Chew Man Fu

Last updated

Chew Man Fu
TurboGrafx-16 Chew Man Fu cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Now Production
Publisher(s)
Designer(s) Masami Shimotsuma
Programmer(s) Atsutane Wakisaka
Composer(s) N. Ide
Platform(s) TurboGrafx-16, Mobile phone
ReleaseTurboGrafx-16
  • JP: March 30, 1990
  • NA: 1990
Mobile phone
Genre(s) Action
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Chew Man Fu [lower-alpha 1] is a 1990 action video game developed by Now Production and published in Japan by Hudson Soft and in North America by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16.

Contents

Chew Man Fu was created by Now Production, an Osaka-based game development company founded in 1986 by Toshiaki Awamura, who would later work on future projects such as Adventure Island II and Rolling Thunder 3 . First released on the TurboGrafx-16, the game has since been ported for mobile phones, with new visuals and level design, and re-released through digital platforms like the Virtual Console and the Japanese cloud gaming service G-cluster, in addition to being included on the PC Engine Mini console.

Chew Man Fu garnered mostly positive reception since its release on the TurboGrafx-16; critics found the game's design to be unusual but straightforward and commended its strong action element, large and detailed character sprites, controls, technical performance and use of passwords to resume progress, but other reviewers felt mixed regarding the overall audiovisual presentation and simple gameplay, while the maze editor was criticized for lacking the ability to save levels. Retrospective commentary has been equally positive. One of the title's main characters appears in Pixel Puzzle Collection (2018) for Android and iOS devices.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot TG-16 Chew Man Fu (Be Ball).png
Gameplay screenshot

The single-screen levels are inhabited by enemies, who can be killed by the firing of one of the balls. [1] When a ball hits an enemy, it will continue moving in the same direction, intervening walls, and pushing the player backwards slightly. Balls can also be pushed forwards or pulled backwards, including around corners. Once a ball is placed onto its pad, it can be still be moved. Also included is a small bonus Kick-Ball game for two players, which doubles as practice with the control system.

Development and release

Chew Man Fu was developed by Now Production, an Osaka-based game development company founded in 1986 by Toshiaki Awamura, who would later work on future projects such as Adventure Island II and Rolling Thunder 3 . [2] [3] The game was co-designed by Masami "Simotuma" Shimotsuma and members under the pseudonym "Yumi" and "Bimbo!". [4] Atsutane "Wakky" Wakisaka served as the game's sole programmer, while N. Ide was responsible for sound. [4]

Chew Man Fu was first published in Japan by Hudson Soft on March 30, 1990, for the PC Engine and later in North America by NEC in 1990 for the TurboGrafx-16. [5] The game was first re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console on February 13, 2007, in Japan, then in North America on February 26 and later in Europe on March 2. [6] [7] The title also received a version for mobile phones in 2007, featuring new visuals as well as reworked level design and controls. [8] [9] It was re-released on June 20, 2013, through the Japanese cloud gaming service G-cluster. [10] In addition, it was re-released through the Wii U's Virtual Console in Japan on July 30, 2014, and later in North America on September 21, 2017. [11] [12] It was included in both the Japanese and western variants of the PC Engine Mini console in 2020. [13] [14] [15]

Reception

Chew Man Fu on the TurboGrafx-16 received mostly positive reception from critics, [24] most of which reviewed it as an import title. Public reception was also positive; readers of PC Engine Fan voted to give the game a 21.30 out of 30 score, ranking at the number 216 spot in a poll, indicating a popular following. [25] Famitsu 's four reviewers found the game to not be as "exhilarating" as Bomberman , but noted that the action element was "quite strong". [5] French magazine Génération 4 commended its use of passwords to resume progress. [18] Joystick 's Jean-Marc Demoly gave positive remarks to its visuals for being well-realized, sprite animations, sound and controls. [19] Aktueller Software Markt 's Sandra Alter also gave positive commentary to the title in regards to its level editor as well as the graphics, controls, technical performance and play value. [17]

