellet, which –as in the classic Pac-man game- will cause the ghosts to turn blue, making them edible for points. In some rounds, Pac must use a springboard to jump over a lake.

The majority of the trip involves moving from left to right, but for the final round of the trip, Pac-Man has to travel from right to left back home. Once he completes the trip, he’ll be greeted by Ms. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man. In the US release of the game, Pac-Man's cat and dog in the cartoon series, Sourpuss and Chomp-Chomp, are also there to welcome Pac-Man home. He then begins his next trip following the same objectives as before, although the difficulty is increased.

If you have to chance to play this game, I highly recommend it! I remember watching other people play this game for hours in the local arcade. And once I was old enough to try it, I was hooked for good! So go and try this free online Pac-Land version and have a good time. There also a very good entry about the game at both the Arcade History Database and the site MobyGames. Before I forget it all over again, let me tell you two more games released in 1984 that are worth mentioning here. They are Marble Madness and Paper Boy.

Munch this data

-In the American release of Pac-Land by Bally Midway, the characters' appearances are based on the designs from thePac-Man animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, to promote the animated series, as well as the video game series. In the Japanese release by Namco, the Pac-Man sprite is closer in appearance to Namco's official artwork of the character with a longer nose, Pac-Man shaped eyes, and (for this game) a feathercap. In addition, both versions feature the main BGM and "jingles" from the aforementioned series; however, the rights to the main BGM in the game belong to Hanna-Barbara, not Namco.

The Moustache thickens!

After the fantastic Donkey Kong in 1983, it would be the Jump man’s turn to shine as the spin-off “Mario Bros.” hit the arcades in 1984. This is the first game that features Mario as the title character, and the first time that Mario's brother Luigi was officially introduced. This character was an identical colour palette swap of Mario, creating an identical “brother”. There are several stories on how Luigi got his name, from a play on the Japanese word “analogous” to the owner of a pizza joint called "Mario and Luigi's that was near Nintendo of America headquarters in Seattle.

Another story says that Miyamoto was inspired by Joust (an early co-op game) and decided to make the game a simultaneous two player experience. This enabled players to make the choice to work together or, alternatively, against each other, which sooner than later will result in a lot of funny moments.

Mario's occupation –a carpenter- from the Donkey Kong games didn't sit right for this one. A colleague even told the game’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto that his little sprite looked more like a plumber.  As a result, Miyamoto gave him a new job as a plumber and put him in a sewer infested with dangerous critters.

Turtles, crabs, and flies come pouring out of the waterworks and the twins have to clean the underground pipes of these vermin by punching the floor beneath them to flip them over, and then kick them off-screen into the water, receiving their reward in gold coins. Enemies include Shellcreepers (turtles), Sidesteppers (crabs), which need to be hit twice, and Fighterflies (flies), which can only be taken down while they touch the platform. Later, enter the Slipice that will freeze the platforms and make your traction very difficult. As the game moves forward, the Mario brothers will have to look out for the water drops that hang below the platforms and freeze into deadly icicles, because they will fall soon after.

They also need to keep an eye for the green fireballs and the faster and even more menacing red fireballs as they will make things more difficult. The POW platform can be hit to knock over enemies and destroy fireballs, but remember that you only get three per level.

Follow the link if you want to play a free flash version of Super Mario Bros (and you do, believe me!). You should also look around the site because you’ll also find other great Mario games such as Super Mario Rampage and Mario Starcatcher 2.

Buggy on the Moon

First of all I’d like to bring up some cool games that were also released on 1981 (same year as Donkey Kong) and that I neglected to mention on my previous post. Those are Frogger (the one where you had to cross the road with a frog), and of course the sequels to Galaxian and Pacman, which are Galaga and Ms. Pacman respectively.

Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s proceed with the next year in classic arcade awesomeness. I was considering which game I‘d pick up from this particular year, until I realized that I had no choice but to write about Moon Patrol, because it’s one of my all time favourites.