In contrast to other reviewers, Power Play's Martin Gaksch found Chew Man Fu to be too simplistic and felt mixed in regards to its audiovisual presentation. [22] In a similar manner, The Games Machine ' Warren Lapworth found the game unusual in terms of design but very simple and straightforward. Lapworth noted that the two-player mode could be fun and commended the character sprites for being large and "excellently" defined, as well as the oriental-style music and sound effects, but criticized its maze editor for lacking the ability to save levels. [20] Tilt 's Alain Huyghues-Lacour gave positive remarks to the visuals, animations and sound, but ultimately found the title to be "a little boring in the long run". [21] TurboPlay 's Donn Nauert felt mixed about the game's sound but also gave positive remarks to its graphics and playability. [23] AllGame 's Shawn Sackenheim found its gameplay to be simple but unique and challenging, and praised the character animations for being "cute and entertaining", as well as the extra game modes and replay value, but criticized both visuals and music for being repetitive. [16]

Retrospective coverage

Retrospective reviews for Chew Man Fu have been equally positive. Reviewing the Virtual Console re-release, IGN 's Lucas M. Thomas compared its gameplay with both Adventures of Lolo and Mole Mania , but remarked that said gameplay could prove simplistic to most players. [26] Nintendo Life concurred with Thomas when reviewing the Virtual Console reissue, stating that the game "won't be everyone's cup of tea" but commended its bright and colorful graphics, as well as the simplistic but challenging and smooth gameplay. [6] When reviewing the Virtual Console relaunch, GameSpot 's Frank Provo felt that the title was inspired by both Pengo and Pirate Ship Higemaru . Provo gave positive remarks to the increasingly difficult maze layouts, cartoon-esque sprites, "peppy" music, length, two-player mode and level editor, but he criticized its gameplay for being repetitive and plain presentation. [27] Eurogamer 's Dan Whitehead noted it to be simple but addictive and accessible when reviewing the title on the Virtual Console, praising its large sprites and ball physics. [28] Hardcore Gaming 101 's Aaron Vark called it "one of the more enjoyable non-shoot-em-up titles for the TurboGrafx-16", citing its styling and gameplay mechanics similar to Pengo. [1]

Legacy

One of the main characters in Chew Man Fu, Rin Rin, appears in the 2018 game Pixel Puzzle Collection for Android and iOS devices.[ citation needed ]

Notes

  1. ↑ Also known as Be Ball (Japanese: ビーボール, Hepburn: Bī Bōru) in Japan.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TurboGrafx-16</span> Fourth-generation home video game console

The TurboGrafx-16, known as the PC Engine outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, though the console has an 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) coupled with a 16-bit graphics processor. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. In Europe, the console is known as the PC Engine, after the Japanese model was imported and distributed in the United Kingdom and France from 1988. In Japan, the system was launched as a competitor to the Famicom, but the delayed United States release meant that it ended up competing with the Sega Genesis and later the Super NES.

<i>Air Zonk</i> 1992 video game

Air Zonk, known in Japan as PC Denjin, is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for TurboGrafx-16 in 1992. Air Zonk was an attempt to update the company's image via a modern, punkish character called Zonk, who bears a purposeful resemblance to the TurboGrafx-16's caveman mascot, Bonk.

<i>Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap</i> 1989 action-adventure video game

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, known as Monster World II in Japan, is a platforming action-adventure video game developed by Westone as part of Sega's Wonder Boy series. It was published by Sega and released for the Master System in 1989 and for the Game Gear in 1992 as Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. It was ported by Hudson Soft and released in 1991 for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine under the name Dragon's Curse. It was also ported in 1993 by Brazilian company Tec Toy under the title Turma da Mônica em o Resgate, with the game retooled to include characters from Brazilian comic book series Monica's Gang. A remake developed by Lizardcube and published by DotEmu, titled Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, was released in April 2017.

<i>Neutopia</i> 1989 video game

Neutopia is an overhead action-adventure video game developed by Hudson Soft. It was released by Hudson for the PC Engine in Japan on November 17, 1989. It was then released by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America in 1990. It was re-released for the Virtual Console service worldwide for the Wii in 2007; it was re-released for the PlayStation Network in Japan in 2010 and in North America in 2011. It was re-released for the Wii U on April 16, 2014 in Japan, and in USA and Europe in 2017. The game takes place in the land of Neutopia, where the evil demon Dirth has captured Princess Aurora and has stolen the eight ancient medallions which contain the wisdom and power necessary to maintain peace and prosperity throughout the land. It is up to the protagonist Jazeta to retrieve the eight medallions, defeat Dirth, rescue Princess Aurora, and save the land and its people.

<i>Military Madness</i> 1989 video game

Military Madness is a 1989 turn-based strategy video game originally developed and published by Hudson Soft in Japan and NEC in North America for the TurboGrafx-16. It is the first entry in the Nectaris series. Set in the year 2089, players take command of the Allied-Union forces in a desperate offense against the Axis-Xenon Empire army on the Moon before they launch the S.A.M. weapon to obliterate Earth. Its gameplay consists of moving units into positions to confront enemies in turn-based encounters determined by multiple factors, capturing factories to produce resources and repair units in order to occupy the enemy prison camp or destroy all enemy forces.

The Virtual Console is a line of downloadable video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

<i>Dungeon Explorer</i> (1989 video game) 1989 video game

Dungeon Explorer is an action role-playing video game developed by Atlus for the TurboGrafx-16 and originally published by Hudson Soft in Japan on March 4, 1989, and later in North America by NEC on November 15 of the same year. The first installment in the eponymous franchise, the game is set in the land of Oddesia, which has been overrun by an alien race and where players assume the role of one of eight main characters tasked with recovering the Ora stone to kill the alien king Natas. Co-directed by Kazutoshi Ueda and Yōsuke Niino, the title was created by most of the same team that would work on later several projects such as entries in the Megami Tensei series. Though it was initially launched for the TurboGrafx-16, it was later re-released through download services for various consoles.

<i>Alien Crush</i> 1988 video game

Alien Crush is a pinball video game developed by Compile for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. It was released in 1988. The game is the first installment in the Crush Pinball series. It was followed by three sequels, Devil's Crush, Jaki Crush, and Alien Crush Returns. Alien Crush was later rereleased on the Virtual Console and on the PlayStation Network.

<i>Neutopia II</i> 1991 video game

Neutopia II is a 1991 action-adventure/action role-playing video game developed and published in Japan by Hudson Soft and in North America by Turbo Technologies for the TurboGrafx-16. It is the sequel to Neutopia, which was released earlier in 1989. In the game, the player takes control of Jazeta's son, who embarks on a quest to both save his father and defeat the returning evil demon Dirth.

<i>Ninja Spirit</i> 1988 video game

Ninja Spirit, known in Japan as Saigo no Nindou, is a 1988 platform game developed and released in arcades by Irem. Although praised by gamers for detailed graphics, serious themes, solid controls and gameplay, the game also was criticized for its harsh difficulty.

<i>China Warrior</i> 1987 video game

China Warrior, known as The Kung Fu in Japan, is a beat 'em up video game created in 1987 by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The game received mixed reviews upon release, with praise for its large sprite graphics but criticism towards its gameplay.

<i>Blazing Lazers</i> 1989 Japanese-American video game

Gunhed, known as Blazing Lazers in North America, is a vertically scrolling shooter game by Hudson Soft and Compile, based on the Japanese film Gunhed. The title was released in 1989, for the PC Engine in Japan and re-skinned for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America, with Gunhed unofficially imported for the PC Engine in Europe. In the game, a fictional galaxy is under attack by an enemy space armada called the Dark Squadron, and this galaxy's only chance for survival is the Gunhed Advanced Star Fighter, who must destroy the Dark Squadron and its Super Weapons. The gameplay features fast vertical scrolling and a wide array of weapons for the player to use.

<i>Vigilante</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Vigilante (ビジランテ) is a 1988 beat 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Irem in Japan and Europe, and published in North America by Data East. It is considered as a spiritual sequel to Irem's earlier Kung-Fu Master (1984).

<i>The Legendary Axe</i> 1988 video game

The Legendary Axe is a horizontal platform video game for the TurboGrafx-16. It was developed and published by Victor Musical Industries in Japan and by NEC in North America. It was released in Japan on September 23, 1988 and in North America as a TurboGrafx-16 launch title on August 29, 1989. In the game, the player controls Gogan, a barbarian whose girl, Flare, was kidnapped by the cult of Jagu. The player must navigate through six platforming levels, armed with a legendary axe named "Sting" to defeat Jagu and his minions and rescue Flare. The game features a rechargeable "strength meter" that determines how much damage is dealt from the axe to enemies.