Okay, so you’re supposed to take the role of a police officer from the moon who -according to the Strategy Wiki- hangs out in a place called “Luna City”, which it’s the home of the “toughest thugs in the galaxy”. Really? In the whole galaxy? I’d like to hear what Darth Vader has to say about that! :)

Luckily, you have a handy moon buggy to travel over the moon’s surface and take those nasty “thugs” down. It won’t be easy tough, because you’ll encounter obstacles such as craters and landmines, and while you’re jumping over them, you’ll be attacked by UFOs from above and tanks on the ground. The good news is that, you can shoot simultaneously at the rocks in front of you and at aliens above while dodging their missiles. Keep an eye on this horde of alien scum tough, as the flying saucers create new craters when they crash.

Another remarkable arcade games that are worth mentioning and that also saw the light on 1982 were Q*bert, Pole Position and Tron. I’ll probably come back to them on later posts because they too are classics on their own right.

I strongly recommend you to start playing Moon Patrol right away if you haven’t already, as you’ll get to see the fun side of the moon! Here you have an online Moonpatrol browser version to get you started (it's not the same, but it's a start). Go and take a look at what the Moonpatrol arcade cabinet looked like if you don't remember or if you've never seen it.

Tricks and Trivia

-You have a better chance of hitting a UFO directly above if you jump while firing rapidly. This

will compress your shots, making it harder for a UFO to slip through the space between bullets.

-Moon Patrol was one of the earliest linear side-scrolling shoot'em ups and the first arcade game to feature parallax scrolling. That means that the foreground and background terrain scroll at different rates, giving the illusion of depth.

Enter the Mustached Hero

Following last week’s self-imposed chronological order,

the next arcade game to be dissected will be no other than the awesome “Donkey Kong” (1981). This fantabulous piece of work is an early example of the “platform” genre, as the gameplay revolves around moving the main character across a series of platforms while avoiding obstacles.

Donkey Kong was not only Nintendo's first real smash hit for the company, but also denoted the introduction of characters that would later become two of their most popular ones: Mario (originally know as "Jumpman") and Donkey Kong.

So, to me that’s probably one of the greatest things that this game accomplished: it introduced one of the most popular arcade characters ever, as it marked the official debut of Mario –err… sorry Jumpman- who had to traverse four different industrial themed levels or structures (which include a construction zone, a cement factory, an elevator-themed level, and removing rivets from girders) to save his girlfriend, Lady (now known as Pauline), from a giant ape named Donkey Kong before time ran out.

Also, Mario must avoid a constant stream of barrels, fireballs, and bouncing rivets to reach his goal. Although not as powerful as in other future games, Mario can find a hammer which allows him to destroy the barrels and fireballs for a limited amount of time. Additionally, Mario can also find Pauline's hat, purse and umbrella for additional bonus points. When all the rivets are removed from the final level, Donkey Kong falls, and the two lovers are together again. Then, the levels will start all over but at a higher difficulty.

Enjoy a very faithful (and most importantly free) Donkey Kong online version, polish your game skills with this guide at Strategy Wiki and check this very cool resource page of classical versions of the game.

Intriguing Stuff (Source Wikipedia)

-The highest recorded score was set by Billy Mitchell on June 26, 2007 when he achieved 1,050,200 points.

-A story on how the game's name evolved was that it was supposed to be "Monkey Kong", but due to a barely legible fax transmission, the screenprinters created thousands of pieces of artwork that read "Donkey Kong" instead. Since the manufacturers were in a rush to get the game released, they opted to change the game's title rather than wait for the artwork to be reprinted.

-Donkey Kong is also notable for being one of the first complete narratives in video game form, told through simplistic cut scenes that advance the story.

-Graphical limitations forced the design of “Jumpman”: Drawing a mouth was too difficult, so the character got a mustache; the programmers could not animate hair, so he got a cap; and to make his arm movements visible, he needed colored overalls.

-Mario was originally a carpenter, not a plumber as he became later with the introduction of Mario Bros. Pauline is the name of Mario's girlfriend in Donkey Kong. In the Japanese version, her name is Lady, but she got her name changed when Nintendo released the Famicom version.