<i>Super Star Soldier</i> 1990 video game

Super Star Soldier is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Kaneko and originally published by Hudson Soft in 1990 for the Japanese PC Engine and in 1991 for the North American TurboGrafx-16. It is the sequel to Star Soldier, and part of a vertical-scrolling shooter series by Hudson Soft. According to the company, many people believed Super Star Soldier's graphics were the best of any HuCard game. Although the game was popular in Japan, it received less attention from the rest of the world.

<i>Double Dungeons</i> 1990 role-playing video game

Double Dungeons is a role-playing video game developed by Thinking Rabbit and published by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1989 in Japan and in 1990 in North America. Its unique selling point was that it supports simultaneously two-player gameplay.

<i>Drop Off</i> 1990 video game

Drop Off is a Breakout clone by Data East. The game was published in 1990 for the PC Engine as Drop Rock Hora Hora and subsequently saw a US release for the TurboGrafx-16 as Drop Off.

<i>Gate of Thunder</i> 1992 video game

Gate of Thunder is a 1992 scrolling shooter video game developed by Red Company and published by Hudson Soft for the TurboGrafx-CD. It was the first game released in North America to support the Super CD-ROM² format and served as one of the pack-in games for the TurboDuo, a two-in-one system which runs both TurboGrafx-CD and TurboGrafx-16 titles, where it was bundled with Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge and Bomberman on the same disc. In the game, the player controls the Hunting Dog space fighter craft, piloted by space cop Hawk. Alongside his ally Esty, piloting the Wild Cat support ship, Hawk must stop General Don Jingi and his Obellon armada from obtaining the powerful "Starlight" energy source from planet Aries.

<i>Lords of Thunder</i> 1993 video game

Lords of Thunder is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Red Company and published in 1993 by Turbo Technologies and Hudson Soft for the TurboDuo. It is the unofficial follow-up to Gate of Thunder. The player controls the knight Landis, donning the armor of his ancestor Drak on a confrontation against Zaggart of Garuda Empire, who resurrected the evil god Deoric, and his six dark generals across the land of Mistral.

<i>Cyber Core</i> Scrolling shooter video game from 1990

Cyber Core is a 1990 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed by Alfa System and published in Japan by Information Global Service (IGS) and in North America by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16. Set in the year 2269 where Earth has been overrun by an alien race known as Hyper Insects, the player controls a Chimera bio-fighter craft, piloted by the enforcer Rad Ralph in order to fend off the invaders and reclaim the planet. Similar to Dragon Spirit, Ralph has a projectile weapon for destroying air-based enemies and a bomb for destroying ground-based enemies.

References

  1. 1 2 Vark, Aaron (December 3, 2015). "Chew Man Fu". Hardcore Gaming 101 . Archived from the original on 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  2. ↑ CRV (September 17, 2007). "Now Production". Game Developer Research Institute. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  3. ↑ Fahs, Travis (December 12, 2008). "Standing in the Shadows Vol. 1: Now Production — One of the biggest devs you've never heard of". IGN . Ziff Davis . Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  4. 1 2 Now Production. Chew Man Fu (TurboGrafx-16). NEC. Level/area: Staff!!.
  5. 1 2 3 "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: BE BALL (PCエンジン)". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 98. ASCII Corporation. April 13, 1990. p. 17. (Transcription by Famitsu.com. Archived July 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine ).
  6. 1 2 "Chew Man Fu Review (TG-16) — Fried rice and egg rolls are in danger!". Nintendo Life . Nlife Media. February 27, 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  7. ↑ Tsukui, Kazuhito (February 13, 2007). "バーチャルコンソール配信ソフト3タイトル追加！（2/13）". Inside Games  [ ja ] (in Japanese). IID, Inc.  [ ja ]. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  8. ↑ Dredge, Stuart (February 21, 2007). "Hudson Entertainment Brings Chew Man Fu To Both Wii(TM) Virtual Console(TM) And Cell Phones — Classic TurboGrafx Game Entertains A New Generation of Gamers with Arcade Puzzle Fun!". GamesIndustry.biz . Gamer Network . Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  9. ↑ Dredge, Stuart (February 22, 2007). "Chew Man Fu gets a mobile game makeover — Oldie TurboGrafx game coming to phones". Pocket Gamer . Steel Media Ltd. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  10. ↑ Tsukui, Kazuhito (June 20, 2013). "KONAMI、本日発売のクラウドゲーム機「G-cluster」で『グラディウス』『高橋名人』など16タイトルを配信開始". Inside Games  [ ja ] (in Japanese). IID, Inc.  [ ja ]. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  11. ↑ Tsukui, Kazuhito (July 23, 2014). "Wii Uバーチャルコンソール7月30日配信タイトル ― 『弟切草』『謎の村雨城』『ニュートピアII』『BE BALL』『ロックマンエグゼ バトルチップGP』の5本". Inside Games  [ ja ] (in Japanese). IID, Inc.  [ ja ]. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  12. ↑ Richards, Brian (September 20, 2017). "Shockman, Chew Man Fu hitting the North American Wii U Virtual Console tomorrow". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  13. ↑ "【PCエンジン mini全タイトルレビュー！】「ALIEN CRUSH」や「CADASH」に注目！全6タイトルをご紹介 — 海外タイトルレビューその1（レース・パズルほか編）". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. March 19, 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  14. ↑ Sam Machkovech, Sam Machkovech (April 15, 2020). "TurboGrafx-16 Mini review: Mostly best-in-class retro gaming, sometimes WTF". Ars Technica . Archived from the original on 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  15. ↑ "PC Engine Mini review – all 57 games reviewed, from Snatcher to Splatterhouse". Metro . April 15, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  16. 1 2 Sackenheim, Shawn (1998). "Chew Man Fu (TurboGrafx-16) – Review". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  17. 1 2 Alter, Sandra (June–July 1990). "Konsolen: Zum Kugeln! — Be Ball (PC-Engine)". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). No. 43. Tronic Verlag. p. 82.
  18. 1 2 "Tests PC Engine: Be Ball". Génération 4  [ fr ] (in French). No. 23. Computec. June 1990. p. 68.
  19. 1 2 Demoly, Jean-Marc (June 1990). "Consoles Magazine – Nec PC Engine: Be Ball". Joystick (in French). No. 6. Sipress. p. 93.
  20. 1 2 Lapworth, Warren (August 1990). "Reviews: Be Ball (PC Engine)". The Games Machine . No. 33. Newsfield Publications. p. 57.
  21. 1 2 Huyghues-Lacour, Alain (September 1990). "Rolling Softs: Be Ball (PC Engine)". Tilt (in French). No. 81. Editions Mondiales S.A.  [ fr ]. pp. 100–101.
  22. 1 2 Gaksch, Martin (July 1990). "Power Tests — Videospiele: Be Ball (PC-Engine)". Power Play  [ de ] (in German). No. 28. Markt & Technik. p. 119.
  23. 1 2 Nauert, Donn (February–March 1991). "TurboPlay Rates the Games – Chew Man Fu". TurboPlay . No. 5. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 25. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  24. ↑ "TurboPlay Rates the Games – Volume 2: Chew Man Fu". TurboPlay . No. 11. Larry Flynt Publications. February–March 1992. p. 26. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  25. ↑ "PC Engine All Catalog '93 10月号特別付録 – ビーボール". PC Engine Fan (in Japanese). Vol. 6, no. 10. Tokuma Shoten. October 1, 1993. p. 136.
  26. ↑ M. Thomas, Lucas (February 26, 2007). "Chew Man Fu Review — A puzzling quest to save the world's supply of rice". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  27. ↑ Provo, Frank (April 20, 2007). "Chew-Man-Fu Review — Chew Man Fu is a challenging maze puzzler that earns its keep with loads of levels, support for two players, and a built-in level editor". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  28. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (June 15, 2007). "Virtual Console Roundup • Page 3 — F-Zero X, Bonk, Mystical Ninja and friends". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.